What is it?

Alternative for Youth's (AFY) 7-Week iTHRIVE Program is an early intervention program for teens struggling with drugs and alcohol and offers support for their parents as well. Through a powerful combination of teen group psychotherapy, parent education, and pro-social activities, iTHRIVE helps teens develop healthier lifestyles and supports their families in reclaiming hope and happiness. All programming is conducted by highly qualified professional counseling staff. Together, we help teens and families thrive!

How does it work?

AFY iTHRIVE is a 7-week class, meeting one night a week for 2 hours each night. A teen is referred to the iTHRIVE program through their school, the courts, through a counselor or other non-profit agency. Worried parents also refer their own teen. 

Why attend?

AFY iTHRIVE has been conducting classes for over 6 years and uses a best-practice curriculum approved by the State of Colorado. All classes are conducted by professional counselors/psychologists. Evaluations show very positive results. Teens are reducing their use of substances and parents are learning new tools regarding communication, setting boundaries, and developing appropriate consequences; and, family satisfaction is improving for both parents and teens.

Once referred, then what?

A family can contact us directly, or if referred by school or court, the referring agency will let us know your phone number and AFY iTHRIVE will call you to set up the registration interview. To enroll in the iTHRIVE program, the teen and at least one of the parents will participate in a one-hour registration interview. The teen meets with a teen facilitator while the parents meet with a parent facilitator. Same time, same location, separate meetings. In those interviews, we will find out more about what is going on and will let you know more specifics about the program, as well as having parent and teen sign the necessary paperwork.

We hold classes at different locations: Boulder, Longmont, Broomfield, Northglenn, and we are looking at locations in the Brighton and Frederick areas. They are often held in schools, libraries, or churches, as well as at our company headquarters in Northglenn. The AFY iTHRIVE program is 6 weeks in length, meeting one night a week for 2 hours per night, from 6:30 – 8:30 pm.