Providers of a web-based adult drug and alcohol treatment program have created a version for teenagers that can be accessed on school computers, helping to reduce barriers that prevent teens from receiving treatment.

Ten million teenagers need treatment, but only 1 million teens get it, according to CRC Health Corp., the creator of internet rehab programs eGetgoing and teenGetgoing.

Barriers such as access, affordability, and confidentiality prevent many teens from getting help, said Judi Kosterman, vice president for business relations at CRC Health Corp.

"Just looking at those numbers, realizing that people need treatment and aren't getting it ... spurred the idea that treatment might be brought to people in another way," Kosterman said.

The adult service, eGetgoing, has an 80 percent completion rate and an excellent sobriety rate as well, Kosterman said. "We had people who relapsed, but the great thing is that they come to group and tell you instead of disappearing," she said.

The company offers two programs for teens: teenGetgoing Discover, a live counseling program, and teenGetgoing Aware, a self-paced learning program that makes students aware of their drug and alcohol use.

TeenGetgoing Discover costs $1,200 for 24 group therapy sessions conducted over the internet, which is half the cost of typical outpatient counseling. Families can make an initial $300 payment and can pay in installments thereafter.

Up to 10 teenagers participate in the group with a counselor. The voices of each teenager, as well as the counselor's image and voice, are streamed to each person's computer through a secure, encrypted connection.

"It's not type-text chat. It's a live counselor. They can see and hear that counselor on the screen," Kosterman said.

Teens participate in the counseling twice a week for 12 weeks. Because participants often need time before and after sessions, the counselor is available for two hours, although each session is formally an hour long.

Because people can't see and touch each other over the internet—and doing so is an important part of substance-abuse treatment—the company hired actors to portray teens undergoing treatment. During the group sessions, participants watch these short dramatizations of teens interacting at home with their parents, at parties with their peers, and at school with their teachers.

"It almost has a soap-opera effect. People want to come back to see what happened to Tony in the video," Kosterman said.

By removing the face-to-face contact usually found in group therapy, teenGetgoing's creators discovered that teens actually are more eager to talk.

"People engage more quickly in this environment. People share more," Kosterman said. "People are not judged. They can say anything they want to in this environment because of the anonymity."

To ensure their privacy and safety, participants are only identified by their screen name.