Here, 9 out of 10 young people become drug-free

At Rosenlundsgatan 44B in Stockholm, around ten social workers work closely with specialist nurses, psychologists and medical specialists, all of whom have extensive expertise and experience in helping young people kick their drug or alcohol use. It is here, at Mini Maria Stockholm, that social services in the district refer young people when there are concerns about abuse. However, it could also have been parents or other adults close to the young person who became suspicious, or the young person came via the emergency room at St. Göran Hospital, Maria Ungdom. A smaller part also comes via Moomin (see page article) or through your own initiative.

– Parents contacting us directly is a development we wanted to see. Caroline Malmstedt, social secretary at Mini Maria since 2015, says that young people can come here earlier and do not have to go to the social welfare offices in the district to get help.

Together with a psychologist or a nurse, she or one of her colleagues, all trained sociologists, are the first people the young people meet when they come to Mini Maria.

– We always start from the individual and the family and together we assess and map the need for care. Together we look at everything from comorbidity and substance use to the psychosocial situation, which, in a somewhat simplified form, represents the family situation. “We also talk about why we are there and what the contact looks like,” says Caroline Malmstedt.

The backgrounds of young people are obviously very different; on average, six out of ten have major difficulties at school. A quarter have no right to secondary school after completing ninth grade. Many have difficult family relationships and are exposed to violence. About 30 percent have neuropsychiatric diagnoses.

– If necessary, we hold a separate meeting with parents so that they can talk freely about their concerns and we can talk about the drug, nowadays mostly cannabis, that the young people are using. It is not uncommon for them to also need help setting boundaries and communicating with their child.

After the initial survey, treatment begins where the young person can come to Mini Maria once a week. The times are adapted to the school routine as much as possible, as school is the strongest protective factor.

– If support is required several times a week, we can offer this, but this is usually once a week. Which of us is involved depends on the need. When we start an Acra approach (Adolescent Community Strengthening Approach), it involves around 12 sessions over three months.

Acra, recommended by the National Board of Health and Welfare for young people with substance use, is based on CBT and aims to change lifestyles by strengthening positive social contexts and communication skills. Guardians or other networks are often involved.

Treatment at Mini Maria is voluntary, but not all young people are enthusiastic about coming there. It’s therefore a lot about building trust, says Caroline Malmstedt.

– We build a lot of trust through the way we interact with the people in the room. We use MI, a conversation method that strengthens a person’s internal motivation and desire for lifestyle change. It is a non-judgmental approach that also involves being curious, asking open-ended questions and being clear. The young people may be angry and sad, we are here and even if they didn’t want to come here, our goal is to have happy young people and families when they leave here.

Here the statistics for Mini Maria Stockholm speak for themselves. Up to 90 percent of young people who entered the year 2025 with problematic drug use had stopped using drugs at the end of treatment. For alcohol, the corresponding value was 94 percent. At this follow-up examination, which takes place after three months, the alcohol and drug freedom remained to the same extent for girls and boys.

Read more:

Record drug seizures: “New plateau”

Alcohol and drug consumption among young people continues to decline