drugs and alcohol | Adolescent Counseling Services

The H.O.P.E. on the “Road to Recovery”

in Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment / Drugs & Alcohol / E-News / Prevention / Recovery by Adolescent Counseling Services December 17, 2015January 27, 2022 0 comments

Written By: Laura Cole, Clinical Intern, ACS Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment Program and Community Counseling Program There are few people who enter recovery with feelings of exuberance. Generally, pain and consequences are the catalysts for seeking help; and those experiences do not tend to generate warm and fuzzy feelings of hope. Hence, the ‘road to […]

National trends for substance use among adolescents parallels local youth opinions

in Alcoholism / Drugs & Alcohol / Electronic Cigarettes / Marijuana / Smoking / Teenage Smoking by Lindsey Leason January 13, 2015January 27, 2022 0 comments

image: Shay “Cigarettes and Alcohol” By: Monica Ippolito ACS Outpatient Counseling Services Intern Recently the National Institute on Drug Abuse released a study that the University of Michigan conducted in their Monitoring the Future Study on what trends are popular among middle and high school students across the country. The study looked at usage of […]

Co-Occurring Disorders: Diagnosis

in Alcoholism / Co-Occuring Disorders / Cocaine / Depression / Disorders / Drinking / Drugs & Alcohol / Marijuana / Mental Health / Molly-Ecstasy / Other / Recovery / Risky Behaviour / Self-Harm / Stress by acsteens July 8, 2014January 27, 2022 0 comments

By: JoAnn Kukulus, M.S. Clinical Psychology BBS Registered Intern at Adolescent Counseling Services Increasingly at Adolescent Counseling Services, we are encountering clients who are struggling with both alcohol or substance use/abuse and mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, bi-polar disorder, and the effects of trauma (PTSD). The intersection of these conditions is rapidly gaining […]

Teens and Parties

in Drinking / Drugs & Alcohol / Parent Tips / Parent-Teen Communication / Parenting / Setting Boundaries / Teaching Mindfulness / Teen Partying by acsteens March 20, 2014January 27, 2022 0 comments

By: JoAnn Kukulus, MS, MFTI ACS Intern When our children were young, we parents had a hand in just about everything they did. We took on the responsibility of organizing and structuring their time in such a way that we knew what they were doing each minute of each day. If we couldn’t actually oversee the […]

“Sizzurp”- A Risky Drug Available at your Local Drugstore

in Drugs & Alcohol / Other / Prescription Drugs / Sizzurp by acsteens February 12, 2014January 27, 2022 0 comments

By: Taryn Bogonovich Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment Program Intern Teens have been known to experiment with new ways to get a “high”. You may have heard the news recently about a new craze referred to as “Sizzurp” or “Purple Drank”, which is a mix of soda, candy and prescription cough syrup with codeine. While rap musicians […]

Medical Marijuana Sharing Amongst Adolescents

in Marijuana / Medical Marijuana / Substance Abuse by acsteens August 14, 2012January 27, 2022 0 comments

As medicinal marijuana is more available in some states, via legal marijuana dispensaries, a new study from the University of Colorado School of Medicine found that it is very common for adolescents in substance abuse treatment programs to use medical marijuana recommended to someone else (also known as “diverted” medical marijuana). The study, “Medical Marijuana […]

How to Spot the First Signs of Teen Depression

in Depression / Drugs & Alcohol / Mental Health / Parent Tips / Parent-Teen Communication / Suicide / Suicide Prevention / Uncategorized by acsteens March 16, 2012January 27, 2022 0 comments

Recently About.com posted a really helpful post about the “First Signs of Teen Depression.” The post was written by About.com’s resident teen health expert Denise Witmer. Here is the beginning of Denise’s post. Many times parents of teens who have tried to or have committed suicide struggle with the idea that there were signs of […]

After-school Alcohol Education Program for Middle School Ages Shows Positive Results

in Drugs & Alcohol / Other / Parent Tips / Parent-Teen Communication / Parenting / Prevention / Recent Trends / Substance Abuse by acsteens February 17, 2012January 27, 2022 0 comments

The age at which children begin drinking is surprising. According to a pamphlet distributed by the National Institute on Alcohol and Alcohol Abuse, “by 8th grade, 38.9% of American children have tried alcohol and 17.9% of 8th graders have been drunk at least once.” To combat these percentages Elizabeth D’Amico, a psychologist who has been […]

Everything You Wanted To Say To Your Middle Schooler, But Didn’t Know How-Part IV

in Cocaine / Drugs & Alcohol / Marijuana / Methamphetamine / Other / Parent Tips / Parent-Teen Communication / Parenting / Prescription Drugs / Prevention / Recent Trends / Setting Boundaries / Substance Abuse / Teaching Mindfulness / Uncategorized by acsteens December 29, 2011January 27, 2022 0 comments

By Philippe Rey, Psy. D. Executive Director of Adolescent Counseling Services So now that we have a good idea about what is really going on with drugs and alcohol, let’s look at more ways we can help our teens. As I mentioned last week, as parents your task is to encourage choice. That means that […]

Teens and Drinking: Beyond the Obvious Influences

in Behavioral Norms / Drugs & Alcohol / Parenting / Prevention / Recent Trends / Relationships / Substance Abuse by acsteens October 7, 2011January 27, 2022 0 comments

when trying to find the influence behind a teen’s fixation with alcohol, there are the usual suspects- their closest friends, the boyfriend/girlfriend, or the environment at home. But recent studies are showing that the linkage between teens and alcohol may not be as direct as it seems. Studies show that if a teen is in […]