Adolescent Counseling Services

Additional Support for Parents when Adolescents Lie about Drug Use

in Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment / Drugs & Alcohol / E-News / Parent Tips / Parent-Teen Communication / Parenting / Prevention / Recent Trends / Treatment by Adolescent Counseling Services February 23, 2016January 27, 2022 0 comments

Written By: Mayra Vargas, MFTI, Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment Program Parental instinct is key to supporting their teens with their drug use/abuse. Parents sometimes ignore their “gut instinct” that lets them know something is happening with their adolescent. Often a parent will tentatively ask about these issues, and the teen will say ‘everything is fine’ — […]

Adolescent Counseling Services Announces Service Area Expansion

in ACS News by Adolescent Counseling Services February 16, 2016January 27, 2022 0 comments

Programs to be offered in San Mateo County and North Santa Clara County locations PALO ALTO, Calif. — Adolescent Counseling Services (ACS), a community-based nonprofit agency dedicated to the healthy social and emotional welfare of local youth, announces its service area expansion to San Mateo County. ACS will now offer therapeutic services in Redwood City […]

Anatomy Of Addiction: How Heroin And Opioids Hijack The Brain

in Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment / Drugs & Alcohol / E-News / Prescription Drugs / Recent Trends by Adolescent Counseling Services February 2, 2016January 27, 2022 0 comments

By: Jack Rodolico, NPR Health News “I ended up sniffing a whole one, and I blacked out… it ruined me that time. But I loved it.” When Jack O’Connor was 19, he was so desperate to beat his addictions to alcohol and opioids that he took a really rash step. He joined the Marines. […]

Substance Abuse in the LGBTQQ+ Community

in Drugs & Alcohol / E-News / Gender identity / LGBTQ Issues / Outlet by Adolescent Counseling Services January 28, 2016January 27, 2022 0 comments

Written By: Dafne Luna, Outlet Program Coordinator The use of recreational drugs and alcohol in this community is incredibly widespread and, unfortunately, is sometimes encouraged as a cultural norm. For many queer and trans* youth, drinking is almost a rite of passage into Queer culture. There are very few places, meetups, and activities where large […]

ACS Practices Mindfulness!

in Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment / Co-Occuring Disorders / Community Counseling / Drugs & Alcohol / E-News / Mental Health / Parent Tips / Prevention / Recovery / Treatment by Adolescent Counseling Services January 26, 2016January 27, 2022 0 comments

Written By: JoAnn Kukulus, MFTI | ACS’ Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment Program & Community Counseling Program Recently I had the opportunity to become trained and certified to implement a group and individual curriculum called “Mindfulness-Based Substance Abuse Treatment for Adolescents,” which the ACS programs are beginning to utilize. This relatively new evidence-based curriculum, founded by Sam Himelstein […]

Adolescent Counseling Services hosting Substance Abuse Symposium

in ACS News / Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment / Community Counseling by Adolescent Counseling Services January 26, 2016January 27, 2022 0 comments

PALO ALTO, Calif. — Adolescent Counseling Services (ACS), a community-based nonprofit agency delivering comprehensive mental health services to help individuals grow and thrive during the challenges of youth, is presenting a free community symposium on adolescent addiction. Protecting Our Developing Youth: Adolescent Addiction, Prevention & Recovery will be hosted on Saturday, March 5, 2016 from […]

Love and Parenting

in Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment / Community Counseling / E-News / Parent Role Models / Parent Tips / Parent-Teen Communication / Parenting / Society Norms by Adolescent Counseling Services January 14, 2016January 27, 2022 0 comments

Written By: Alex Basche, ACS Clinical Intern, Community Counseling Program and Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment Program Love: it can make your heart skip a beat, spawn butterflies in your stomach and has been called by some as the “ultimate drug”. We’ve seen it on TV, heard it lauded in songs and read about it […]

Understanding and Coping with Anxiety

in Anxiety / E-News / Mental Health / On-Campus Counseling / Stress / Stress Management by Adolescent Counseling Services January 7, 2016January 27, 2022 0 comments

Written By: Deborah Sloss, LCSW | ACS Site Supervisor, On-Campus Counseling Program Most of us have experienced anxiety at some point in our lives. Some people even feel a moderate amount of anxiety spurs them to action. However, for others, anxiety can start to interfere with their day-to-day functioning. According to the National Institute of […]

The Importance of Family Support of LGBTQQ+ Youth

in E-News / Gender / Gender identity / LGBTQ Issues / Mental Health / Parent Tips / Parenting / Transgender by Adolescent Counseling Services December 29, 2015January 27, 2022 0 comments

Written By: Dafne Luna, Outlet Program Coordinator and Group Facilitator We live in this society where the second part of the December is intended to be spent in a happy coexistence with family, friends, and everyone else in the world. However, this time of the year can be really hard for a lot […]

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 […]