Adolescent Counseling Services’ Resource Blog

What’s Self-Esteem Got to Do With It?

By: JoAnn Kukulus, MS Clinical Psychology/MFTI, ACS Clinical Intern If esteem (as in “my esteemed colleagues…”) is the value and worth one applies to people, places, and situations then it naturally follows that ‘self-esteem’ is the value and worth an individual applies to herself or himself.  We can frame a picture of how we feel […]

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A Different Method to Coping with Stress in High School Academics

Image: CollegeDegrees360, Stressed Student  Author: Mayra Vargas, MFTI, Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment Program   It’s not news that academics have become a stressful full-time job for teens as they compete to be the best of the best for the top colleges in the country. This may cause stress, anxiety, and/or depression due to the overwhelming feelings of trying to […]

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Dating Violence – Is Your Teen At Risk?

Image: Jan Fidler Kissing couple Author: Maria Horwich, LMFT Site Director at Redwood High School Adolescence is an exciting and turbulent time for many of our teens. It is at this age that many of our children start dating. Many parents I meet are surprised that teen relationships are sometimes abusive.  In a nationwide survey, […]

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Stressed Out? Music is the Cure!

Image: Stephen McLeod Blythe – Muzak Stephanie Olano ACS Outpatient Counseling Program Clinical Intern Music has played a very important role in my life. From the time I was 10-years-old I could list the various bands that were heavily influenced by The Beatles. Adults found this impressive, but I found this knowledge strange and confusing because they […]

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Concentrates: When Marijuana Doesn’t Look Like Marijuana

Image: Brad Bethell  By Evan Sahn ACS’ Outpatient Counseling Intern As a substance abuse counselor, one of my many responsibilities is to assist adolescents and families in achieving reduction in substance use, resolve internal family conflicts, resolve psychological issues that drive substance use, and eventually achieve sobriety.  That being said, we do spend some of […]

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