Recovery | Adolescent Counseling Services

Why There’s No Better Time than Now to Quit Vaping

in ACS Institute of Psychotherapy & Training / Drugs & Alcohol / Electronic Cigarettes / Recovery / Smoking / Teenage Smoking / Vaping by Adolescent Counseling Services October 28, 2020January 27, 2022 0 comments

Written By: Wen Soon, Clinical Intern at ACS, Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment Program EVERY YEAR, people wait until January 1st to make important resolutions and commitments to change their bad habits. People erroneously believe the new year will somehow give them the motivation to finally change. However, U.S. News and World Report (2015) shared that […]

How Parents Can Help Their Underage Kids Resist Alcohol

in Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment / Binge Drinking / Drinking / Drugs & Alcohol / E-News / Marijuana / Parenting / Prescription Drugs / Prevention / Recent Trends / Recovery / Risky Behaviour / Smoking / Teen Partying / Treatment by Adolescent Counseling Services July 13, 2016January 27, 2022 0 comments

Reported By: Aimee Cunningham, NPR Health News “Parental monitoring and warmth are a protective device against kids’ binge drinking.” While a sense of inevitability often surrounds the topic of teen drinking, adults can play an important role in preventing underage alcohol use. Two recent studies provide guidance for parents. One finds that parents […]

Marijuana use and abuse rates decline among US teens

in Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment / Behavioral Norms / Co-Occuring Disorders / Drugs & Alcohol / E-News / Marijuana / Medical Marijuana / Mental Health / Parenting / Prevention / Recovery / Uncategorized by Adolescent Counseling Services June 23, 2016January 27, 2022 0 comments

By: Sam Levin, The Guardian Rates of adolescent marijuana use and abuse have declined across the US, according to an unprecedented study that casts doubts on one of the central arguments against legalizing weed. Researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis surveyed 216,852 teenagers from all 50 states and found that […]

The Addict and the Enabler

in Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment / After-School Counseling / Co-Occuring Disorders / Community Counseling / Drugs & Alcohol / E-News / Parent Tips / Parent-Teen Communication / Parenting / Recent Trends / Recovery / Risky Behaviour / Setting Boundaries / Teen Partying / Teen Peer Groups / Treatment by Adolescent Counseling Services June 21, 2016January 27, 2022 0 comments

Written By: Laura Cole, ACS Clinical Intern, Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment and Community Counseling Programs ACS’ Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment Program depends on the participation of not only the teen struggling with substance abuse, but the family or guardian as well. Addiction affects the entire family, and each family member has a personal responsibility to the […]

Praise Goes A Long Way

in Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment / Community Counseling / Drugs & Alcohol / E-News / Mental Health / Parent Role Models / Parent Tips / Parent-Teen Communication / Parenting / Recovery / Stigma / Teen Self-Image / Treatment by Adolescent Counseling Services April 25, 2016January 27, 2022 0 comments

Written By: Christine Miller, ACS Clinical Intern, Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment and Community Counseling Programs Too often teens feel like they are constantly being told “No” by their parents, teachers, coaches, or other adults, and that they do not hear “Great Job!” enough. Being a teen is hard enough. But, being a teen that has […]

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 […]

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 […]

Co-Occurring Disorders: Treatment

in Alcoholism / Co-Occuring Disorders / Cocaine / Depression / Drinking / Drugs & Alcohol / Heroin / Marijuana / Mental Health / mental illness / Molly-Ecstasy / Other / Post Traumatic Stress Disorder / Prescription Drugs / Recovery / Sleep / Stress / Treatment by acsteens July 15, 2014January 27, 2022 0 comments

By: JoAnn Kukulus, M.S. Clinical Psychology BBS Registered Intern at Adolescent Counseling Services Part II of blog series on Co-Occurring Disorders Read Part I: Co-Occurring Disorders: Diagnosis Regardless of which issue presented first, mental health or alcohol/substance abuse, recovery depends on acknowledging and treating both the alcohol/substance abuse and the mental health issue. The most […]

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 […]

ACS Meets the Challenge: Treating Co-Occurring Disorders

in Co-Occuring Disorders / Disorders / Mental Health / Recovery by acsteens January 24, 2013January 27, 2022 0 comments

Adolescent Counseling Services (ACS) has long served the mental health needs of teens and their families on the Peninsula. In 1991, ACS launched the Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment (ASAT) Program to treat teens with substance abuse and dependency issues. In the past two years, the program has matured, encompassing multi-modal approaches to treatment for youth […]