How to Recognize a Child in Crisis and Intervene Appropriately

Written By: Andrew Cecil, Clinical Trainee at ACS, Adolescent Substance Addiction Treatment Program IT IS COMMONfor parents to feel concerned about their child’s well-being when they notice things like poor academic performance, substance use, and unhealthy relationships. However, few parents are as familiar with the behavioral signs of a crisis. A crisis refers to a […]

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Irritated or Debilitated: Helping your Teen Identify their Depression

Written By: Brett Trace, Clinical Trainee at ACS, Outlet Program If You’rea parent of a teen or someone who works with teens, odds are you’ve encountered teenage irritability. What may have felt like an easygoing, straightforward comment might cause your teen to become angry or withdraw from the conversation. Friends that they’ve had for a […]

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Social Media & Self-Confidence

Written By: Wendy Ortiz-Rodriguez, Clinical Trainee at ACS, On-Campus Counseling Program SOCIAL MEDIAhas become popular over the years and it has become one of the main sources for communication and entertainment. As much as we love to scroll through our electronic devices and keep up with our favorite role models, friends, family and so much […]

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Orthorexia: When Healthy Eating Becomes An Unhealthy Obsession

Written By: Megan Collom, Clinical Trainee at ACS, On-Campus Counseling Program ALTHOUGH IT IS NOTas well known as other eating disorders, orthorexia is just as damaging and dangerous. Orthorexia is not formally recognized by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manuel and is not an official diagnosis, yet, it is still a form of disordered eating. Orthorexia […]

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Practicing Compassion to Balance Masculinity

Written By: Cristian Lemus, Clinical Trainee at ACS, Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment Program TRADITIONAL MASCULINITYis a social construct that presents itself in many different forms across the world. In the U.S., masculinity typically embodies winning, hyper-sexuality, controlling one’s emotions, risk-taking, violence, dominance, and dislike of being perceived as gay (Mahalik et al., 2003). When masculinity […]

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Body Image in Adolescence

Written By: Tucker Chopp, Clinical Intern at ACS, Outlet Program for many young people,the teenage years become increasingly fraught with highly self-conscious thinking. It is typical for adolescents to become preoccupied with how they are perceived by others and how they fit into society. How teens present themselves physically often becomes a significant concern in […]

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Tech-Positive Parenting

Written By:  Deborah Sloss, LCSW, ACS Site Supervisor, On-Campus Counseling Program   Teenagers today are constantly “plugged in”– gaming, texting, tweeting, or posting on Snapchat and Instagram.  As parents, we worry that our kids are addicted, detached, and distracted by their digital devices.  We struggle with how to set appropriate limits and how to keep […]

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Here’s How Schools Can Support Students’ Mental Health

 Written By: Meg Anderson, nprED About one in five children in the United States shows signs of a mental health disorder — anything from ADHD to eating disorders to suicide. And yet, as we’ve been reporting this month, many schools aren’t prepared to work with these students. Often, there’s been too little training in recognizing the […]

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Marijuana use and abuse rates decline among US teens

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 […]

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A Conversation With Your Teens

Written By:  Monica Ippolito, ACS Clinical Intern, Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment and Community Counseling Programs If any parents of teenagers happen to be of Generation X, then you can reminisce with me about the cartoons we grew up watching. Cartoons like G.I. Joe, She-Ra, He-Man, The Care Bears, The Smurfs, and Inspector Gadget all had […]

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