New High School Trend: Beer Mile

A dangerous college activity has made its way to high school students and campuses.  Adolescent Counseling Services (ACS) has seen a new trend in our programs: teens participating in a Beer Mile.  What is a beer mile?  According to the “official” Beer Mile website, “The most common format of the beer mile requires a single […]

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Everything You Wanted To Know About Your Middle Schooler But Were Too Afraid To Ask – Part 3

By Philippe Rey, Psy. D. Executive Director of Adolescent Counseling Services Previously we looked at information that helped us recognize when a problem in our middle school children is serious enough to require professional assistance, versus a bout of normal adolescent behavior or mood change. This week we will focus on substances and how best […]

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Everything You Wanted To Know About Your Middle Schooler But Were Too Afraid To Ask – Part 2

By Philippe Rey, Psy.D. Executive Director of Adolescent Counseling Services Let’s start this second part of our conversation by making sure that we all understand that middle school is a time for fluctuations in physical and emotional energy. During this time, kids experiment with risk taking, have an increased sense of curiosity, love danger and […]

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New Series: Everything You Wanted To Know About Your Middle Schooler but Were Afraid To Ask

By Philippe Rey, Psy.D. Executive Director of Adolescent Counseling Services The goal for this blog series on middle schoolers is to provide you with the tools and information you need to have a more open and genuine conversation with your child.  Additionally, this blog series will prepare your family for the difficult topics of conversation […]

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Ten Ways to Foster Resilience in Your Child/Adolescent

By Chris Chiochios, MFT, ATR-BC, Site Director at JLS Middle School I attended the “From ZZZZ’s to A’s” event last Thursday evening and was thinking about all the different issues, worries, and concerns being discussed.  I had wanted to attend this event to hear Dr. Amy Saltzman talk about the issue of mindfulness and how […]

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Your Teen’s Shyness May Not Be “Just a Phase”

Puberty can bring an onset of mixed emotions which can surface as unique traits and characteristics you probably had never seen before in your child. Becoming less social, less talkative, and overall more introverted is actually common among many teens. The heightened fear of falling into a social faux pas causes many teens to dodge […]

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How to Manage School Refusal Behaviors

How to Manage School Refusal Behaviors (aka when ‘playing hooky’ becomes a serious situation)    by Christina Walker, Psy.D., Site Director at Menlo-Atherton High School “I don’t want to go to school today.”  Is there a parent who hasn’t heard this plaintive cry from a child or adolescent?  Children and teenagers can and will miss […]

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Teens and Drinking: Beyond the Obvious Influences

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 […]

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