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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Adolescence and Suicide

Written By: Dylan Lockey, Clinical Trainee at ACS, On-Campus Counseling Program For many, adolescenceis a period of intense change, be it physical, emotional, social, and cognitive. It can be simultaneously filled with the highs of endless possibilities and excitement over the future, and the low periods of doubt, frustration, anxiety, and intense stress. It is […]

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Being Mindful of Depressing Thoughts

Written By: Alonzo Howard, BS, Clinical Intern at ACS, On-Campus Counseling Program negative thoughtsare the leading cause of future episodes of depression. Depressive episodes may occur at any point of the year. However, findings show higher rates of major depressive episodes during November and December. During this season there is an increase in conflict between […]

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Youth Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic: What You Can Do

Written By: Patricia H. Scherer, MS, Clinical Intern at ACS, On-Campus Counseling Program The COVID-19 pandemichas been raising concerns about mental health around the globe. Research indicates that since the onset of the pandemic, psychological distress, including symptoms of anxiety and depression, have been rising in the general population. However, adolescents during the pandemic experience […]

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Supporting Adolescent Immigrants

Written By: Ruby Ortiz, Clinical Trainee at ACS, On-Campus Counseling Program a CHILD’S EXPERIENCEwhen immigrating to the United States and adapting to a new reality is often one that is overlooked. However, it is important to know that from 1989 to 2001, the U.S. accepted approximately 400,000 refugee children (Xu, 2007). We should recognize that […]

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The Benefits of Journaling

Written By: Madeline Lee, Clinical Trainee at ACS, On-Campus Counseling Program journalingis a great, cost-effective therapeutic tool that can be beneficial for a large range of situations. There are studies showing that different populations ranging from young school children to expecting or new mothers benefit from journaling. For instance, the school students reported that journaling […]

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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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Cultural Stressors in Youth

Written By: Kyara Mendez-Serrano, Clinical Intern at ACS, On-Campus Counseling Program life as a teenagercan be a confusing time to navigate. It is a period in which folks no longer identify with being children, but they are not yet considered adults. In the midst of this journey, some adolescents might be experiencing the added pressure […]

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Handling stress during the Covid-19 pandemic // Manejo del estrés durante la pandemia de Covid-19

Written By: Elizabeth Rivera, Clinical Trainee at ACS, On-Campus Counseling Program and Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment Program In English: WE HAVE NOW BEEN sheltering in place for almost 8 months – remember when we thought we’d be out of this in just a few months? The Covid-19 pandemic has inevitably affected our lives: from changes […]

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Trauma-Informed Care in Adolescents

Written By: Kate Polk, Trainee at ACS, On-Campus Counseling Program TRAUMA is more common than we think. Darnell, Flaster, Hendricks, Kerbrat, & Comtois (2019) mention in their article that among adolescents between the ages of 13-17, 62% have been exposed to at least one or more traumatic event throughout their lifetime. These numbers are high, […]

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