A Parent’s Guide to Teen Depression

Source: http://www.pamfblog.org/ Meg Durbin, M.D. a board-certified internist and pediatrician at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation Although being moody and irritable is often normal for teenagers, depression is not simply a side effect of growing up. Depression is a serious medical condition that affects approximately one in five teens before they reach adulthood and is the leading […]

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Conference on adolescent mental health & addiction – Menlo Park, 2/28, 9am-3:30pm

Adolescent Counseling Services‘ Executive Director, Philippe Rey, Psy.D., will be a keynote speaker at Parenting Teens Through the Challenges of Life: A conference on adolescent health and addiction. This conference will help you understand what adolescents deal with and provide information on helpful resources. The keynotes and afternoon workshops, led by experts in their fields, will discuss […]

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The Poison of Perfectionism

Image:CollegeDegree360 by Merrett Sheridan, LMFT, Site Director at Palo Alto High School “I’ve failed over and over again in my life, and that is why I succeed” – Michael Jordan “Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly” – Robert F. Kennedy At Adolescent Counseling Services at PALY, the most common issue […]

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Co-Occurring Disorders: Treatment

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 […]

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Co-Occurring Disorders: Diagnosis

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 […]

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Asking For Help – It’s Ok

Jennica Janssen, LMFTI ACS Outpatient Counseling Intern Is there anything wrong with asking for help? As you read this question, you are probably thinking, “Of course not.” However, the truth is that most people do not want to reach out of their comfort zone and ask for help. Instead, people accept too much responsibility and […]

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How to Address Self-Harm with my Child

Continuation of blog post ” Cutting As Pain Relief? Understanding and Helping Teens Who Self Harm” The following tips were excerpted from The Cornell Research Program on Self-Injurious Behavior in Adolescents and Young Adults, www.crpsib.com, Copyright 2012. How should I talk to my child about his/her self-injury? Address the issue as soon as possible. Don’t […]

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TeenSphere-A Teen Self-help App

Have you heard the phrase, “There’s an App for that.” Well apparently that is true in the case of teen mental health, as well. Its called  TeenSphere. The app is designed by a licensed psychotherapist who worked with kids for years.  The topics it covers are all from teens’ real life concerns and worries.  There are […]

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How to Spot the First Signs of Teen Depression

Recently About.com posted a really helpful post about the “First Signs of Teen Depression.” The post was written by About.com’s resident teen health expert Denise Witmer. Here is the beginning of Denise’s post. Many times parents of teens who have tried to or have committed suicide struggle with the idea that there were signs of […]

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From the Inside-Life As An ACS Intern

By: Ildiko Ran On-Campus Counseling Program Intern at Menlo-Atherton High School “I feel so much better that I got all that off my chest. I can go back to class now” – said one of my clients after a session when she unloaded the overwhelming stress that surrounds her everyday life. She keeps up the […]

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