New Ways Teens are Using Tobacco: Vaping, Chewing and Smoking

Source: yourteenmag.com By Jane Parent Nick started dipping as a sophomore in high school because many of his lacrosse teammates were. “It was the cool thing to do,” and chew helped him to relieve stress and relax. He began, however, to notice a pattern:  after chewing, he felt groggy and lethargic. It took six long weeks […]

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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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What is “Palcohol”?

By: Beverly Reyes ACS Intern in Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment Program Source:  http://www.cbsnews.com/news/palcohol-powdered-alcohol-may-present-serious-health-risks/ A new product going by the brand name Palcohol got a rush of media attention this week. Palcohol is simply freeze-dried alcohol in powder form, packaged in small packets that promise an easy way to take a stiff drink on the go. Some health […]

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Did you know it’s “National Catch Your Teen Doing Something Right” Month?

By Merrett Sheridan, LMFT Site Director at Palo Alto High School Ok so I made that up, but why not?   Ask yourself when was the last time you gave your teen a truly heartfelt “atta boy” for something significant and for no reason other than to make them feel good?  By significant I don’t mean thanking them […]

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Teens and Parties

By: JoAnn Kukulus, MS, MFTI ACS Intern When our children were young, we parents had a hand in just about everything they did. We took on the responsibility of organizing and structuring their time in such a way that we knew what they were doing each minute of each day. If we couldn’t actually oversee the […]

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Erasing the Stigma of Mental Illness

by Katie Luce, LMFT Site Director of Jordan Middle School and Redwood Continuation High School Stigma regarding mental illness is an issue that needs to be addressed, even in our educated and progressive community. We must be careful about the words we use, especially in front of our children, and work to educate others in […]

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Depression, anxiety and social phobias rising in kids, educators say

By Sharon Noguchi Source: http://www.mercurynews.com/health A popular and accomplished Los Altos High student received a parent’s text message at school last year, to come home to talk about her grades. The student and star athlete had earned all A’s — except one D. She asked to be excused from English class to go to the bathroom, […]

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What do teens want from their parents?

By: Charlotte Villemoes, LMFT ACS On-Campus Counseling Site Director at Woodside High School Before I make a call home to a parent, I always ask the teen I have been seeing if they have any messages for mom and dad that they would like me to deliver. They always do. Most of the time the message […]

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My Teen Does Not Think Marijuana is Dangerous- What Do I Say

Source: Yourteenmag.com Expert: Mark McConville Ph.D. QUESTION: My teen does not think that marijuana is dangerous. He thinks it should be legal and as far as he is concerned, everyone he knows uses it with any detrimental effort. So why shouldn’t he? What can I do to convince him otherwise. Yours is an increasingly common challenge for […]

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Who’s In Your Teen’s Village?

by Martha Chan, LMFT Site Director at Terman Middle School By now the saying that “It takes a village to raise a child” has entered our language, but what does it mean for the parents of teenagers?  When our children enter adolescence, one of their primary developmental tasks is to branch out beyond the immediate family […]

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