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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Cultivating Mastery and Success WITH Your Teen

by Chris Chiochios, LMFT, Site Director at JLS Middle School With so much emphasis on achievement and concern about our children being prepared and “ready” to enter adulthood and be “successful”, there is a hidden cost that many youth can experience.  This cost involves developing a mindset that becomes fixed on what success means and […]

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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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May 9th is National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day

May 9th, 2013 is the National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day and SAMHSA wants everyone to participate. National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day is a key strategy of the Caring for Every Child’s Mental Health Campaign, which is part of the Public Awareness and Support Strategic Initiative by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services […]

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6 Tips for Getting Through the Holidays with a Troubled Teen

Article came from About.com By Denise Witmer The holiday season is often portrayed as a time for happy families to come together but if your family includes a troubled teen the holiday season may be anything but happy. Idea #1: Set realistic expectations. If you have a teen who is depressed don’t expect she will […]

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Blog Series: Nutrition and Mental Health – The Importance of Sharing a Family Meal

Article by Philippe Rey, Psy.D. Executive Director of ACS I would like to begin this series by quoting Marion Cunningham, an advocate of home cooking who just recently died in her 90’s: “Too many families seldom sit down together; it’s gobble and go… eating food on the run, reheating it in relays in the microwave […]

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What is Intermittent Explosive Disorder?

Blog content from the CNN blog: Health page A study published in the July issue of the journal Archives of General Psychiatry says 1 in 12 adolescents may in fact be suffering from a real and severe anger problem known as intermittent explosive disorder (IED). Study author Katie McLaughlin, a clinical psychologist and psychiatric epidemiologist, says IED […]

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National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week-Speak Up for Your Child’s Mental Health

May 6-12 is National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week organized by the Child Mind Institute and supported by a number of adolescent health and substance abuse organizations. The following is a message from the president of the Child Mind institute, Harold S. Koplewicz, M.D., a leading child and adolescent psychiatrist. Why is it important to […]

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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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Affordable Care Act Provides Teens Access to Mental Health

As the US Supreme Court sits in deliberation over legal issues that surround the Affordable Care Act (ACA) (ie. health care reform); one group of health care professionals, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has stepped out as supporters of the bill. “This law has already helped maintain or improve access to preventive services for […]

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