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 […]

Continue reading →

The Language of Teen Love

Source: yourteenmag.com By: Samantha Zabell For anyone who has accused a teen of having a limited vocabulary, consider the effort that has gone into coming up with an entire glossary around the teenage love scene. Here, the most important to help you stay in the loop. Talking: Leave it to the teens to take the act of chatting and […]

Continue reading →

Do Your Teens Know That You Adore Them?

by Rom Brafman Ph.D., Site Director at La Entrada Middle School It recently occurred to me that few people I have come across truly believe that they are great. Women appear to be even more apt to have difficulties owning their greatness.  Ask someone whether they think they are great and they’re likely to look […]

Continue reading →

Help Your Teen Deal with Peers

Source: YourTeenMag.com It’s painful to watch our teenagers struggle with peer relationships at school or anywhere. But it’s important to let your teenager take the lead in solving these problems, say the experts. Here are three ways to help (without taking over). Listen first; suggest second. If teens confide in you, they may not want […]

Continue reading →

How Do You Get Them to Talk?

by Martha Chan, LMFT, Site Director for Terman Middle School I recently attended a workshop for therapists and social workers, and I mentioned to the woman sitting next to me that I work with teenagers in a school-based counseling program.  She looked surprised and a bit uneasy, and asked, “How do you get them to […]

Continue reading →

ACS’ Program Directors Words of Advice for the Holidays

With the holidays quickly approaching, many parents wonder how to survive this time of year with their troubled teens.  Here are some words of advice from Adolescent Counseling Services’ experienced program directors: Roni Gillenson, LMFT On-Campus Counseling Program Director In my work with teens and families over almost 20 years, probably my favorite moments have […]

Continue reading →

Helping Teens as They Look into the Future

by Martha Chan, M.A., LMFT, Site Director for Terman Middle School and parent of Gunn High School graduates, class of ’99 and class of ’03 I want to carry forward some of the resilience concepts that my colleague, Chris Chiochios, wrote about in an earlier newsletter: accepting our children for who they are and helping them to […]

Continue reading →

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 […]

Continue reading →

How Can Parents Positively Affect Their Teens Self-Image

A really great website for parents and teens is Radical Parenting which has “parenting advice written by teens.” One of the resources this site provides is a licensed psychologist, Dr. Allison Agliata, who is an onsite school counselor in Florida. She writes a Q&A section for the website and from time to time provides articles. […]

Continue reading →

How to Choose the Best Therapist for Your Teenager

According to the website About.com, a website that offers expert advice and quality content that helps users find solutions to a wide range of daily needs – from parenting, health care and technology to cooking, travel and many others, there are some things to know before choosing a therapist for your adolescent son/daughter. Expert Kathryn […]

Continue reading →