Written By: Dafne Luna, Outlet Program Coordinator The use of recreational drugs and alcohol in this community is incredibly widespread and, unfortunately, is sometimes encouraged as a cultural norm. For many queer and trans* youth, drinking is almost a rite of passage into Queer culture. There are very few places, meetups, and activities where large […]
Written By: JoAnn Kukulus, MFTI | ACS’ Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment Program & Community Counseling Program Recently I had the opportunity to become trained and certified to implement a group and individual curriculum called “Mindfulness-Based Substance Abuse Treatment for Adolescents,” which the ACS programs are beginning to utilize. This relatively new evidence-based curriculum, founded by Sam Himelstein […]
PALO ALTO, Calif. — Adolescent Counseling Services (ACS), a community-based nonprofit agency delivering comprehensive mental health services to help individuals grow and thrive during the challenges of youth, is presenting a free community symposium on adolescent addiction. Protecting Our Developing Youth: Adolescent Addiction, Prevention & Recovery will be hosted on Saturday, March 5, 2016 from […]
Written By: Alex Basche, ACS Clinical Intern, Community Counseling Program and Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment Program Love: it can make your heart skip a beat, spawn butterflies in your stomach and has been called by some as the “ultimate drug”. We’ve seen it on TV, heard it lauded in songs and read about it […]
Written By: Deborah Sloss, LCSW | ACS Site Supervisor, On-Campus Counseling Program Most of us have experienced anxiety at some point in our lives. Some people even feel a moderate amount of anxiety spurs them to action. However, for others, anxiety can start to interfere with their day-to-day functioning. According to the National Institute of […]
Written By: Dafne Luna, Outlet Program Coordinator and Group Facilitator We live in this society where the second part of the December is intended to be spent in a happy coexistence with family, friends, and everyone else in the world. However, this time of the year can be really hard for a lot […]
Written By: Laura Cole, Clinical Intern, ACS Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment Program and Community Counseling Program There are few people who enter recovery with feelings of exuberance. Generally, pain and consequences are the catalysts for seeking help; and those experiences do not tend to generate warm and fuzzy feelings of hope. Hence, the ‘road to […]
By: Christine Miller, ACS Clinical Intern, Community Counseling Program and Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment Program Have you ever noticed that your friends, family, children, or even yourself, feel “down” when the days grow shorter and the weather becomes colder? Maybe you feel irritable, sad, experience a change in appetite or sleeping patterns, or have […]
Written By: Kelly Sumner, LMFT, ACS On-Campus Counseling Program Site Supervisor I need to start here by acknowledging that I am not a parent and thus do not understand first hand the pressure parents face to raise their children into well-adjusted, successful, happy, moralistic, responsible members of society in today’s world. It’s a […]
Written By: Ann M. Stillingfleet, ACS Clinical Intern, Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment and Community Counseling Programs Image: Torben Hansen, Marijuana Joint We all too often hear teens tell us that anxiety and stress are their most persistent issues at home, in school, with peers and with their perception of themselves. We also hear the […]
