Mental Health

Do Not Expect a Stress Free Holiday Season

in Anxiety / Parent Tips / Parenting / Stress / Teaching Mindfulness / Teens and holidays / Uncategorized  by Lindsey Leason 0 comments

image: Adam Lederer  By: Ana Jimenez Adolescent Counseling Services’ Intern The holidays are here! The holidays are here! Lights everywhere, food and family!  For the young, the best part is school is out! Others are off work. It is December, the time when families celebrate holidays like Christmas, Hanukah, or Kwannza. When we think about the holidays, […]

Read More ›

Internet Gaming Addiction: Perspectives From a Former Gamer

in Gaming Addiction / Internet gaming disorder / Risky Behaviour  by Lindsey Leason 0 comments

Image:Federico Morando “internet addiction” By: Evan Sahn After-School Counseling Program Intern   Internet gaming disorder (IGD) represents a relatively new and growing phenomenon in the fields of mental health and video games.  IGD is new largely because the ability to utilize the Internet to play addicting video games has only existed for about 15 years.  In […]

Read More ›

Executive Function and Substance Use

in Adolescent Brain / Behavioral Norms / Drugs & Alcohol / Mental Health / Risky Behaviour  by Lindsey Leason 0 comments

Image: CC0 Public Domain By: JoAnn Kukulus, MS Clinical Psychology; MFT Intern ACS Outpatient Counseling Services I went to the gym, got the kids off to school, walked the dog, and am now ready to head to work on time. As I’m reaching into the refrigerator to grab my lunch I receive a phone call from the […]

Read More ›

Opinion:Destigmatize Counseling in the Palo Alto Community

in Academic Stress / Anger Management / Behavioral Norms / Co-Occuring Disorders / Depression / Disorders / Grief / Mental Health / mental illness / Post Traumatic Stress Disorder / Risky Behaviour / Self-Harm / Sleep / Social Anxiety / Stigma / Stress / Suicide / Teen Peer Groups / Teen self-esteem  by Lindsey Leason 0 comments

Image: Cascadian Farm Source: palyvoice.com by: Lydia Barry Published November 9, 2014 Counseling at Palo Alto High School is highly stigmatized, and is a concept many students are ignorant towards. Some do not know what Adolescent Counseling Services (ACS) is or exactly what it does. “I don’t think people utilize [counseling] as much as they could,” senior […]

Read More ›

10 Tips to Help Your Teen Succeed this School Year

in Parent Tips / Parent-Teen Communication / Parenting / Sleep / Stress / Teens and Technology / Uncategorized  by Lindsey Leason 0 comments

Image: Ludwig By: Monica Ippolito ACS After-School Counseling Program Intern Now that the fun of returning to school is starting to wear off here are some ways that you can help your teen be there best this year: 1. Attend School Daily: Reserve sick days for those in which your teen has a fever, nauseated, […]

Read More ›

Adolescents in Middle School: Part 2

in Depression / Mental Health / Mental Health / Middle School Behavior / Parent Tips / Parenting / Recent Trends / Self-Harm  by acsteens 0 comments

Image: darcyadelaide “Depression please cut to the chase” Originally posted March 12, 2010 and has been updated By: Philippe Rey, Psy.D. Executive Director Let’s take a look at data from the California Adolescent Health Collaborative, which sheds light on issues affecting adolescents during the ages they are in middle school. Source: http://www.californiateenhealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Mental_Health_Fact_Sheet.pdf Major depression strikes about 1 […]

Read More ›

Adolescents in Middle School: Part 1

in Behavioral Norms / Middle School Behavior / Parent Tips / Parent-Teen Communication / Puberty  by acsteens 0 comments

Image: Peter Ihlenfeld “Sicherheitshinweis Teenager im Haus” Originally Posted March 10, 2010 and has been updated By: Philippe Rey, Psy.D. As adolescents go through the physical changes of puberty, they also must deal with a variety of psychological changes. As a parent of an adolescent entering middle school it’s a good idea to get acquainted with a […]

Read More ›

Co-Occurring Disorders: Treatment

in Alcoholism / Co-Occuring Disorders / Cocaine / Depression / Drinking / Drugs & Alcohol / Heroin / Marijuana / Mental Health / mental illness / Molly-Ecstasy / Other / Post Traumatic Stress Disorder / Prescription Drugs / Recovery / Sleep / Stress / Treatment  by acsteens 0 comments

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 […]

Read More ›

Co-Occurring Disorders: Diagnosis

in Alcoholism / Co-Occuring Disorders / Cocaine / Depression / Disorders / Drinking / Drugs & Alcohol / Marijuana / Mental Health / Molly-Ecstasy / Other / Recovery / Risky Behaviour / Self-Harm / Stress  by acsteens 0 comments

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 […]

Read More ›

Ambien Abuse and Teens

in Ambien / Anxiety / Drugs & Alcohol / Mental Health  by acsteens 0 comments

By: Tiffany Goodsite Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment Program Intern According to the Partnership at Drugfree.org, many of today’s teens abuse Ambien.  Often called “A-minus” or “Zombie pills,” the teens who take them report experiencing hallcuinations or blackouts while under the influence of the drug and rather than trying to go to sleep, teens who take the […]

Read More ›