Here’s How Schools Can Support Students’ Mental Health

 Written By: Meg Anderson, nprED About one in five children in the United States shows signs of a mental health disorder — anything from ADHD to eating disorders to suicide. And yet, as we’ve been reporting this month, many schools aren’t prepared to work with these students. Often, there’s been too little training in recognizing the […]

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Back to School Stress Management Tips

Written By: Katie Luce, LMFT, ACS Site Supervisor – La Entrada Middle School  School is back in session, which can create considerable stress for students and their families. The transition from summer vacations, relaxed schedules and no homework to packed schedules can be challenging. Here are some ideas to reduce stress for yourselves and for […]

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Talking to Teens about Violence and Tragedies

Written By: Ann Stillingfleet, ACS Clinical Intern, Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment and Community Counseling Programs Every week the news brings stories of seemingly senseless and random acts of violence — either globally or locally.  How do we talk to our children, especially our teens, about these events when the source of much of what they […]

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Rituals in Therapy

Written By: Ann Stillingfleet, ACS Clinical Intern, Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment and Community Counseling Programs What comes to mind when you think of rituals? Perhaps you visualize a religious ceremony, a celtic gathering in an oak grove,  a medicine man or sage woman conducting a healing or a centuries old tradition passed down through generations. […]

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Understanding differences in mental health symptoms in the LGBTQ community

Reported By: News-Medical  |  Study By: Drexel University  A study exploring the prevalence of mental health symptoms in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and questioning (LGBQ) community, found that the oft-overlooked questioning and bisexual youth face their own significant challenges, particularly when it comes to depression, anxiety and traumatic distress. “I think the failure to include […]

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Wellness Focused for Teens

Written By: Kyle Yamasaki, MFT, ACS Site Supervisor Wellness has been around for millennia, but it feels like a refreshing approach to helping teens with social-emotional problems in our schools.  As the site supervisor for ACS at Redwood Continuation High School (RHS) in the Sequoia Union High School District (SUHSD), I can share some of […]

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Understanding and Coping with Anxiety

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 […]

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Dear Parents: Being a “Good” Parent is Not About Being Perfect!

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 […]

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Alternative Coping Strategies for Teens Turning to Drugs to Reduce Anxiety and Stress

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 […]

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Stressed Out? Music is the Cure!

Image: Stephen McLeod Blythe – Muzak Stephanie Olano ACS Outpatient Counseling Program Clinical Intern Music has played a very important role in my life. From the time I was 10-years-old I could list the various bands that were heavily influenced by The Beatles. Adults found this impressive, but I found this knowledge strange and confusing because they […]

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