Finding Strength: An ACS Newsletter – Issue 2

Adolescent Counseling Services (ACS) has started a new weekly newsletter as a resource for young people and parents through shelter-in-place. Articles include content written by our clinicians and young clients. Please click below to view or print!

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How To Help A Sensitive Child During the Holidays

Written By: Catherine Wohlwend, ACS Site Manager at La Entrada Middle School, On-Campus Counseling Program The holidays can be stressful for anyone, but if you have a child that is highly sensitive, anxious, dealing with a loss or just simply struggling, the holiday season may not be the magical time that we see curated for […]

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Anxiety: How to Help your Teen Cope

Written By: Antonina Taranova, Trainee at ACS, On-Campus Counseling Program what should parents know about anxiety? One in five adolescents may develop an anxiety disorder over the span of their adolescence. Such anxiety disorders can have a dramatic impact on the daily life of children and constitute a risk factor for more severe mental disorders […]

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Trauma-Informed Care in Adolescents

Written By: Kate Polk, Trainee at ACS, On-Campus Counseling Program TRAUMA is more common than we think. Darnell, Flaster, Hendricks, Kerbrat, & Comtois (2019) mention in their article that among adolescents between the ages of 13-17, 62% have been exposed to at least one or more traumatic event throughout their lifetime. These numbers are high, […]

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Anxiety

Written By: Marcus Randolph, MFT Intern at ACS, On-Campus Counseling Program you know how mental health therapists have that popular saying? “Anxiety is dwelling or thinking too much about the future, and depression is dwelling or thinking too much about the past.” For those of us in the field of mental health, we know it’s […]

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Understanding and Managing Student Stress

Written By: Dara Gray Tynefield, AMFT at ACS, On-Campus Counseling Program Eustress vs. Distress For our students, the excitement of a new school year often gives way to a full routine of classwork, homework, extracurriculars, sports, clubs, arts, friends, family, jobs… and while the positive stress of a full and productive schedule is not inherently […]

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Isn’t there an ‘App’ for that?! Real perspective on College Application Anxiety

Written By:  JoAnn Kukulus, MFTI, On-Campus Counseling Program Site Coordinator Cooler weather, changing seasons, shorter days, Autumn holidays…..COLLEGE APPLICATIONS!!! High school students in general are reporting greater stress than ever and with deadlines for submitting college applications. Admission to next fall’s academic term is rapidly approaching, and to be perfectly honest, now is possibly one of […]

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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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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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