How to Make a Safe Teen Driver

With graduation and summer around the corner, AAA and Volvo want to make sure that parents speak to their kids about safe driving habits. According to research from the AAA Foundation seven of the 10 deadliest days of the year for teens fall between the holidays Memorial Day and Labor Day. July and August are […]

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“Fine”: Getting Beyond the One-word Answer

by Rom Brafman PhD., ACS On-Campus Counselor It’s a sure sign that your son or daughter is entering adolescence. You ask them how their school day went, how was the afternoon spent hanging out with friends, or how was the movie they just watched, and you get the overly succinct and curt, “Fine.” Other related […]

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TeenSphere-A Teen Self-help App

Have you heard the phrase, “There’s an App for that.” Well apparently that is true in the case of teen mental health, as well. Its called  TeenSphere. The app is designed by a licensed psychotherapist who worked with kids for years.  The topics it covers are all from teens’ real life concerns and worries.  There are […]

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The Significance of 4/20

The date 4/20 or time 4:20 pm has long been popular with the marijuana sub-culture. Even mainstream media will sometimes mention the infamous date/time in reference to marijuana use. It is used as code or slang for many marijuana users as the time when one smokes. It is also a date that many marijuana users […]

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Marijuana is Most Popular With Teens, How to Notice the Signs of Use

Since marijuana use among teens is thought to be more widespread than alcohol, About.com has posted some very informative statistics about marijuana use amongst teens. These statistics come from trusted government studies and prevention organizations and they tell a powerful story about when our children begin using substances like marijuana. Here are just a few: […]

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Spring Fever or Loss of Motivation: How to Help Your Underachieving Teen

By Jennifer Jones, LCSW, Site Director, Palo Alto High School It’s that time of year; the long winter is over, trees are blossoming, the temperature is warming, and we all want to go to the beach instead of to work.  That’s why Spring Break was invented.  But what if a week of vacation doesn’t revive […]

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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 […]

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How to Spot the First Signs of Teen Depression

Recently About.com posted a really helpful post about the “First Signs of Teen Depression.” The post was written by About.com’s resident teen health expert Denise Witmer. Here is the beginning of Denise’s post. Many times parents of teens who have tried to or have committed suicide struggle with the idea that there were signs of […]

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“Bully”-New Documentary That Addresses Serious Problem For Adolescents

Making the rounds of the festival circuit and personal preview events is a new movie that addresses the prevalence of bullying. The documentary, “Bully”, is 92 minute character driven film that takes a look at the lives of kids who get bullied. Filmed over the 2009/2010 academic school year, the film shows that bullying transcends […]

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