Some Tips for Getting Through the Holidays With a Troubled Teen

By Ronni J. Gillenson ACS Program Director, On-Campus Counseling Progra Just because there is ‘holiday cheer’ in the air doesn’t mean that life for a teen has changed all that much.  In fact, the holidays can be a trying time for them.  During the season that everyone is to be happy and giving, this could […]

Read More

Everything You Wanted To Know About Your Middle Schooler But Were Too Afraid To Ask – Part 3

By Philippe Rey, Psy. D. Executive Director of Adolescent Counseling Services Previously we looked at information that helped us recognize when a problem in our middle school children is serious enough to require professional assistance, versus a bout of normal adolescent behavior or mood change. This week we will focus on substances and how best […]

Read More

Everything You Wanted To Know About Your Middle Schooler But Were Too Afraid To Ask – Part 2

By Philippe Rey, Psy.D. Executive Director of Adolescent Counseling Services Let’s start this second part of our conversation by making sure that we all understand that middle school is a time for fluctuations in physical and emotional energy. During this time, kids experiment with risk taking, have an increased sense of curiosity, love danger and […]

Read More

New Series: Everything You Wanted To Know About Your Middle Schooler but Were Afraid To Ask

By Philippe Rey, Psy.D. Executive Director of Adolescent Counseling Services The goal for this blog series on middle schoolers is to provide you with the tools and information you need to have a more open and genuine conversation with your child.  Additionally, this blog series will prepare your family for the difficult topics of conversation […]

Read More

Ten Ways to Foster Resilience in Your Child/Adolescent

By Chris Chiochios, MFT, ATR-BC, Site Director at JLS Middle School I attended the “From ZZZZ’s to A’s” event last Thursday evening and was thinking about all the different issues, worries, and concerns being discussed.  I had wanted to attend this event to hear Dr. Amy Saltzman talk about the issue of mindfulness and how […]

Read More

How to Manage School Refusal Behaviors

How to Manage School Refusal Behaviors (aka when ‘playing hooky’ becomes a serious situation)    by Christina Walker, Psy.D., Site Director at Menlo-Atherton High School “I don’t want to go to school today.”  Is there a parent who hasn’t heard this plaintive cry from a child or adolescent?  Children and teenagers can and will miss […]

Read More

Teens and Drinking: Beyond the Obvious Influences

when trying to find the influence behind a teen’s fixation with alcohol, there are the usual suspects- their closest friends, the boyfriend/girlfriend, or the environment at home. But recent studies are showing that the linkage between teens and alcohol may not be as direct as it seems. Studies show that if a teen is in […]

Read More

Living With a Teenager

Living with a Teenager by Robyn Alagona, MFT It can be difficult to predict daily life with a teenager. Teenagers have a reputation for being unpredictable, capricious, even inflexible. As an adult, living with an adolescent, it can feel frustrating, anxiety-producing and worrisome to experience the erratic changes teens go through in a week, a […]

Read More