How to Recognize a Child in Crisis and Intervene Appropriately

Written By: Andrew Cecil, Clinical Trainee at ACS, Adolescent Substance Addiction Treatment Program IT IS COMMONfor parents to feel concerned about their child’s well-being when they notice things like poor academic performance, substance use, and unhealthy relationships. However, few parents are as familiar with the behavioral signs of a crisis. A crisis refers to a […]

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Adolescent Substance Use: How and When to Talk to Your Teen

Written By: Kenzie Bohnsack, Clinical PhD Trainee at ACS, Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment Program as children emerge into their teenage years, parents may begin to worry about their adolescent’s use of substances, such as alcohol, marijuana, tobacco, and other drugs. Substance use is often initiated and quite common during adolescence. Alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco are […]

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Why There’s No Better Time than Now to Quit Vaping

Written By: Wen Soon, Clinical Intern at ACS, Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment Program EVERY YEAR, people wait until January 1st to make important resolutions and commitments to change their bad habits. People erroneously believe the new year will somehow give them the motivation to finally change. However, U.S. News and World Report (2015) shared that […]

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Why Do Our Teens Use Cannabis (and What Can We Do About It)?

Written By: Ingrid Ammondson, PhD, Program Director, ACS’ Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment Program Any of you who have attended parent education seminars at your school or at Adolescent Counseling Services already know that adolescence is an exciting (and sometimes dangerous) time of physiological, psychological, and spiritual growth. So much so that we might imagine placing […]

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Executive Function and Substance Use

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 […]

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