acs-teens.org

The nonprofit agency prioritizes teen mental wellness and the need for more funding at free community fundraiser PALO ALTO, Calif. — Adolescent Counseling Services (ACS), a nonprofit agency delivering comprehensive mental health services to help individuals grow and thrive during the challenges of youth, will hold its annual fundraising luncheon, Spring for Support, on Wednesday, April 24, 2019 from 11:30 am – 1:00 pm at the Oshman Family JCC in Palo Alto

However, what began as a public health problem of primarily young and middle-aged males is now an epidemic of prescription and illicit opioid abuse that is taking its toll on all segments of society, including children and adolescents. Millions of children and adolescents are routinely exposed to these potent and addictive drugs in their homes, schools, and communities, however, most policies and practices in the opioid field have focused on adults. For example, successful substance use treatment programs geared toward teens (and even some young adults) are often family-based, incorporating parents, siblings and others close to the adolescent in treatment. A local resource is ACS’ Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment Program (ASAT) which provides professional assessment and outpatient treatment services specifically designed for youth struggling with substance abuse and/or addiction.

– it’s to highlight that the first person I’ve learned to take care of in the morning is me, which is an important lesson to remember as a therapist. One of the things I’m learning really quickly about becoming a mental health professional, especially with teens, is that you don’t have control over what’s going to come out of anyone’s mouth. Whether it’s listening to a young woman who is trying to sort out her sexual trauma, or hearing about a young man whose family is paying a ridiculous amount of money to rent a garage with his 5 younger siblings, or talking to an exceptional young woman who is agonizing about making the right decision on where to go to college because she will be the first in her family to attend a 4 year university. When I come out of the gym every morning, it makes me feel like I’ve put on a mental health super hero uniform and I feel transformed by taking care of myself so that I can be able to handle the profession of mental health.

Developing a better understanding about individual family members’ needs and how to manage disagreements when they arise are important goals in managing family conflict. It might be helpful at this point to address the idea of underlying needs, and how when these underlying needs are not met, conflict can result. Active listening involves showing interest and asking questions for more information, clarifying what we think we understand, checking that we understand what the other person is feeling, summarizing the situation, and validating the thoughts and feelings of the other person (this does not necessarily mean agreeing with their perspective, but having a better understanding of their position). The approach is simple and uses three steps: i) consider your own perspective, and reflect on why you are feeling upset about the situation; ii) consider the perspective of the other person, essentially, put yourself in the other person’s shoes, and reflect on why they are feeling upset; and iii) imagine you are a spectator of the conflict, and what do you see in your own behavior and perspective?