Mental Health Articles and Episodes

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Traveling New Roads Together

Traveling New Roads Together

If the kids are misbehaving, does the fault completely lay on their shoulders? What if we learned alongside our teens instead of just dictating the rules?

5 Ways to Connect with a Teen

5 Ways to Connect with a Teen

In my Teen Life Support Group last semester, I had a student who seemingly did not want to be there. She refused to talk. She crossed her arms. She kept her head down. After the first week, we talked to her and said that she didn’t have to talk but needed to participate as a member of the group. She reluctantly did the activities, but still never spoke a word. A few weeks later, another student asked about my family. I explained that my parents live in Alabama, and I don’t see them very often because of the distance. Immediately, my standoffish student spoke. “Wait, you’re from Alabama? Me too.” In that moment, we had created a connection. Connection. It sounds so easy, right? But how often do we strive to achieve it and come up short?

Confronting the Momo Problem

Confronting the Momo Problem

Find out how to handle conversations about worrying internet issues like suicide ideation, drug use, and body image in a way that is helpful to teenagers?

ACEs

ACEs

ACE – Does that mean anything to you? For some it might conjure up the lyrics of an old George Straight song that says, “You’ve got to have an ace in the hole.” For others it brings images of poker games and winning hands. For others, names of all-star professional baseball pitchers. For others, the experience of serving in tennis and never getting a volley back. Maybe for you, it’s the terminology for someone who is always seemingly ahead – “He’s holding all the aces.” But how many of you saw ACE and thought about difficult childhood experiences? I’m guessing not very many of you. This past week I had the opportunity to sit in a training which discussed trauma informed care. As part of that discussion, the ACEs were mentioned.