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Parents

Parents

Parents

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Parents

How Horses Can Help Teens Overcome Mental Health Issues

Equine-assisted therapy, which involves interacting with horses, is a widely used therapeutic tool, especially with adolescents. The unique sensitivity of horses, and their oft-cited characteristic of being “nonjudgmental”, helps teens develop the same characteristics towards themselves. In equine-assisted therapy (EAT), teens are required to be fully present. They need to watch for and respond to horses’ subtle signals. And they need to practice problem-solving tasks, in the moment, in ways

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October 5, 2019

October is Bullying Prevention Month

Every year during the month of October, students, teachers, parents, and school administrators unite to raise awareness about bullying. Bullying Prevention Month was first organized in 1999 as an initiative of Love Our Children USA, a non-profit dedicated to ending violence and neglect against children in all its forms. In 2003, Love Our Children founder Ross Ellis created STOMP Out Bullying to focus attention specifically on bullying among youth and

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October 4, 2019
Parents

Why Sex Trafficking Victims Need Mental Health Treatment

Sex trafficking is a complex, multilayered issue. Vulnerable young adolescents and teens are recruited by predators, who play on their emotions and weaknesses to eventually gain their trust and then take control. How It All Starts Maricela Vega, a Master’s-level counselor at Evolve Treatment Centers San Diego PHP/IOP, says that many teen girls who become trafficking victims started out talking to someone on social media. Often, they’re lonely or depressed.

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October 3, 2019

Is a Sex Trafficker Talking to Your Daughter Online?

According to a study by The University of Toledo in Ohio, sex traffickers are increasingly using the internet, specifically social media, to recruit and sell adolescents. The study found that traffickers are able to exploit the teens even without ever meeting face to face. Usually, traffickers are preying on vulnerable young teens—usually girls. Through 16 case studies, the report found that most traffickers first start by studying what a teen

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October 2, 2019

DBT, Fitness, and Depression

While exercise has not yet been shown to cure any mental health disorder on its own, there are mountains of evidence showing its benefits on mood, self-concept, and work ethic. Exercise has a huge effect on a teen’s emotional wellbeing and even improves cognition. It also has a host of physical benefits: it increases heart rate, reduces stress, improves sleep, lowers blood pressure, and increases energy. How Exercise Helps with

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September 30, 2019

Grandparents: Keep Your Medications Safe

Kids love going over to their grandparent’s house, and grandparents adore visits from their grandchildren. We’re sure there are exceptions to this, but for the most part we’re confident of the accuracy of that statement. After all, what’s not to love? From the grandparents’ perspective, they get all the love and adoration of the kids – but get to send them home for the meal times and bedtime. And from

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September 27, 2019

Childhood Obesity Awareness Month: Obesity and Adolescent Mental Health

Last year, we published an article for Childhood Obesity Awareness Month that answered this question: What do treatment for substance use, mental health disorders, and obesity have in common? You can read that article in full – Substance Use, Obesity, and Mental Health Treatment: Changing the Paradigm – or read the quick summary that follows. In short, the article points out the fact is that for decades, what treatment for

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September 26, 2019

September is National Pain Awareness Month

Pain Awareness Month: The History Pain Awareness Month began in 2001, when a group of organizations and concerned parties united with a common goal: “To bring awareness to chronic pain and highlight of pain affects individuals, families, communities, and the nation.” This year’s theme for Pain Awareness Month –  #LetsTalkAboutPain –  is designed to reduce stigma around chronic pain and encourage those who suffer from chronic pain to open up

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September 25, 2019

How Art Therapy Will Help With Trauma

What does painting have to do with mental health? Lots, actually. Art therapy is a popular intervention for those with depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, low self-esteem, trauma, and more. PTSD and other childhood attachment issues like neglect are particularly amenable to art therapy. Many studies analyzing children with PTSD find that the participants in the treatment group often see a reduction in their acute symptoms (Chapman 2011). Why Art Helps With

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September 24, 2019

TikTok: A Ticking Time Bomb for Teens

Some call the app “digital karaoke.” On it, teens can create 3-15-second videos of themselves singing, lip-syncing, dancing, or doing anything at all – antics and silly pranks included — to background music. The videos, by default, loop on repeat, making it often addictive to keep watching. Popular TikTok videos mostly show young adolescents, often provocatively dressed, dancing or singing to popular songs or lyrics from movies. Songs are often

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September 23, 2019