Limiting Screen Time for Teens with ADHD
More than half of teens ages 12-17 report trying to take steps to limit their personal screen time and 57% claim their parents have tried to limit their technology use in one way or another. Limiting screen time can be particularly challenging for teens with ADHD due to difficulties with self-monitoring and inattention. While they may struggle with paying attention in class, screens provide a
A Guide For Parents: How To Help Your Teen With Mental Health Struggles
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health struggles in children and adolescents have reached an all-time high in the past year. Uncertainty around what the future will look like from everything to how kids go to school to how they are able to interact with their friends caused a spike in anxiety, and missing out on important life events such as prom, high school graduation,
Having Fun While Healing: Therapeutic Activities for Teens
The wonderful part of therapy is that it is not a “one size fits all” practice. And while the word therapy often conjures images of couches or circles of people sitting in meeting rooms, there are actually many ways for teens to engage in therapeutic activities. Therapy doesn’t always have to involve a therapist and an individual sitting together discussing the person’s personal issues. Have you
The Pandemic’s Affects on Mental Health In Teens
The negative impact the mental health crisis has had on teens has been growing steadily over the past decade, and these effects have been compounded by the pandemic. For the millions of American children that are struggling with developmental, behavioral, or emotional disorders, they rely on treatment that the pandemic has made it nearly impossible to receive. How the pandemic has had detrimental effects on teen
Wilderness Therapy for Teen Boys: How Rock Climbing Can Help Teens Struggling with Behavioral Issues
I work with adolescent boys who are often struggling with issues like substance use, technology addiction, depression or anxiety. Many of these issues lead to additional struggles in the classroom. I work with many students who are “thrill-seekers”. Thrill-seeking students show up in the classroom distracted, bored, and ready to leave the classroom. They may have some underlying educational issues if they have an underlying
Teaching Your Son About Mental Health
How many times have we heard: “don’t cry, be a man”, when a young boy is upset? Or “boys will be boys” when an adolescent acts out? These may not seem that harmless in the moment, but let’s think about what hearing that over and over again does to young men? They are taught from a very young age that they shouldn’t show emotions because
How Does the Pandemic Affect Teens
COVID-19 has radically changed day to day life for people around the world. Beyond just fears of becoming ill, or having a loved one become ill, teens are also feeling the negative effects of this pandemic on many levels. Loneliness and isolation: As cities across the world headed into lockdown or stay at home orders, teens lost consistent access to their friends and larger community such
Like music to your ears: Music influences teen mental health
Music has an incredible amount of influence over our emotions. For adolescents, who spend a good amount of their time mulling over teen issues like crushes, grades, and peer relationships, music provides a place to escape from the hecticness of everyday life. Recently, researchers have discovered that music can have both positive and negative influences on teen mental health. It just depends on the genre and “mood”
A constant battle: oppositional defiant disorder in teens
In every school, there are a few notoriously “bad” kids. These young people are defiant to authority figures like teachers and administrators, and act out at home, too. But some of these kids can’t help their insubordination. Oppositional defiant disorder in teens is a pattern of irritability and defiant, insubordinate behavior that lasts at least six months. Oppositional defiant disorder in teens can wreak havoc on
The Living Dead: Sleep Deprivation in Teens
In our society, people just expect teenagers to be extremely tired all the time, but many don’t ask why. Sleep deprivation in teens has become an epidemic in the United States. According to the CDC, about 70 percent of teens are sleep deprived. It’s hard to believe that seven in 10 teenagers you meet are running on less than eight hours of sleep. What’s causing sleep deprivation in teens? Honestly,