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Support ACS!
During the 2010-2011 school year, ACS saw an increased need for affordable counseling in all of our programs. A gift of any size will help Adolescent Counseling Services meet this growing demand by providing critical interventions to teens struggling with depression or substance abuse, restoring hope - one life at a time.
Adolescent Counseling Services is a charitable organization pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Code. ACS' Tax Identification Number is 51-0192551
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Greetings!
The last weeks of summer can only mean one thing: a new and exciting school year is on the horizon! Along with excitement, the school year ushers in many questions and anxieties. Academics, extra curricular activities, social pressures, and internal struggles, not to mention an influx of hormones, can come full force at a student during the school year. How can your child be prepared to handle whats in store for them in the future? This led me to create a blog series called "Building a Child's Emotional Savings Account". Each week we feature a developmental stage in which you can help prepare your child mentally and emotionally for the present and the future. The response mechanism to what they handle as adults is rooted in how they were taught to handle it as children. You are literally "investing" in your child, with hopes they will extract the emotional resiliency they learned (or saved) early on in life and apply (or spend) that in the future. I encourage you to visit our blog and share this with others.
We have a busy schedule this year with a variety of events, so make sure to mark your calenders and reserve your spots as space is limited. We look forward to another successful school year!
Sincerely,
Dr. Philippe Rey
Executive Director
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Art Therapy: Translating Silence
For more information on art therapy, visit our blog
When guests arrived at our open house in June, many were surprised to see a dedicated art therapy room. We received a lot of questions - "Who would use this? Isn't art therapy only used with young kids?" These art therapy questions gave us the opportunity to chat with Chris Chiochios, our newest Site Director at JLS Middle School in the On-Campus Counseling Program. Chris is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Board Certified Art Therapist. While Chris will be on-campus and won't be using the art Therapy room at ACS, several other therapists in our outpatient counseling programs will.
What is art therapy?
Art therapy is the use of the creative process to gain insight, work through, investigate, and explore personal issues of any and all kinds. Art therapy is a broad and all encompassing area where there are many schools of thought and applications for use with a variety of populations. It can be best thought of as an opportunity to
 externalize and transform underlying issues, struggles, problems, and strengths into a workable metaphor. Art therapy is both an alternative to traditional talk therapies, and also a wonderful complement to a variety of theoretical approaches and orientations. It can be thought of as a vehicle for the therapeutic work being done by a client and/or a group.
What age group is art therapy used with?
Art therapy can be applied to group work with a variety of ages. I worked in a day treatment school setting and was the program art therapist where I provided group art therapy to all the students in the school, which encompassed Kindergarten through 12th grade aged students. There are obviously inherent benefits, needs, challenges, and limitations based on age within the artistic medium and focus of an art therapy group, but with training and experience, there are many opportunities for application and purpose.
How can art therapy be therapeutic for teens?
Art therapy is the treatment of choice in many respects for teens, as it provides a creative outlet and congruent
container for the work that they may need to do. It is an opportunity to sublimate their underlying and overt drives, needs, struggles, and perspective into a work of art where they are in control of what they present, in what manner, and how much they might associate and share about their product as well as their process. Again, it is an opportunity to gain distance from their core issues and needs in a way that is non-threatening and creative. The concept of metaphoric work is a wonderful part of working with teens. Much of what they say and do can be seen as a metaphor and a creative attempt to gain mastery, autonomy, competence, and belonging. Art is ideally suited for these drives and needs.
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Upcoming Events
Breakfast with ACS!
Join us for breakfast and learn more about ACS programs, trends in child and teen mental and emotional health, and hear from our licensed clinical staff about how you can better communicate and interact with any teen in your life. These events are free, but space is limited. Please RSVP to gulrukh@acs-teens.org with your name, address, phone number and the date you would like to attend.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011 | 8:00-9:30am | ACS Corporate Office
Wednesday, December 7, 2011 | 8:00-9:30am | ACS Corporate Office
Wednesday, May 2, 2011 | 8:00-9:30am | ACS Corporate Office
Breaking the Stigma Forums
ACS is committed to encouraging open discussion of important topics often considered taboo or uncomfortable. We invite you to join ACS clinical staff, professionals in the community, and members of other local agencies for ACS' Breaking the Stigma Forum Series. These events are free and open to the public.
Breaking the Stigma: Teen Substance Abuse
Thursday, November 10, 2011 | 7:00-8:30pm | Location TBA
Breaking the Stigma: Teen Self-Image and Self-Esteem
Thursday, February 9, 2012 | 7:00-8:30pm | Location TBA
Breaking the Stigma: Leaving the Nest
Thursday, May 10, 2012 | 7:00-8:30pm | Location TBA
Spring Sounds
Saturday, March 24, 2012
It won't be your usual Spring Sounds!
More info to follow
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