A sad teen thinks about common myths about suicide

Common Myths About Suicide

Suicide. Just hearing this word can evoke a range of emotions. For many people, the initial reaction to hearing about suicide is discomfort or fear. Often times, our behavior is to automatically deny that suicide is an issue that affects us personally; or we may simply ignore it and hope the problem goes away on…

A girl thinks about her issues during cognitive behavioral therapy for bipolar disorder

Is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Bipolar Disorder Effective?

Effective treatment for bipolar disorder is as varied as the individuals who suffer from the condition. People with this type of mental illness usually benefit from lifelong treatment. Clinicians often use a combination of psychotherapy and medication to help people manage their symptoms. Cognitive behavioral therapy for bipolar disorder is one example of a type…

A teen girl that needs to know how to stop an anxiety attack

How to Stop an Anxiety Attack

Your teen is running the gauntlet every day. Athletics competitions, team tryouts, and tests are the realities of daily life. And these are in addition to budding romances, peer group pressures, and struggles at home. If your teen’s struggling with anxiety, here’s how to stop an anxiety attack. Understand Where the Anxiety Comes From First,…

A teen boy learns about the comorbidity of his substance abuse and mental health disorders during treatment

What is Comorbidity?

As you look for the right addiction treatment for your teen, you may run across the term “comorbidity.” But what does this mean? How does it influence the type of treatment your teen needs? Comorbidity is another term for the “co-occurring conditions” of addiction and mental illness. This means the addiction started with mental problems…

People experiencing the positive effects of exercise on your mental health by playing volleyball

The Positive Effects of Exercise on Your Mental Health

By George Livengood – Program Director, Canon House Do you remember moping around the house as a kid and mom saying, “Go outside and play!”? Mom was onto something.  There are numerous studies that indicate exercise is helpful in reducing depression.  There is no one identifiable reason as to why it works. So let’s look…

Woman paints during creative therapy

Why do creative therapies for teens work?

By Jesaca Lepper, MFT  – Ventura PHP/IOP Creative therapies are very important and valuable for adolescent treatment therapy. Adolescents often benefit from different treatment modalities that do not only focus on cognitive interventions and strictly “talk therapy.” Adolescent brains are still growing and sometimes experiences can unlock and express deeper feelings. There are many artistic modalities…