Parenting Concerns

Navigating Special Education in Schools Part 2: Working with the Team and Your Child

This is the first blog post in a two-part series on navigating special education in schools. The focus of this first post is on general legal and practical tips for parents. The second post focuses on working with the IEP and your child.

Navigating Special Education in Schools Part 1: Legal and Practical Tips

This is the first blog post in a two-part series on navigating special education in schools. The focus of this first post is on general legal and practical tips for parents. The second post focuses on working with the IEP and your child.

A Letter to Those Struggling: Surviving a Severe Eating Disorder

Note: The following person’s account of his/her personal experience has been published with his/her consent to support the mission of The Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds, and let others in similar situations not feel so alone.

A Gift of Will: It’s How Our Kids Keep Going

I was talking with a friend who’s been dealing with a lot. In addition to managing several mental health issues, life has thrown them some sad and challenging curves –including valid concerns about family members and their own livelihood.

“Walking in Another Character’s Armored Boots”: How Role-playing and Therapy Intertwine

Role-play is one of the most basic ways we learn about how to interact with other people, our identity, the world we’re in, and our place in it. It’s something we almost universally do as children and frequently continue as adults.

The Youth Mental Health Epidemic: What Parents and Caregivers Can Do

In April 2024, I wrote an editorial in Academic Psychiatry with my colleagues indicating that the leadership of our field had fallen short in satisfying our moral, ethical and professional standards to promote efforts to address the mental health epidemic among our youth.

Alcohol and Drugs. Why Do Teens Use?

Many of us know that the teen years can be a time for experimenting with alcohol and other drugs. But a recent CDC study found the reason why teens use substances today isn’t just for experimentation, but also to stop worrying about problems, and even to help with depression or anxiety. This is really concerning.

New Year Resolutions: Tips to Focus on the Positive

There’s this guy Sisyphus.

I feel like he invented the New Year’s resolution.

You know Sisyphus—he’s the guy who works so hard to push that stupid boulder up the hill, only to have it roll down again at the end of his hard work.

Coping with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

On those winter mornings when the darkness of night gives way to yet another gray day, lots of us struggle to get motivated to do anything more active than to pull those covers back over our heads and pretend that we’re bears.

Marijuana: Facts, Myths, and Ben’s Story

Many parents and teens wonder about the safety of using marijuana. While much is known about this substance, there is still considerable controversy about its potential harm to teenagers.

Learn more about cannabis and the teen brain. Tune in above, or find us wherever you stream.

Let’s take a look at Ben’s story.