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Latest Updates: Struggling Teens RSS

  • Jeff Brain 7:27 pm on July 26, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , Struggling Teens, ,

    Eating Disorder in Teens
    A colleague from a well respected Residential Treatment Center forwarded me this wonderful article written by Dr. Kim Dennis (New-Food-Fight). She is a psychiatrist who writes about her personal experience with an eating disorder. In sharing her experience, strength and hope, both as a member of the medical community and the recovery community, she is inviting to help and support others on their journal to recovery.

     To me, it is especially meaningful and helpful when treatment professionals can draw from their own personal experience. We value this at the The Family Foundation School, the therapeutic boarding school where I work, since it helps the staff relate to the struggles of the students have AND it helps the students relate to the staff (they really understand me – they know what I am going through). So often, treatment is provided by well intentioned and well trained individuals but who lack personal recovery experience. It is refreshing when people like Dr. Dennis share their own experience, along side their professional training.

     “A Doctor, A Director and a Friend of ED” is a great article to share with those who are in treatment for eating disorders. KIMBERLY DENNIS, MD, is the medical director at Timberline Knolls (www.timberlineknolls.com). Located in Lemont, Ill., Timberline Knolls is an innovative residential treatment center designed exclusively for women and adolescent girls with emotional disorders, including eating disorders, addiction and self-injury behavior. Dr. Dennis is a member of the Academy of Eating Disorders, the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry, and the American Society of Addiction Medicine.

     

  • Jeff Brain 7:26 pm on July 26, 2009 | 2 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: ADHD, , Sleep, Struggling Teens,

    Struggling Teens, ADHD and Sleep
    The August 2009 issue of Clinician’s Research Digest reports on an interesting study that appeared in the Journal of Pediatric Psychology (34,328-337) by researchers Mayes, Calhoun, BIxler, Vgontzas, , Mahr, et al. The purpose of the study was to evaluate differences in the frequency and types of sleep problems in children with ADHD and co-occurring disorders such as anxiety, depression and oppositional defiant disorder. The study reinforced the importance of attending to children’s sleep patterns, particularly in children with a diagnosis of ADHD-combined or ADHD-inattentive, anxiety or depression. There may be a tendency to focus on treating behavioral issues or changing maladaptive cognitions; however it may be equally important to simultaneously address sleep problems. Treatment may need to include the development of good sleep hygiene including strategies to assist with relaxation prior to going to bed and falling back to sleep after awakening in the night.
    Although on some level the results are common sense, but those who work with teens diagnosed with ADHD, Oppositional Defiant Disorder or other emotional disorders know that adherence to bed time routine presents real challenges, often resulting in reduced sleep and disrupted sleep routines. At the therapeutic boarding school I work at, all students follow a regular routine of scheduled bed time, preceded by activities that promote relaxation and meditation. Additionally, creating an environment that is conducive for sleep in congregate living arrangements can be challenging, but is important to ensure that everyone sleeping in proximity with one another is in fact, preparing to fall sleep. We have found that helping teens get a good night’s sleep is an important part of the overall therapeutic process.

     

  • Jeff Brain 4:47 am on May 14, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: Struggling Teens

    On 5/11, I published a post about new staff training module at The Family Foundation School, a therapeutic boarding school, on dealing with reactive students. This is a continuation of that – dealing specifically with the important intervention technique of collaboration. Very different than behavior modification that primarily is the imposition of adult will on a student (through manipulation of the environmental stimuli), collaboration is more focused on problem solving through the power of relationship. Traditional behavior modification does not work with some of our students, doesn’t obtain information about why a student isn’t meeting the expectation, doesn’t teach lagging skills and finally does not contribute to relationship building. Behavior Mod can push reactive students away – their emotional needs are not being met.

    The benefits on engaging in collaboration is the process of reaching an understanding on a particular issue between adult and student, solution is much more likely, skills are taught and it develops relationships.

    Goals:
    - pursue expectations
    - solve the problem
    - teach lagging skills
    - reduce challenging behavior
    - create a loving, respectful and helpful relationship

    Steps:
    - Empathy (really see the issue/problem from the student’s perspective – engage the process this way. They can’t yet see if fully from our perspective but we can see it from theirs).
    - Define the problem (get student’s concern on the table first, then present your concern)
    - Invitation (invite the student to suggest solutions “I wonder if there is a way we can ____ and ____?”

    Its typical that you will have to repeat this step several times because we come up with solutions that are unrealistic or don’t really solve the problem.

    Its important that we don’t use empathy and then revert to asserting our will – this will create mistrust and ruin relationship building.

    This is some take away points from a very helpful staff training.

     

  • Jeff Brain 1:07 am on May 11, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: Struggling Teens

    Rita Argiros, Ph.D., a sociogist and the VP for Administrative Affairs at The Family Foundation School has begun an exciting new staff training series – Working Effectively with Highly Reactive (or Explosive) Students. It is based on the work of Ross W. Greene. Ph.D. (author of Treating Explosive Kids, The Explosive Child, and Lost at School).

    I will highlight some of this that may be of interest to others:

    ~ The language used to describe a problem may not be the same as the language you need to develop a solution.

    A reactive or explosive outburst – like any other kind of maladaptive behavior, occurs when the cognitive demands being placed on a person outstrips that person’s capacity to respond adaptively.

    The following are some behaviors we engage in when we don;t know how to respond adaptively (see if any are familiar to your experience with the struggling teen you are working with):
    cry, sulk, pout or whine,
    withdraw,
    screaming, swearing,
    spitting, hitting, kicking,
    destroying property,
    lying, truancy,
    self induced vomiting,
    self-injurious behavior,
    drinking or using drugs to an excess
    stabbing and shooting

    Flexibility and frustration tolerance are developmental skills

    Kids who lag behind in these skillsend up misunderstood, misdiagnosed and mistreated

    Things that seem trivial to us cause them to react/explode which has a negative impact, over time, with our relationship with them

    More to come…