Giving kids the social skills they need to succeed
“I said Lord please give me what I need. He said there’s pain and misery. Oh sweet oblivion feels all right.” – Shadow of the Season – by Screaming Trees “Self knowledge is a dangerous thing. The freedom of who you are.” –There is No Time – by Lou Reed Helping children develop insight into their strengths and weaknesses is a […]
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For many human service professionals, state licensing boards require the completion of a certain number of continuing education units in order to maintain licensure. Personally, I’m required to attend 30 hours of continuing education programs every 2 years in order to renew my license as a mental health counselor. Some of these presentations are excellent and the best of them […]
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In the 2 minutes each year in which I’m not working or with my family, my favorite thing to do is to play music with my band. Since 1998, I’ve been writing music, singing, and playing guitar with 3 of my closest friends. If the rest of the world felt the same way about our music as we do, we’d […]
» Read moreA few weeks ago, I was sitting in my office with a group of 3rd grade boys. We were finishing up our session with a snack and a quiet activity – to the extent that doing anything with a group of hyperactive 3rd grade boys can be quiet. As I asked the boys what they wanted for snack, one of them […]
» Read moreOnce I start reading a book, it has to be utterly abysmal before I decide to give up on it. The book I’m reading now is putting my resolve to the test. The book is called The Optimistic Child. It’s written by an eminent psychologist named Martin Seligman. Those of you who took Intro. to Psychology in college may be familiar […]
» Read more“ADHD?…they used to think I had that. Now they know I have Mad Cow Disease!” -11 y.o. Academy MetroWest participant When new kids enroll in our program, the first step in the process is undergoing an initial interview. We run through some activities in our gym with them to help us get a […]
» Read moreNPR just ran a story about a study published by researchers from Duke University and University of Warwick in England. It looked at what happens over a long period to people who were bullied as kids. According to the authors of the study, the results suggested that “Being bullied is not a harmless rite of passage but throws a long […]
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Although the DSM-5 was published less than a month ago, it has already been the subject of a staggering amount of commentary. For those unfamiliar with the DSM-5, it was constructed by The American Psychiatric Association and its full title is Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – Fifth Edition. It provides a list of every “official” mental health […]
» Read moreBack in December, Academy MetroWest hosted a parent workshop called Young Adulthood – Looking Forward, Looking Back. It featured 3 Academy MetroWest alumni, now in their early or mid 20’s, reflecting on the struggles they faced during their school years and the challenges they face now. This is our 3rd year of presenting parent workshops and we’ve had some good ones. […]
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