Oftentimes medical research provides information about what should be done to help someone. Sometimes it reveals what should not be done. Researchers at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Ohio, reported in the journal Bipolar Disordersthat teens at risk for bipolar do not fare well when treated with antidepressants.
The Right Step in Houston, the first addiction treatment center in the world to use Positive Recovery, announces the launch of an intensive training program called “The Positive Recovery University” on March 4.
Heroin is a well-known opioid drug commonly associated with IV (intravenous) use, a technique that introduces drugs directly into the bloodstream. However, some heroin users snort the drug through their nostrils instead of injecting it into a vein. In a study published in late 2013 in the journal Substance Abuse, researchers from four French universities…
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No parent wants their children to use drugs or alcohol, yet they may be doing and saying things (or not saying them) which affect their children’s attitudes toward substances in surprising ways. Without realizing it, parents can be influencing their children toward a more accepting attitude about drugs and alcohol. Here are some pitfalls for…
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Mina’s parents do a lot for their daughter these days, and she’s incredibly fortunate that they offer. Her husband had finally washed his hands of her, and more than that, he had taken custody of their grandson. At first the Donaldsons were horrified that any court would allow this to happen. It wasn’t that they…
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Psychological distress is a term mental health professionals use to describe the negative mental/emotional effects of day-to-day encounters with stressful events or situations. People affected by serious forms of this distress have heightened risks for eventually developing some form of diagnosable mental illness. According to the results of a study published in late 2013 in…
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Like many important life issues, one topic parents need to address with their children is over-the-counter (OTC) drugs. Too many adolescents and teens find out the hard way that while these drugs don’t require a doctor’s prescription, they can pose serious health threats when taken inappropriately. One in 10 kids say they have abused OTC…
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Young people often seem determined to try exactly what parents and other adults say they shouldn’t. This is partly an issue of testing of whether parental and adult boundaries are trustworthy. Young children accept adult warnings as true, but teenagers are ready to question them.
Teenagers are fascinating. Their opinions are always changing and yet they hold to them so fiercely. They try on new identities as easily as they try on clothes and shed them just as quickly. Their moods are often erratic—elation, anger, sullenness—all within a couple of hours. They are impulsive and can never seem to make…
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Helping people struggling to overcome addiction is Anna McDonald’s passion. “A good day is when I know I have done my job well, when I see a client who at one time was very hesitant about treatment begin to realize that there is hope for another way of life, that it’s obtainable.” Knowing that she’s…
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