Moving from Trauma to Healing with EMDR
Dorothy Ah Quin always knew that she wanted to help people. She began her career as a high school teacher, where she taught history and special education. While still teaching, Dorothy earned Masters of Art in Educational Counseling, and shortly after her Clinical Mental Health License. She continued to teach for several years after completing…
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ARC Experiential – How Academics, Residential, and Clinical Treatment work together
ARC Experiential By Contributor ARC Experiential is a term used to describe the way the Academic, Residential, and Clinical departments at Discovery Ranch work together to help students through experiential learning. Academic Director, Allison Anderson coined the term to describe the kind of integrated work that happens at Discovery Ranch. The concept is simple:…
Read MoreMental Health Disorder Help
Mental Health Disorder Help By Maia Christopherson When someone becomes sick, they see their doctor in order to understand what is wrong with their body and how to get better. If they don’t take care of their body, their sickness can become worse and cause serious problems. We want our bodies to be healthy…
Read MoreChallenging Negative Self-Talk
4 Strategies for Challenging Negative Self-Talk By Trenna Ahlstrom You are worthless. No one likes you. You can’t do it. You shouldn’t even try. Comments that you would not tolerate hearing from other people might be a regular part of the way that you think about yourself. Parents of struggling teens may be…
Read MoreLove Yourself First?
Love Yourself First? by Trenna Ahlstrom “Before you can love others, you have to first love yourself.” It’s common advice. You can hear it in TED Talks. You can read it on motivational posters. Maybe you have even heard it coming out of the mouths of well-meaning friends. But is it true? Should you love…
Read More6 Unhealthy Ego States
Getting into the Right Headspace: How to Recognize, and Avoid 6 Unhealthy Ego States by Trenna Ahlstrom Being the parent of a troubled teen is anything but easy. While trying to manage your teen’s problem behavior, it can be difficult not to engage in problematic behavior of your own. You might find yourself being unfairly…
Read MoreThe Path Less Traveled
The Path Less Traveled It was a hazy January day with the moon just coming up over the mountains. (I get a little confused because mid-afternoon in the winter time can also be called dusk.) I had just spent the day at Discovery Ranch for Boys with the clinicians. Now, you may be saying to…
Read MoreBest Way to Help Troubled Teen Change
“If somebody had told me two years ago we’d be in this situation, I never would have believed it. To have come back so far is truly remarkable.” This family agreed to share the story of their troubled teen if we would agree not to disclose the family’s identity. Their son, B., struggled with grief,…
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