As you know, Ascend puts a big emphasis on hiring amazing staff to work in each of our facilities. As we grow to accommodate the needs of our clients, we keep finding more and more outstanding people who are as passionate about teen mental health as we are. This month, we’re highlighting one of the…
Intrusive thoughts are a standard part of the human experience, but for teens, in particular, they can be especially unsettling. While intrusive thoughts are common in those who struggle with anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), they can also occur in people without any mental health conditions. There are a number of myths about intrusive thoughts…
The Department of Education has reported that in the 2020-2021 school year, there were 93 school shootings that resulted in deaths or injuries — the most in any year since the 2000-2001 school year. Children around the country have been confronted with gun violence in one of the places where they should feel most safe.…
Trauma vs. PTSD Traumatic events can happen to anyone at any time. Car accidents, natural disasters, and acts of violence are just some of the forms of trauma that can lead to the onset of PTSD. When trauma occurs, it can have a lasting impact on an individual’s mental and physical health. In some cases,…
Anxiety is one of the most common mental health disorders in the United States. Nearly one in five teens will experience anxiety at some point during their teenage years. Although anxiety is a normal part of development, it can become debilitating if left untreated – disrupting everyday life and making routine tasks even more difficult.…
Mental Health Resources for Teens For teens, opening up about or even just identifying what they’re feeling can be challenging. So many changes are happening in their bodies and minds, and they’re still figuring out who they are and what they believe in. However, one way to advance the conversation about youth mental health is…
People face discrimination for many reasons, but at Ascend, we know that mental health is one of the biggest hurdles teens confront when interacting with those that don’t understand mental illness. Even worse, people with mental illness often suffer from other disorders, or belong to communities that struggle with additional prejudice against them. Today, we’d…
When you work at a place like Ascend, it takes a lot of teamwork to get our facilities running smoothly. While we’ve highlighted some of our staff that works in-house in the past, it’s time to take a look at one of our administrative team members that makes just as much of a difference to…
It’s normal to feel anxious or down from time to time. Everyone goes through ups and downs in life. However, when these feelings don’t go away and start to interfere with your daily life, you may be dealing with a disruptive mental illness that requires more in-depth intervention. Mental illness can be hard to come…
Music has always been a form of self-expression and catharsis. But for many teens, modern music feels like it was made just for them. In a time when the world can feel increasingly isolating and overwhelming, music provides a much-needed outlet for teens to express their emotions. Music and mental health can be linked, which…