The American Psychological Association (APA) has conducted an annual survey of stress among Americans for the past 12 years. For their 2018 survey, they focused heavily on stress in members of Generation Z, which is made up of young people aged 15 to 21 (or those born around the year 2000). Gen Z is a unique group, as they are the first generation to deal heavily with certain stressors, like social media, school shootings, and [...]
Psychological Evaluations: Far more people seek therapy than psychological testing. Most issues can be addressed sufficiently by participating in therapy, and in some cases, taking medication. However, there are several occasions when the need for testing can arise. Some emotional issues are more “straightforward,” such as depression following the loss of a job or a relationship. Other emotional issues can be more complicated, such as when multiple emotional issues are present or when a person [...]
Colorado is a community that has been shaken by teen suicides over the past several years. In 2017, the Centers for Disease Control ranked Colorado 11th in the nation for most teen suicides, and in 2018, Kaiser found Colorado ranked 9th out of 50 states. While Colorado does not rank in the top 5 of states with the highest number of teen suicides, several Western states are on this list (including our neighbors, Wyoming and Utah). In [...]
June is Pride Month, a time to show support for the LGBTQ+ community and celebrate diverse identities. Teens today are increasingly identifying with the LGBTQ+ community and they report being more sexually and gender diverse than previous generations. As a quick lesson – sexual and gender identity are two different concepts that are unrelated. Sexrefers to one’s biological sex (boy or girl) based on chromosomes and reproductive characteristics. Genderrefers to one’s felt and/or expressed sense [...]
Unfortunately, bullying is a reality many children and adolescents face. While bullying can be devastating at the time, new research has examined the lifelong impact of being bullied as a child or teen. Bullying can include name calling, excluding others from social groups, stealing others’ possessions, and threatening physical harm. In a study of 7000 teens, approximately half were victims of bullying. Not surprisingly, being bullied impacted their mental health – 40% of the victims [...]