As a teenager, it’s easy to feel like you’re invincible. Mental health and overall well-being may not be at the forefront of your mind, but they play an essential role in your life. Taking care of your mental health is just as important as taking care of your physical health. In fact, the two are… The post Mental Health & Overall Well-Being: The Importance of Teen Mental Health appeared first on Ascend Healthcare ..read more

Whether you already have a kid in treatment at Ascend or you’re just trying to figure out whether it’s the right place for you, our team strives to ensure transparency and keep parents informed. Are you wondering what goes on behind the scenes at our Culver PHP/IOP facility? We have answers in the form of… The post Keeping It Direct with Amy appeared first on Ascend Healthcare ..read more

How to Support Your Child’s Mental Health If your teen is struggling with their mental health, it’s natural to question what may have caused their struggles. As a parent, you may worry that your actions, your own struggles with mental health, or something else you did may have contributed to your child’s challenges. While it’s… The post What to Do If You Think You’re Causing Your Teen’s Mental Health Struggles appeared first on Ascend Healthcare ..read more

How you spend your time can have a huge impact on your mental health. If you’re constantly stressed out by school, worried about the future, or struggling with depression or anxiety, having an outlet that doesn’t cause more stress can actually help your mental health. Finding hobbies for mental health doesn’t have to be yet… The post Top Hobbies to Combat Mental Health Risks appeared first on Ascend Healthcare ..read more

Welcome back to another Day in the Life blog from Ascend, where we spotlight a member of our team and the work they do for us. This month, we’re focusing on one of our on-the-ground team members, Manny the mentor. He works overnight in our facilities, helping ensure our houses have 24-hour monitoring and support.… The post Midnight Mentoring with Manny appeared first on Ascend Healthcare ..read more

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a mental health condition that can cause a lot of distress and anxiety. In TV and movies, it usually looks like someone who is obsessed with cleanliness and order. But in reality, OCD can look very different for each person who experiences it. The term “complex manifestations” refers to the many different ways OCD can appear in someone’s life. Learning more about these complex manifestations can help you better understand and support those who are struggling with OCD. If you think you may be seeing the symptoms of OCD in teens in your life, we can help you lear ..read more

Have you ever felt like you needed to put on a different face to fit in with your friends or classmates? Maybe you felt like you had to laugh at a joke that wasn’t really funny or pretend to like something just because everyone else did. Perhaps you even felt like you had to hide your true thoughts and feelings because they didn’t match up with what others expected from you. This is called “masking.” While masking may seem like a survival tactic, it can actually have negative effects on your mental health. Learn more about what masking is in mental health and why teens mask mental illness when ..read more

At Ascend, we’re always trying to pull back the curtain on how we do what we do. While we always strive to protect our clients and respect their privacy, there are still many things we can share about our operations to give you insight into residential and outpatient treatment with us. One of our favorite ways to share with parents and prospective clients is through our staff spotlights. These overviews take you along for a day in the life of one of our team members, allowing you to learn more about what they do and how their job fits into Ascend as a whole. This month, we’re spotlighting one ..read more

Do Trigger Warnings Help? If you spend any time scrolling through Instagram or TikTok, you’ve probably seen trigger warnings pop up before certain videos. Everything from mentions of abuse to scenes involving self-harm might come with a warning that the content could be triggering for some viewers. While creators add these warnings with good intentions, do trigger warnings actually work? Learn more about whether trigger warnings are effective or not from the experts at Ascend today! What Are Trigger Warnings? Trigger warnings are a common way to let audiences know that there might be content i ..read more

It’s hard to watch a friend struggle. Maybe they’ve been making jokes that feel a little too dark, they’ve told you that they’re feeling anxious all the time, or they’ve dropped off the face of the earth and stopped answering your messages. Whatever it is, you know something isn’t right, and you want to help. Even though you can’t force a friend to get help — that’s a decision only they can make — there are a few ways to encourage them to get the treatment they need. Learn how to help a friend seek mental health support or how to help a friend with a mental illness find what they need through ..read more