What the MSM has to say about Teen Talk:

The November 2008 issue of Youth Today, a monthly for professionals that help kids, cited Teen Talk as a great web resource!  MSNBC.COM also linked to this website. And here's what other publications are saying: 

SOUTH FLORIDA HOSPITAL NEWS

September 2008

Acting Troupe Teaches Kids About Addictions
The classroom at a Boca Raton middle school was in an uproar. The students were consumed by a rollicking skit about a teenage boy trying to talk his girlfriend into taking some prescription medication he stole from his mother. Some of the kids were up in arms. They were shouting at each other, "Why isn’t it OK to take someone else’s Percocet? A doctor prescribed it!"

Then, "Why is your boyfriend pressuring you to do something that’s wrong? Why is he trying to talk you into getting high? Dump him!"

Once the skit ended, an eighth grade girl approached the actor, Mark Cherny, a licensed clinical social worker at Ruth Rales Jewish Family Service, who for 10 years, talks to 7,500 students annually, via 300 performances, about addictions, substance abuse and other important issues.

"You were the best!" she said. "This was just like watching The Jerry Springer Show!"


Mark Cherny and Marcy Bezark

"Well, we’re a bit more civil than that, " Cherny thought, but he appreciated the compliment. Cherny’s interactive skits have attracted dozens of hand made thank you cards from children and letters of gratitude from teachers and principals. Cherny’s success at reaching out to young people earned him "Employee of the Year" at RRJFS in 2007 and the father of three girls was featured in a Target ad, which ran throughout south Florida in 2006. He also runs a free, national website, www.teentalk4u.org, in which he counsels any teen via e-mail. (The free service is for troubled teens, not those who are suicidal or in imminent crisis.)

One teacher recently wrote, "Mark’s presentation was phenomenal—it came at a perfect time because these issues are occurring in my class we speak! Thank you! Thank you!"

"I am a grandmother volunteer and I was mesmerized by the presentation," another woman wrote.

Cherny said he performs many skits on drug and alcohol abuse and is creates new ones.

"Kids don’t necessarily know that a doctor may prescribe something for one person, that could be harmful to another. They often tell me if it’s a prescribed medication that can’t get addicted."

He added, "What I rely on with these skits is that a percentage of people who will know the answers and will inform the other kids, rather than me lecturing them. And then I will say, ‘Oh really? Oh yeah, that’s the way it is.’ It’s best when the answers come from the kids themselves. That’s the whole idea of the skits, to pull info out of the people in the audience and get them to discuss the issues amongst themselves."

Mark and fellow thespian, Marcy Bezark, who directs volunteer services at Ruth Rales Jewish Family Service, have performed other substance abuse skits, such as the one about a wife who is leaving her husband because he drinks too much and a 16-year-old girl who tries to talk her father into buying beer for her party; an increasingly common occurrence, Cherny says.

Another popular skit is when a daughter comes home to find her Dad passed out drunk on the couch. In his hand is an FPL cut off notice. She tries to take his car keys and he gets belligerent.

The kids yell at the Dad for being irresponsible and wrecking his family and suggest rehab.

"Unfortunately," Cherny said, "We do this skit because certain percentage of kids live in a situation like that."

No matter the topic, at the end of every skit, Cherny reinforces all the facts. He says, "Hey, you guys were right!" and then summarizes the salient points.

"That’s when I step out of character, and then speak as a professional. If they miss something, I add it. But they usually don’t miss anything."

"In terms of drinking, I try to get younger audiences to see what life can be like 20 years from now if they start doing this now. Usually the way I play the character, I started drinking when I was 14 and in middle school. The kids make the connections. This is their glimpse into the future."

"Because this is not a lecture, kids will quickly become engrossed and talk about personal, emotional and social issues," Cherny said. "They participate and because they are not asked to talk about themselves they reveal what is really bothering them. While we are not as inflamed as Jerry Springer, this gets a lot more visceral reactions and the lessons are internalized better."

For more information on Ruth Rales Jewish Family Service, visit www.ruthralesjfs.org or call (561) 852-3333.

 MSNBC.COM & NEWSWEEK.COM

December 2, 2008

Your Brooding Teen: Just Moody or Mentally Ill?
 

First Signs of Mental Illness Often Occur During a Time of Typical Teen Turmoil
by Roni Caryn Rabin> John Hill was a typical teenager in many ways: He started smoking when he was in high school, which upset his mother, and he spent a lot of time in his room alone, staying up until 5 in the morning playing video games. He went to school but often signed himself out sick after a couple of hours, and his grades plummeted. When his mother asked what was wrong, he told her to leave him alone. John’s mother Barbara, of Homedale, Idaho, was worried.

 (Getty Stock Images)

Half of all serious adult psychiatric illnesses start before the age of 14, experts say. But mental illness can mask itself as typical teen turmoil.

But, she said, “He had always been the kid who never got in trouble … I kind of assumed it was just adolescent behavior kicking in.”

Teenagers are, by definition, difficult. Like the stereotype, they can be moody, reckless and emotionally volatile, crying in the shower, screaming at their parents, slamming their bedroom doors behind them. It’s not a new phenomenon: the psychologist G. Stanley Hall dubbed the teen years a time of “storm and stress” more than 100 years ago. But experts now know these years are a critical period of development when serious mental illnesses can emerge and progress undetected and untreated, in part because they are perceived as typical teen behavior and may manifest with symptoms different from those in adults.  By the time they are college age, nearly one in five young American adults has a personality disorder that interferes with everyday life, found an extensive study released Monday by Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute. While half of all serious adult psychiatric illnesses start before the age of 14, evidence suggests that parents may be the last to know.

One study found that parents were unaware of 90 percent of suicide attempts made by teenagers. Another report from a screening program found that the vast majority of parents of kids identified as having psychiatric symptoms thought their child was all right.

“The tendency of parents is to think ‘This is normal,’ ‘They’ll outgrow this,’ ‘Not to worry,’” said Alec Miller, a doctor of psychology and chief of child and adolescent psychology at Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of medicine in New York City. “As a parent you can really lose your compass about what’s normal and typical when you have a range of behaviors coming at you.”

“Parents tend to believe the myth that it’s just a phase,” agreed Dr. Harold S. Koplewicz, founder and director of the New York University Child Study Center and author of “More Than  Moody: Recognizing and Treating Adolescent Depression.” And, he added, “The worst thing a parent can do is wait.”

Many parents baffled by changes in their children’s behavior seek out counseling on their own. One third of the queries to TeenTalk, which offers free phone and online counseling for teens are from parents, said officials with the project, run by the Ruth Rales Jewish Family Services of South Florida.

Barbara Hill watched as her son became more and more withdrawn, even from his friends. When she tried to broach the subject he was, by his own account, gruff and dismissive. “Every time she tried to sit down and talk with me, I’d blow her off, or be real rude,” said John, now 20.

But while he appeared angry, John was actually terrified. He was hearing voices calling his name when no one was around — experiencing what he later learned were the first symptoms of schizophrenia — and was too frightened to confide in anyone, even his mother. 

“I thought she was going to kick me out of the house but I finally broke down and told her,” said John, who was surprised at how supportive his mother was. He now takes medication to control his symptoms and has become an outspoken advocate for other young people with mental illness. While schizophrenia is relatively rare, affecting only about 1 percent of the population and usually developing during the college years, depression is common among younger teens. According to a nationwide report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 8.5 percent of teens aged 12 to 17 — or one in 12 — experience depression in any given year, with almost half saying they were so down that they couldn’t perform their daily activities. The report, based on the responses of 67,706 youngsters surveyed between 2004 and 2006, found girls much more susceptible to depression than boys, with 12.7 percent of females and 4.6 percent of males reporting a depressive episode. One of the SAMHSA report’s surprising findings was that only 30 percent of those who had experienced a depressive episode had gotten treatment. The number is even lower for college age adults struggling with personality disorders, according to the Columbia study. Fewer than 25 percent of them receive treatment, researchers found.

Last year, public health officials reported the first increase in teen suicides following a 13-year decline, an 8 percent increase in suicides among young people aged 10 to 24 in the year 2004, with the biggest percentage jump among girls aged 10 to 14.

Irritable and angry

One one reason parents may not recognize depression in their teenagers is because depression expresses itself so differently in teens, experts say. Changes in sleeping and eating habits are a red flag, as with adults. But while depressed adults are sad and melancholy, depressed teens are angry and irritable.

Adults may say they don’t enjoy things anymore; teens may still enjoy activities but not look forward to them. They often say they’re bored, and can be indecisive, giving a lot of “I don’t know” answers.

Sharon Fawcett, a mother of two teenagers in New Brunswick, Canada, had struggled with depression herself for almost a decade, so she was always on the lookout for signs of the illness in her daughters. But, she said, she completely missed the disease in her younger daughter. “Jenna started telling me she was depressed when she was 14, but to me, she was just laying around and being lazy, and using this as an excuse,” Fawcett said. “I thought: she’s not depressed, she’s angry and she’s moody. I just thought it was the stereotypical adolescent moodiness and negativity. “The thing that confused me about my kids — and I’ve heard other parents say this — is how they can be so happy when they’re out with their friends, and as soon as they come home they’re depressed and angry and not speaking with us. I’ve learned since then that kids reserve their anger for the people they know they’re safe with.” For a while, Fawcett attributed her daughter’s dressing in black, listening to heavy metal music and hiding her face behind long bangs and a hooded sweatshirt to teen fashion and old-fashioned rebelliousness. But by the time Jenna was 16, she had developed acute social anxiety, had difficulty concentrating and was refusing to go to school. She missed 100 days of school one year and failed most of her courses. The dramatic change in performance for the girl who had been an honor student finally convinced Fawcett her daughter needed help. She consulted the family pediatrician, who referred her to a psychiatrist for a combination of talk therapy and medications, which have been very effective. “The school failure was the most obvious identifying symptom,” Fawcett said. A clear red flag

Experts agree that irritability and moodiness that keep a teenager from functioning normally for more than two weeks should be clear red flags. Ditto for withdrawal from activities and social isolation from friends. Other warning signs parents should look for are substance abuse, which is often a form of self-medication, and cutting, or self-injury, which can be a precursor to suicide.

 “Parents will often let this go at least two weeks or more because they’re convinced it’s just a phase, even though if their child had a rash, they wouldn’t ignore it,” said Koplewicz. The good news, he said, is that teenagers respond to targeted treatment, such as psychotherapy either with or without medication. “The nice part is that we see dramatic turnarounds with kids, often in four to eight weeks. We believe wholeheartedly that we can change the trajectory for these kids if we nip it early.” Roni Caryn Rabin is a health writer who lives in New York City. She has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, Newsday and Real Simple magazine, among other publications, and is author of the book, "Six Parts Love: A Family's Battle with Lou Gehrig's Disease." She teaches journalism at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. © 2008 msnbc.com

 

(EAST ORANGE FORUM / ORLANDO, FL)

Drug Talk Widespread on Net
 
Published Saturday, August 2, 2008

by Erika Pitera>
 

Many parents with teens are aware of the threat of sexual content and predators online, but according to some experts, not enough recognize an equally dangerous online threat: talk of drug and alcohol use.

For teens, the Internet provides social networking, research resources, instant communication and a place to discuss substance abuse. Emoticons, slang and abbreviations in text messaging, e-mail and online chat allows teens to hide information from their parents.

According to President and CEO of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America Steve Pasierb, the Web exposes teens to far more pro-drug information than anti-drug information.

"There are more Web sites for 'how to get high' than for 'how to avoid drugs,'" Pasierb said.

"Teens are glamorizing drug use online, buying prescription drugs online and sharing recipes on Facebook. You can learn how to make your own pills. New trends in drug use travel across the country in a matter of weeks."

Despite the Internet's role in the changing landscape of teen substance abuse, Pasierb said most parents don't think anything of their teens' online activities because "it simply didn't exist when they were kids."

Tom Angell, government relations director for Students for Sensible Drug Policy said he thinks the real answer to these problems begins at home - with family discussions around the dinner table.

Angell said that a lack of open and honest discussion between parents and teens about substance abuse means that teens are getting their information about drugs from other sources.

"Young people are fed up with the lack of honest and accurate drug education they are receiving in schools and from the government," Angell said. "Students are turned off when they hear simplified, sound-byte messages about the complex issues of drug use and abuse.

"That's why young people are turning to Internet sites like Erowid.org where they can find comprehensive science-based information on the real effects of drugs, as well as lifesaving advice on how they can be as safe as possible if they do make the decision to use."

Mark Cherny, supervisor of outreach and community services at Ruth Rales Jewish Family Service in Palm Beach County, avoids anti-drug lectures when he presents to about 300 individual classes each year.

Cherny creates interactive presentations for grades 5 through 12 that include short skits and follow-up discussions to tackle issues like substance abuse, bullying and peer pressure.

"It's so much better than lecturing because the answers really come from the kids themselves," Cherny said.

"We like to get kids to share what they already know about drugs and alcohol, and we like to present skits that include adult characters so they can have a look ahead to the future and realize what life might be like for them 20 or 30 years from now."

In addition to his counseling and presentations, Cherny also provides e-mail counseling through a program called Teen Talk (www.teentalk4u.org). Teens can confidentially e-mail questions or ask for advice, and Cherny responds as quickly as possible.

"Telephone hotlines are kind of archaic now, so we have an online version in Teen Talk," Cherny said.

Both Pasierb and Cherny, a father of three, agree that in order to know what teens are doing online, parents have to be a little tech savvy and involved, asking questions and setting boundaries.

"You can be the most 'perfect' parent in the world, but there's no guarantee your kid won't get into drugs," Cherny said.

Pasierb said, "As a parent, you've got to be aware and live in their world. A lot of parents don't know how to text message. Learn, and then ask questions, find out where they are, who they're with, what they're doing.

"When parents do very small things, like send a text message, they learn a lot about their kids."

Unfortunately, substance abuse is a problem that affects many parents with teens. For parents who feel they've lost control of their teens, a Florida law allows them to regain control through the legal system.

The Marchman Act is a law under Florida Statute that allows family members to get help and treatment for a loved one who is unwilling to seek substance abuse services voluntarily.

Raymond G. Ferrero III, a partner with Addiction Recovery Legal Services in south Florida, specializes in Marchman Act cases.

"While the Marchman Act does provide families with excellent options, it is surprising how many people don't know it exists as a strategic solution, or they get frustrated after trying to pursue it on their own without knowledge of the legal system or treatment world," Ferrero said.

Ferrero said the Marchman Act works for several reasons: it creates legal and emotional protection for parents, and it gets treatment for the child and establishes consequences for their actions.

"Addiction is a family disease," Ferrero said. "It not only affects the users, but everyone around them."

For most Marchman Act cases, the first step is a family consultation. Next, the court phase begins.

Ferrero said they begin by petitioning the court for assessment and stabilization of the user. Once the user has been assessed, a recommendation is made by a treatment facility. Ferrero then returns to court to file a petition for treatment. Court mandated treatment can last up to 60 days.

"Things are good if we've reached this stage," Ferrero said. "If teens don't comply with court orders, they have to explain why in front of a judge and face sanctions including possible jail time.

"In 10 years of experience and nearly 5,000 cases, we've had great successes. The majority of those who file cases don't return."

Cherny said that even if parents think there is nothing they can do to stop their teens from drinking or using drugs, it's important not to give up.

"Thinking 'they're gonna do it anyways' shouldn't mean you give up your attempts to guide your children just because they're at an age where they're being influenced by other factors," Cherny said.

For more information, visit any of the following online resources: www.drugfree.org, www.timetotalk.org, www.arlsbroward.com, www.ruthralesjfs.org, www.teentalk4u.org, www.drugwarfacts.org and www.ssdp.org.

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