Mental Health Connections

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, so we checked in with one of our Response for Teens clinicians, Zatio Kone, to learn more about the subject.

“I really think that mental health is about learning how to live with the range of human emotions and learning how to tolerate everything that comes our way,” Zatio said. “It’s ok to struggle sometimes, it’s ok to feel less than great.

Read more

Therapy Helps Teen Get Back on Track 

Sixteen-year-old Maya was not attending high school on a regular basis. With her parents separated, the oldest of four became quite isolated and spent many hours online. She had very little contact with people outside of social media.  Maya’s mother contacted JCFS Chicago’s Response for Teens to get help for her daughter. 

Read more

Shalom Bayit – How to have a peaceful home when technology is ever-present

We are inextricably linked to our devices. We learn with them, socialize with them, communicate with them, play games through them, and use them to stay up-to-date on the world. At JCFS Response for Teens we help parents recognize that growing up is still growing up. Young people still pay attention to shopping, music, their friends, movies, and schoolwork – even as much of this may happen in digital spaces.

Read more

Sexual Assault on College Campuses

Response for Teens would like to provide more young people with knowledge and skills that they can use to make better decisions and stay safe.  And as students prepare to go off to college, we wonder: what are the things that they may not learn in High School?

Read more

Teen Mental Health and the Pandemic

The ongoing stress, fear, grief, isolation and uncertainty created by the pandemic can wear anyone down, but many teens have had an especially tough time coping emotionally. In a recent WebMD poll, researchers found that 46% of 977 parents of teens said their child has shown signs of a new or worsening mental health condition since the start of the pandemic.

Read more