Article Summaries
I’ll go to the gym...
20 July 2014
Edmond Life and Leisure Article
By Chad McCoy, M.A.
So the other day I went to the gym. I walked in, they scanned my fob, and I set out to accomplish something that I’ve never accomplished before. With any great feat of strength there is much to prepare prior to hitting up the gym: I read articles and watched videos from prof...Contestant No. 18, Come on Down -The Price of Your Choices
20 July 2014
By John Goetz, LPC
Some of you immediately recognize the announcer’s call from the game show “The Price is Right”. This is a game show where lucky contestants are given an opportunity to win “fabulous gifts and prizes” based on the choices they make. The contestant might start by winning $200 and is then gi...Why Generation Y Yuppies Are Unhappy
06 May 2014
It’s funny because it’s true. I tend to enjoy anything that effectively challenges the increasing narcissism we see around us, including my own. This article is a pretty accurate description of me at a younger age. It’s made a lot of other people angry, which confirms my suspicion that self-absorption is inversely correlated wi...
Smartphones: Toy or Tool for Kids
19 April 2014
By Sheila Stinnett, LPC
Do you consider your child’s smartphone or mobile device a toy or a tool? With advances in technology a phone in the hand of a child is not just a hand held video gaming system. It is a functional computer just as powerful as the desk top computer setting in the corner of your home. This power reminds me...Be Ahead of the Curve Teens and Summer Jobs
01 April 2014
By Quinton Ellis, M.S., LPC
Summer is fast approaching and everyone I know seems just thrilled about that. And even though our suspiciously artic winter was, I’ll admit, a tad uncomfortable, I do not share their enthusiasm. Summer is, in fact, the winter of my personal discontent. In this, I am not alone, as many of the parents of t...The Era of Technology: The Case for Digital Dementia
15 January 2014
By Chad McCoy
Technology: The necessary evil; sometimes. It is almost impossible to go throughout your day without relying or using technology. Let me rephrase that: It is impossible. At least 10 times a day I find myself checking my fancy, spancy iPhone for one reason or another; unless I’m at work. I never check it at work, bos...
Affluenza
09 January 2014
By Quinton Ellis M.S.,L.P.C.
By the time these words come in contact with your eyes, you likely will have heard about “Affluenza”. For those who haven’t, and thereby still possess the portion of sanity now lost to the rest of us, allow me to ruin your day. Back in June a 16-year-old in Texas, fortified with stol...
Congratulations! Your Child's Mediocre!
26 November 2013
By Chad McCoy, Staff Therapist
Ever been stuck in traffic, the kind where every driver is an idiot and can be blamed for you being late? Well, I found myself in such a jam the other day.
As I scoured the sea of vanity license plates and various bumper stickers, I came across one that left me a bit dumbfounded. Right before m...
Less is More When Dealing with Stress
13 November 2013
By Sheila Stinnett, LPC
I read an interesting blog the other day about the Voluntary Simplicity Movement. This site was filled with the positive testimonials of individuals and families who have made the conscious decision to break with the American dream of “keeping up with the Jones” and to begin the life changing process o...Country and Western Therapy - Part II
02 November 2013
By John Goetz, LPC
In a previous article I made reference to something I call country and western therapy. The central point is a person can find h...
Smoking Alcohol
17 October 2013
by Darcy McConnell, M.E.d, LPC, LADC
Working with so many young people there is little that surprises me about their drug and alcohol abuse. However, about two weeks ago I was taken back when a teenager told me about a party where she was introduced to smoking alcohol. Yes, I know it seems like a concept that doesn’t sound quite ri...Depression Dims the Golden Years
29 August 2013
By Belinda Crosier, M.E., LPC
For a society as youth-oriented as ours, it might seem that depression and aging would be synonymous. However, contrary to what many professionals and lay people believe, depression should NOT be considered a normal part of aging. Just because old age is the latter stages of one's life does not mean it ...
Kids in the Crossfire
23 August 2013
By Belinda Crosier
It’s a sad fact that Oklahoma’s divorce rate continues to be one of the highest in the nation. Sadder still – even tragic – is the number of kids caught in the crossfire of parents’ animosity and bitterness toward each other. Parents who demean, degrade or curse their ex-spouses in ...
Dealing with Suicide
23 August 2013
By Darcy McConnell, M.Ed., LPC, LADC, CADA
Dealing primarily with adolescents attending Edmond high schools, exposure to the current events and trending topics of teenagers is an ever present component of fulfilling the counselor role. The highly publicized Amanda Todd story became the topic of a recent emotional group discussion am...
Watch and Learn, A Little About Fear
19 August 2013
The Meaning of Life
06 August 2013
By Chad McCoy, MA, LPC Supervisee
What IS the meaning of life? If you find yourself intently scouring this article for the answer to the age old question, I, with much confidence, can tell you to read no further. Give this article not another thought, because sadly I do not hold the answer. I have been told many things about what t...
Fear of Back to School
24 July 2013
By Sheila Stinnett, LPC
As the last few days of summer wind down, thousands of elementary children ready themselves for their return back to the classroom. During this count down to the big “first day”, back packs are filled with brand new supplies, new clothes and shoes are purchased and social media buzzes with the exciteme...A Brief Primer on Loss
10 July 2013
By John Goetz, LPC
I know it sounds almost cliché but I think this quote may bear repeating, “Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all,” Alfred Lord Tennyson. Read it again and let it start to sink in. A sad fact of life is that love and loss are a package deal. They are threads in the ...
Parenting with Divorce
27 June 2013
By Darcy McConnell, LPC, LADA
It seems to be common knowledge among Oklahomans that we are living in the state with the highest rate of divorce in the U.S. Consequently, 50% of children born to married parents today will experience the divorce of their parents before the children reach 18 years of age. Furthermore, close to half of ...
Teens and Prescription Drugs
05 June 2013
By: Darcy McConnell, M.Ed.
Recent national studies and published reports indicate that alarming numbers of young people ages 12-17 are intentionally abusing prescription drugs such as pain relievers, tranquilizers, stimulants and sedatives, to get high. The National Survey on Drug Abuse and Health conducted by the Substance Abuse an...
