Article Summaries
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...
Teen Reality Gap
05 June 2013
By Darcy McConnell, M.Ed., LADC, LPC
A recently released publication from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) reveals that teen drug and alcohol abuse has hit an all-time high nationwide. Oklahoma specific statistics indicate that over 34,000 Oklahoma teens abused drugs in the past month (informati...
Monitoring the Future
05 June 2013
By Darcy McConnell, M.Ed.
The latest “Monitoring the Future” survey of teenage substance abuse indicates that marijuana abuse is on the rise after two decades of consistent decline. On average about 15% of eighth through 12th grade students have abused one or more illegal drugs in the past month. Fortunately, cigarette ...
Summer Parenting Tip
05 June 2013
By Darcy McConnell, M.Ed.
Schools been out for about a month and the amount of free time teens have is scary and anxiety provoking to most parents. Even more startling is that fact that statistics show that drug and alcohol abuse, along with law violations by adolescents, increase during the summer months. For some teens summer mea...
Three Words of Wisdom
04 June 2013
By John Goetz
It is part of culture to pass down the knowledge we have gathered to future generations. We do so through stories, metaphors, books, song and a countless host of other methods. It is an attempt to help our children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren learn from our experiences. With the help of some clever marke...
Super Size Me
04 June 2013
By John Goetz, M.Ed. L.P.C.
This weekend I did something I previously stated I would not do. I watched the documentary "Super Size Me", the story of a guy who eats nothing but what is offered on the menu at McDonalds for 30 days. Now, I have been known to watch my share of documentaries...
Anger and a Desire to Change
04 June 2013
By John Goetz, M.Ed. L.P.C.
Irritated, annoyed, ticked, hot, enraged and frustrated . . . these are but a few of the words we use to describe anger. Webster's states that anger is a feeling of displeasure and usually of antagonism. According to the America Psychological Association, anger is an emotional state that varies in intensi...
Tevye asked Golde Do You Love Me?
04 June 2013
By John Goetz, M.Ed. L.P.C.
In the Musical Fiddler on the Roof, Tevye asked Golde do you love me? After 25 years in a stable/successful marriage which was arranged by his parents and his wife's parents he considers that love may be a central part of marriage. Their parents told them that they would learn to love one another and now ...
Building Fences a Family Project
04 June 2013
By John Goetz, M.Ed. L.P.C.
As Alice Cooper stated so eloquently, School's out for summer. Teenagers across our state are busy not making plans beyond sleeping late and staying up late. To be fair, many teens will be engaged in summer jobs, church work camps, mission trips, sports, and a wide variety of positive activities. The real...
Double Standards
04 June 2013
Boys will be Boys
Girls will be Girls
By John Goetz, M.Ed. L.P.C.
Individual differences are greater than gender differences. To be perfectly clear I will say it again, Individual differences are greater than gender differences. With that being said up front I wish to touch on the fact that boys and girls are diff...
"Dating Drama" from a Dads seat in the House
04 June 2013
By John Goetz, M.Ed. L.P.C.
"He is a stupid jerk or a confused wimp". The words a 16 year old girl uses to describe a 16 year old male caught in the snare of dating drama. A situation which is obvious to the detached spectators sitting in the stands watching these scenes play out but completely oblivious to the unfortunate souls pla...
The Five Truths of Life
04 June 2013
By John Goetz, M.Ed. L.P.C.
A few weeks ago, back in October, my youngest daughter shared a bit of wisdom she heard at Workcamp with our Church. The presenter was Father Geoff Rose and he shared “The Five Truths of Life” from Father Richard Rohr. I would like to touch base on the 5th truth, “you are going to die&r...
Food Allergies
04 June 2013
By John Goetz, M.Ed. L.P.C.
Food is essential to life and, because of this, is at the center of our conversations and activities. In America we enjoy an abundant supply and mind numbing choices of what to eat. We also enjoy a mind numbing number of diet ideas. One which has gained a great deal of attention in the media is “fo...
Panic, Don't Panic
04 June 2013
By John Goetz, M.Ed. L.P.C.
No, I am not writing about the economy. I am referring to an anxiety based disorder called “panic attacks”. Characteristics of a panic attack include a sudden feeling of intense fear or anxiety that may be characterized by shortness of breath or hyper ventilating, heart pounding in the chest, ...
Satire
03 June 2013
By: Quinton Ellis, M.S.
Let's take a moment, here the end of another school year, with Memorial Day just passing and an interminably long summer beyond that, to put ourselves in the minds of too many of our children. Are they thinking about how they can't wait to get started on that "character building" summer job? Are they looking ...
