As a therapeutic educational consultant who supports families with teens and young adults struggling with addiction, I speak to many parents who worry about their kids' marijuana use. While they express concern, few understand the risks associated with their teens' use, and I hear many repeat common misconceptions. This article highlights the risks associated with adolescent/young adult marijuana use as well as dispels myths.

Navigating the complex world of therapeutic options for individuals and families facing emotional, behavioral or relational challenges can be overwhelming. This is where the Therapeutic Consulting Association (TCA) comes into play. Whether you’re a family seeking guidance or a professional looking to enhance your expertise, the TCA offers unparalleled support and resources. Here’s an introduction to what makes the TCA stand out.

As a parent contemplating residential treatment, you're likely facing one of the most significant & challenging decisions of your life. Ensuring your child gets the necessary care while navigating potential insurance coverage & the financial implications can feel overwhelming. Outlined below is some key information to help you make informed decisions regarding placement.

When a family hires a transportation company, they should feel confident that the care their child receives is grounded in a model that accounts for traumatic stress, adolescent development, and protective factors.

“Not till we are lost, in other words, not till we have lost the world, do we begin to find ourselves, and realize where we are and the infinite extent of our relations.”  - Henry David Thoreau 

When parents approach Therapeutic Educational Consultants for guidance regarding their struggling adolescent or young adult, one option they are exposed to is wilderness therapy, or outdoor behavioral healthcare. It sounds counterintuitive that sending a child away from home will bring a family closer together, and it also seems punitive rather than curative to place a student in a forested area and teach him to be a creator of his environment rather than someone who feels provided for, shaped and controlled by others. But research and our personal experience have shown this approach to be a valuable first step in moving adolescents and young adults towards stronger mental health and personal responsibility.

Hiring a Therapeutic Educational Consultant is a big decision. Just like any other major life decision, families want to know that the expertise, service and reliability of the services they need and invest in, will be the best they can get.

Often parents believe that once their children turn 18, they no longer have the ability to control aspects of their adult child’s life. It’s important to know that that’s not entirely accurate.

Self-harm is defined by the World Health Organization as “an act with non-fatal outcome, in which an individual deliberately initiates a non-habitual behaviour that, without intervention from others, will cause self-harm, or deliberately ingests a substance in excess of the prescribed or generally recognised therapeutic dosage” [1]. It is surprisingly common, yet many people know little about it.

Therapeutic Wilderness Therapy, also referred to as Outdoor Behavioral Health, utilizes the container of nature and the outdoors to reach individuals that have been unable to make changes in more traditional settings including outpatient therapy.

“Failure to launch” is a term that refers to young adults who remain in the home of their parents or caregivers, for a longer period of time than what is traditionally expected. There are many reasons young adults struggle to maintain independence.

You’ve all heard of marketing consultants, business strategy consultants and PR consultants, but do you know what a Therapeutic Educational Consultant is?

I offer to all parents what I have to believe that you cannot do everything right. As much as we might try, our children will still have hardships we wish we could have equipped them better for and we will still second guess ourselves in the quiet sleepless hours of the night.

Therapeutic wilderness or outdoor behavioral health is the sometimes controversial and often misunderstood treatment option for children, adolescents, and young adults whose emotional and behavioral struggles cause significant disruption to their well-being and ability to function.

Have you ever felt lost when researching residential treatment programs for your loved one? In the world of the internet and evolution of therapeutic needs, it becomes imperative that not only your financial resources are being stretched the best way possible, but that the clinical needs are being met as well. Here are 5 ways that a therapeutic consultant can help with next steps.

Raising a child into an independent young adult is a challenging if not daunting process. It does not come easy; nor does it occur by happenstance. The process takes years of purposeful parenting. However, sometimes even the best intentioned parents find themselves “parenting” an adult longer than ideal.

“Advice from friends is like the weather. Some of it is good; some of it is bad” – Arnold Lobel

We all consult friends, colleagues and neighbors for advice, recipes, encouragement and the latest news. But it is not our recommendation that parents go to their friends or neighbors for advice around therapeutic options for their children.

So, what are the potential factors related to the connection between psychosis and the use of marijuana? Let’s take a brief look.

“Truth is like a lion. You don’t have to protect a lion. Let it out and the lion will protect itself.” -Charles Spurgeon

First, some history: The term “Educational Consultant” traces its roots to the early days of school placements in traditional day and boarding schools and prestigious colleges.