Cultural Differences between Parents and their Teens in Miami

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Cultural Differences between Parents and their Teens in Miami
Miami is an international and an immigrant city.  People come from all over the world and especially Latin America to settle here.  The vibrant mix of cultures can sometimes be difficult for families to deal with.  For the teenagers of immigrants who are growing up experiencing a different culture than their parents it can become more and more difficult for them to communicate effectively with their families.  Parents are more likely to adhere firmly to their original culture whereas teenagers tend to very quickly soak up the culture that they experience around them.  This can lead to gaps between teenagers and parents on their levels of Americanism as well as on their levels of the parents’ culture of origin.  In more serious cases parents and teenagers may have a significant language barrier between them, fertile ground for misunderstandings and conflicts to spring up.
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Adderall & ADHD Medication as Study Aids and Teens

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Adderall & ADHD Medication as Study Aids and Teens
For years teens and college students have been using medication intended for treating symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) as study aides.  The medications tend to be stimulants that increase concentration and energy in people who do not have ADHD.  Teens use them to study all night long, cram, or to study for subjects that are boring to them.  Obviously teenagers self-administering stimulant medication is very concerning.  Without the supervision of a psychiatrist is it easy for teenagers to overdose. They may combine these drugs with other medications that may have dangerous consequences for them.  Teens have also been known to develop symptoms of depression because of this medication, something a psychiatrist should definitely be aware of.
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National Eating Disorder Awareness Week: Eating disorders Simplified for Teenagers

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National Eating Disorder Awareness Week: Eating disorders Simplified for Teenagers
This week is National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) Awareness Week.  As people work to spread the word about this noble cause I often find that we are flooded with information that can be difficult to digest at once.  Sometimes it can be helpful to compile some basic information that is easy to understand and take in.  So here are some of the most recent statistics and health effects of eating disorders I was able to compile as well as some simple, straight forward definitions.  This information is important because eating disorders have very high mortality rates compared with other mental health disorders.  Women are more likely to suffer from eating disorders but men can also be diagnosed.  The last part of this blog talks about how these eating disorder may affect teenagers.
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Behind the Annoying Behaviors of Teens

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Behind the Annoying Behaviors of Teens
You’re speaking with a teenager.  Suddenly you can see they are uncomfortable with the conversation.  There is a pause.  They look at you as if you had a bright green ball of snot dangling from your nose and then they say in that long, drawn out, and especially obnoxious tone “awkwaaaaaaard...” Another particularly annoying and ubiquitous teenage reaction is this.  You’ll be in the middle of explaining something important, something that, if the kid would only listen, could really improve his or her life and then you get it.  “Whatever…”
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Video Game Addiction and Teenagers: Understanding The Allure

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Video Game Addiction and Teenagers: Understanding The Allure
Teenagers have a big job to do.  They have to cement their identity, gain a realistic sense of their power to make changes in their life and create a social support network where they are valued, accepted and feel like they belong to.  In short they have to grow up feeling good about who they are and what they can do with their lives.  However, our world is not perfect and sometimes these challenges are more than teenagers can bear.  All sorts of things can go wrong with these goals that are so necessary to a being a well-adjusted and happy adult.  When this happens teenagers experience themselves as depleted and long for meaning and satisfaction in their lives.  This is usually what’s going on in a life of a teenager when they become addicted to video games.
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Tolerating your teen’s intense emotions and overcoming parental guilt and anger

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Tolerating your teen’s intense emotions and overcoming parental guilt and anger
Teenagers aren’t easy.  They can be demanding, intense and moody.  In the normal world of adults you have more control over how difficult people are involved in your life.  When it comes to your difficult teenager there’s little choice but to be involved.  So what do you do when you notice that your teenager’s words and behavior can provoke out of control and equally intense reactions in you?  This is a question that I am often asked in my practice and I always say the same thing.  Gain some emotional distance.  Don’t take it personally and don’t expect them to behave like mature adults all the time.  For me it is helpful to conceptualize your role as a parent in the following way.
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Why I do not Give a Psychological Diagnosis to my Teenage Patients

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Why I do not Give a Psychological Diagnosis to my Teenage Patients
A psychological diagnosis is about meeting behavioral and emotional criteria, functioning like a check list.  You look at the list of symptoms - persistent sadness, trouble sleeping, constant worrying, etc – you see how many of these symptoms the teen in question displays and if they have a certain number of them you assign the diagnosis.  It is not a difficult or complicated process.  It is almost exclusively descriptive and it does not contribute to my understanding of my teenage patients or how to help them.  It is not useful clinically.  Researchers use diagnosis as a way to run studies on large groups of people who, on the surface, have similar difficulties.  Insurance companies demand the assignment of a diagnosis in order to reimburse.
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The Steubenville Rape Video, Alcohol and Teenagers

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Michael Nodianos really messed up. He is the teenager in the video recently released by the hacktavist group Anonymous shown joking about an incident of rape allegedly perpetrated by his fellow high school football teammates in Steubenville, Ohio. The language and attitude in the video is highly disturbing and offensive.
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How to Talk to your Teen About Going to Counseling

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How to Talk to your Teen About Going to Counseling
For dedicated parents it is important that they feel that they are doing everything they can to help their teenager through life’s troubles.  When parents feel at a loss when confronted with their teenager’s problems they often search for professional help.  However, when they speak to their teenager about it he or she is insulted and dead-set against it.  Teenagers may simply refuse to go or become enraged with the possibility of going to counseling.  This unfortunate reaction puts a frustrating obstacle in the way of parents trying to help their teenagers, especially in the case of older teenagers that you cannot physically force to go.
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Teenagers and the Holidays

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Teenagers and the Holidays
The holidays should be a time when you and your teenager grow a little closer together.  It’s not a time for battles or fighting or trying to get them to do exactly what you want.  This holiday season be flexible with your teenagers.  Talk to them about what they want to do and negotiate generous terms where you also get some of what you want.  Make them a part of the process and let them have some limited control over their participation in family events.  Teenagers often push against disciplinary walls that parents put up.  Loosen the ramparts a little extra but still insist that your teenager be safe.
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