Take an inside look at the discussions that take place concerning each student who attends RedCliff Ascent.

This is one of the most clinically sophisticated treatment programs there is available to troubled teens.

Check out the video...Treatment Team!

http://www.redcliffascent.com/video/

 

 

This is another piece written by Walter E. Williams. This is very thought provoking and should be read by all...even those outside the USA!

http://www.gmu.edu/departments/economics/wew/articles/09/LiveFreeOrDie.htm

 

1) We guess at what normal behavior is. Because of our environment, we had no role models for normalcy, so we acted the way we saw other people act, people we thought were normal, and continue this performance into our adult lives.  

 

2) We have difficulty following a project through from beginning to end; we procrastinate. Procrastination in the usual sense is the result of laziness. Adult children of alcoholics have never been taught how to solve a problem in systematic, manageable amounts. It was always all or nothing. Consequently, we don't have adult life skills.  

 

3) We lie when it would be just as easy to tell the truth. Lies, specifically lies of denial, were used to benefit the alcoholics and para alcoholics of our homes.  

 

4) We judge ourselves without mercy. Since there is no way for us to meet the unattainable standards of perfection we have internalized from childhood, we are always falling short of the mark we have set for ourselves. If we are responsible for some positive outcome we dismiss it by saying, "Oh, that was easy," and so on. This is often confused with humility but is actually poor self-esteem. We should keep our poor self-esteem in mind when taking the Fourth and Fifth steps.  

 

5) We have difficulty having fun. For most of us having fun was just a childhood fantasy. We were always imprisoned by the anger and hostility of alcoholism, even if physically removed from the alcoholic; the disease was already part of us.  

 

6) We take ourselves very seriously. The normal spontaneity of childhood was squashed so many years ago by the pressure to be adult. Living with one or more addicts forced us to be on guard constantly. Seriousness was the only option. Now we can't have fun.  

 

7) We have difficulty with intimate relationships. For most of us the only reference of intimate relationships was that of our parents. Our inconsistent parent child relationships caused us to feel an overwhelming fear of abandonment. We are left too inexperienced and fearful to let ourselves get close to anyone.  

 

8) We overreact to changes over which we have no control. As young children the addict's life was inflicted on us as part of our environment. Our only recourse was to try to take control totally. Now any change which we are unaware of or have no control over leaves us feeling desperate and vulnerable.  

 

9) We constantly seek approval and affirmation. The love we received as children was very erratic. The affirmations we didn't get on a day to day basis as children, we interpreted as negative, leaving us with low self-images. If someone likes us, gives us affirmation and accepts us, we usually judge them worthless. Our low self images thrive on this.  

 

10) Because of our secretive childhood sufferings, we thought that things were always better in the "house next door." NOBODY could possibly feel the same way as we did. Therefore, we felt unique, not a part of the group, and always looking in through an imaginary barrier.  

 

11) We are super responsible or super irresponsible. So much of our lives are all or nothing when trying to please our parents we did more and more and more; some of us realized early in our childhood, that there simply was no pleasing them, so we did nothing. We people please until we burn out for two basic reasons; one, because we don't have a realistic sense of our own capabilities or, two because if we say NO, we're afraid someone might find out how inadequate we feel and no longer like us.  

 

12) We are extremely loyal, even in the face of evidence that the loyalty is undeserved. Since starting a relationship is so difficult and frightening, when we do so we expect it to be permanent. This loyalty is usually caused by fear of abandonment. At home we always "hung in there" enabling the addict and denying the disease.  

 

13) We are impulsive. As children our impulsivity was usually denied or covered up by our parents. We seldom suffered the consequences for impulsivity, leaving us with no deterrent, and we allow our impulsive behavior to continue in our adult lives.  

 

Adapted from Adult Children of Alcoholics, by Janet G. Woititz, Ed.D., 1987.  

Joe has been a good friend and great mentor. Check out this site:

http://causerelatedmarketing.blogspot.com/2009/05/profile-of-cause-marketing-veteran-joe.html

 

Walter E Williams, professor of economics at George Mason University asks the question,

"Are black Americans a minority group? When one uses the term minority, there is an inference that somewhere out there is a majority but in the United States we are a nation of minorities. According to the U.S. Census Bureau 2000 census, where people self-identify, the ancestry of our largest ethnic groups are people of German ancestry (15.2 percent), followed by Irish (10.8 percent), African (8.8), and English (8.7) ancestry. Of the 92 ethnic groups listed, in the census, 75 of them are less than 1 percent of our population."

When listening to politicians as well as the media, this article provides some perspective around what I'm hearing. Check it out...

http://www.gmu.edu/departments/economics/wew/articles/09/RaceTalk.htm

 

This is a piece recently written by Walter E. Williams of George Mason University. He relates the office of Supreme Court Justice to that of a football referee.

Very interesting article...something everyone should ponder! Check it out...

http://www.gmu.edu/departments/economics/wew/articles/09/EmpathyVersusLaw.htm

Check out the video...it says it all!

http://www.utahvod.com/edit/bermuda.swf

I happened upon this post on YouTube from a student who attended RedCliff Ascent. He posted a slide show of his 57 days spent at RedCliff. Check it out!

 

Experience the fun…Discovery Ranch staff and students alike, take advantage of Mother Nature. Check out the video.

http://www.utahvod.com/edit/mud.swf

 

I was thinking about the interactions that happen today with Facebook, Twitter, and Texting etc. I look at my young 20 something cousin and his wife posting on Facebook, “I lost my cell phone…I think I will go crazy”. Then the next post two minutes later is, “I found it”. I know there is a place for this technology and I recognize the value of blogs. However, I can’t help but think that for the younger generations, the “streaming” thought process isn’t very healthy. There is a place in our relationships for some “censored” thought before we speak. “Free Association” is useful in the therapist’s office, but I’m not sure many professionals would suggest you live your life that way. Even with my daughter, she invited some friends over to watch a movie and when I walked in the room, there were six or seven kids all texting on their phones, obviously to other kids.   Anyone have thoughts or insight on this?

RedCliff Ascent was recently featured as a resource on an informational free site that focuses on ADHD in teenagers.

Check out the free site:

http://www.freewebs.com/adhdhelp/resourcesontheweb.htm

 

You know you need help – but what kind and where? Many parents tell us that’s exactly how they felt while trying to make decisions about their troubled teen. Constant conflict, anger and frustration often make parents feel hopeless.

You may have seen symptoms such as anger, sadness, depression, or defiance in your teen. Perhaps your child is struggling with low self esteem or substance abuse. Some of our students’ most common diagnoses include ADD, ADHD, or learning disabilities.

We can help. Discovery Academy specializes in working with families whose children have been expelled from public or private teen boarding schools. We accept children who may struggle with behavioral or emotional problems. Learn more here:

http://www.discoveryacademy.com/formychild/

 

The Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Industry Council (OBHIC) was founded in 1997 when representatives from a handful of wilderness treatment programs joined to collaborate and to share best practices. The founding programs realized the advantage of uniting to promote program standards and excellence and thus OBHIC was founded.

Today, the organization and its member programs have been instrumental in raising the bar for wilderness treatment, facilitating research on the efficacy of wilderness treatment for adolescents, and in promoting the industry.

http://www.obhic.com/research/does-wilderness-treatment-work.html

I recently re-connected with a friend of mine who is now living in Turkey. She set up a website and blog to discuss issues surrounding Cyclothymia. While this condition, a member of the "bi-polar family", can be devastating to those who have it, this website deals with the facts in a straightforward, honest and sometimes humorous manner.

Please take a look:

http://www.cyclothymiacollective.com/search/label/cyclothymia_defined

 

 

The Daily Consumption Of Cannabis Predisposes To The Appearance Of Psychosis And Schizophrenia, According To A Study Date: 26 Mar 2009 - 5:00 PDT

The daily consumption of cannabis predisposes to the appearance of psychosis and schizophrenia, and those episodes of psychosis which are fruit of this substance present certain specific characteristics, both before their appearance and in the clinical presentation of the psychosis. This is one of the conclusions of the doctoral thesis "Neurodevelopment and environmental stress in initial psychosis: transversal analysis of the ESPIGAS study", carried out by researcher Miguel Ruiz Veguilla, of the Institute of Neurosciences of the University of Granada (Spain) and supervised by professors Manuel Gurpegui Fernández de Legaria and Jorge Cervilla Ballesteros. Ruiz Veguilla is also the person in charge for the Unit of Development Neuropsychiatry of Jaén (Spain).

This work has studied the risk factors associated with schizophrenia, identifying and characterizing in depth those psychosis associated with a continual consumption of cannabis. They carried out a study with 92 subjects, 50 of which had developed a psychosis without presenting signs of an "abnormal neurodevelopment", this is, they had been doing well academically, they had a group of friends (no social isolation) and they presented a good motor coordination. In addition, these subjects did not show a family history of episodes of psychosis in first or second degree.

Identifying a new type of psychosis

The research work carried out by Miguel Ruiz Veguilla has identified a connection between cannabis consumption and psychosis in subjects with a good premorbid performance, and without signs of minor neurological alterations, which in his opinion might point out "a psychopathological way associated with psychosis in subjects with less predisposition".

Thus, 66% of the patients with psychosis who participated in the study and had a normal neurodevelopment admitted to have consumed cannabis daily or almost every day, whereas 43% of the participants with markers of an abnormal neurodevelopment (those already indicated: bad previous social and academic behaviour, a family history and a "clumsier" attitude when they carry out tasks of motor coordination and complex motor acts) were drug users too.

In the light of the results of his doctoral thesis, the researcher of the University of Granada says that, after having identified a type of psychosis where the environmental factor plays a more relevant role, we should now answer the question of which is the prognosis, in the long term, of those subjects with a good previous behaviour, whose psychosis is associated with a high consumption of cannabis.

The results of this research work have been published in the journals "Schizophrenia Research" and "European Psychiatry", two of the most renowned worldwide publications in this research field.