Teens & Screens - Who is in Control?

On September 14, we partnered with The Family Place for our Teens & Screens event.
Our goal was to guide parents with any questions they had regarding technology and
their children, learn the effects of technology and what they can do about it. Today,
we’re sharing some important guidelines from our event for those who weren’t in
attendance!

Technology Tips for Parents
-The number one tip is to have a family plan and to set screen limits. A family plan
includes guidelines being set for all family members. This is important because you,
as the parents, need to set the example for your children. It’s hard to expect your children
to cut down on screen time when you’re not modeling the behavior you’re asking of them.
-It’s important to involve your children in activities they are interested in and enjoy. This
can simply be encouraging them to play outside, read books, participate in sports, or
enroll them in music classes. Giving them these opportunities allows them to explore
their interests, outside of technology.
-Choose specific days, times, and places where screens are off-limits. This encourages
your children to interact with those around them, instead of being distracted by screens.

As you follow these tips and guidelines, it’s important to keep an open and honest
conversation going with your children. Be vigilant but also flexible. Ensure you know
what your children are participating in during screen time and accept that the transition
to less screen time may be a difficult transition.

Too much screen time and digital addiction often leads to isolation, depression, and
anxiety. If you feel your child is spending too much time with technology, we recommend
taking action and setting some guidelines for your family.

Trip Report- South Fork Snake River Rafting Trip

      We recently took a group of students on an overnight rafting trip down 40 miles of the South Fork of the Snake River in South-Eastern Idaho. Regarded as a world-class fishery and wildlife-viewing Mecca, the South Fork is a slice of paradise for those seeking a memorable experience.

     We launched two fourteen-foot rafts just below Palisades Dam at the head of Swan Valley, Idaho and rigged for a late afternoon of mellow floating, fishing and sight-seeing. We needed to make at least 16 miles that afternoon to get to the first campsites inside the canyon section and to get a glimpse of Fall Creek Falls. With light waning and a stiff head wind, we had to lean into the oars more than into the fly rods. 

     Our camp neighbors noticed the boats full of assumedly hungry teenagers and offered their left over steak and grilled veggies as we were making camp. With a start like that it was hard to complain about the surprisingly low temps that night that left the boats icy in the early morning light. Once the sun warmed the world we spent the rest of the day chasing fish in every eddy and riffle the river offered as Osprey, Bald Eagles, and Golden Eagles repeatedly showed us how to properly land a fish. These trips often offer notable experiences for our students and this outing was no different. One student tripled his lifetime fish allotment; another spent his first night under the stars; and for the whole group, the first time being entranced by the magic of the South Fork. 

Social Media... Our National Obsession

The other day while on a walk with my wife, we were engaged in a conversation and ended up on the topic of social media.  In particular, we were talking about our children and their use of social media.  As we all know, technology, digital media, and social media are all very prevalent parts of the day-to-day lives of most teenagers.  And while there are obvious benefits that come from technology and social media (e.g., entertainment, education, information, communication, etc.), there are also many pitfalls and traps that teens can fall into through their use of those technologies.  There are increasing studies and research that have begun to show and highlight the dangers that can come to teens from overuse of and overinvolvement in social media (e.g., depression, anxiety, insecurities, social comparison, etc.).  It is important for parents to take an active, assertive role in the monitoring of and boundaries around their children's use of social media. The following is a link to an interesting article on our national obsession with social media, as well as some food for thought with how involved we should be with our children's use of that technology.
Social Media... Our National Obsession

Mont Criddle, LMFT

The Basic Principle of RESPECT

The Basic Principle of RESPECT

Each individual has their own experience in life.  As we go about our lives, it is key to connect with others and strive to do the best we can in order to achieve the goals that we have.  The decisions we make and the things that we do affect those around us.  When we work to build relationships the principle of respect comes into play.  As I have counseled individuals, couples, and families over the years, this principle of respect is commonly struggled with when things are going poorly in relationships.  It is often important to bring this to light and have the simple discussion of what respect is.  I like to talk about respect by sharing my experience of teaching Martial Arts to kids.  I have always found that basic principles such as respect can be incorporated and reinforced with the Martial Arts.  I remember teaching classes of children and simply putting the definition of respect as “treating others they way they want to be treated.”  As we look at individuals we recognize that they are all different and don’t like to be treated the same.  

People also don’t always want to be treated the way we would want to be treated.  Therefore, we would treat them the way that they would want to be treated.  This might take a little work to get to openly communicate and get to know another person in order to see what respect means to them.  I would often ask the students if they liked being treated good or bad.  Of course the answer was that they liked to be treated good.  I would tell them that most people are similar in that they want to be treated good also.  However there may be some small things that a person sees as respectful that are simple for another to say or do to fulfill this need.  We can also reinforce respect as an individual does those things that we like or that are good for us.  Again this goes back to basic communication and remembering that others can’t read our minds.  It is important for us to let others know what we do or don’t appreciate.

And of course it is essential to remember that it is important to give respect in order to be respected.  A lot of individuals that I have worked with think opposite and demand to be respected, even though they are not being respectful to others.  Over the years as I have build relationships with people in different settings, I have applied this principle of showing respect.  Without fail when both people involved want to enhance the relationship, this method works. 

Here are some guidelines that will increase respect for others.

I want to end this with a few great quotes about respect:

                  

Jeffrey Openshaw LMFT

Spring Cleaning

I’ve been reading a book lately by Fumio Sasaki called Goodbye, Things.  In the book the author discusses how he used to be constantly stressed and was struggling with always comparing himself to other people.  As the book progresses the author talks about how he overcame much of that through taking a hard look at the quality of his relationships and where his priorities were. He realized that he was addicted to his phone, was consumed by buying new things, and was not spending quality time with those in his life.  By simplifying his life through spending less time on electronics, having less of a focus on purchasing the “latest and greatest” thing and through putting more of his energy into having meaningful interactions with people, the author felt that he has found more genuine happiness in his life. 

While reading that book I started to think about how some of these principles apply directly with what we are doing with the adolescents at LRA. They are being put into an environment that limits their access to things that could be causing them to be comparing themselves to others or causing them unhealthy stress. The kids no longer have access to phones or social media while they are here. Some of the teens have to relearn how to have real face to face communication with their friends instead of just having friendships online.  Social media is a means by which adolescents have been seen to compare their lives to the lives of others. During their time at LRA they do not have that distraction and instead have to focus on their own lives and what direction they are headed.  Social media, cell phones, and other things of that nature are now a normal part of life in our society. We don’t expect that the teens at LRA will never again use those things again when they leave here - that would be unrealistic. However, while they are here we try to educate them on how harmful those things can be if they are not used in moderation and how much more they can get out of their relationships with people if they give people more real attention.  Often the teens I work with have told me that they enjoy not being connected constantly to electronics and that they feel better when they are able to focus more on what really matters to them and what they are working towards.  

I have sometimes found myself being almost envious of how the teens here are in a situation where they don’t have electronics and have fewer things to distract them from more meaningful things in life. However, I realized that the teens at LRA look to us, their therapists, staff, and parents, as role-models and that my constant connection to distractions in my life or comparing myself to others is actually by my own doing. I think in order to be positive and healthy role models for them we should take a look at our own lives and see where we need to work on these issues. Are we constantly comparing ourselves to others? Are we ourselves addicted to our phones, electronics, or social media?  Do we need to simplify our lives to refocus our priorities on meaningful relationships and activities? I definitely do and so this spring I’m going to do a little “spring cleaning” and figure out where I can simplify things in my life so that I can be less distracted and more purposeful with my time and refocus my priorities. I encourage you to do the same! 

Kristjana Green, LCSW

Logan River Academy Achieves Gold Seal of Approval from the Joint Commission

Logan River Academy is proud to announce that we have earned the Behavioral Health Care Accreditation and Gold Seal of Approval from the Joint Commission. The accreditation process consisted of a rigorous 3-day onsite survey conducted in February of 2018.

“Since our inception in 2000, Logan River Academy has strived to provide the highest and most ethical level of care possible to the students and families we serve. This accreditation is further evidence that we are doing just that,” said Larry Carter, Founder and Executive Director of Logan River Academy. “We look forward to implementing the Joint Commission’s recommendations and raising the bar even further for ourselves.”

“Joint Commission accreditation provides behavioral health care organizations with the processes needed to improve in a variety of areas related to the care of individuals and their families,” said Julia Finken, RN, BSN, MBA, CSSBB, CPHQ, Executive Director, Behavioral Health Care Accreditation Program, The Joint Commission. “We commend Logan River Academy for its efforts to elevate the standard of care it provides and to instill confidence in the community it serves.”

This accreditation will assist us in all areas of service we provide. From clinical, to residential, to adventure learning, as well as our academics. If you are working with a student who you feel may be a good fit for Logan River Academy, please contact us at 435-755-8400 or information@loganriver.com.

March

The month of March is an exciting time of year, in my opinion.  Here in Utah we start to see the first signs of springtime. After a long winter of snow and cold weather, those subtle signs of spring are a welcome sight. March is also a great time of year because of March Madness, the college basketball playoff tournament. This is a time when people from all over the country get excited about their teams and hoping their team will win. Most March Madness tournaments produce some exciting games with buzzer beating finishes. The full range of human emotion can be seen during these fiercely competed contests.

Life is an amazing experience. It is open ended and unique for all of us. Each day brings new opportunities, challenges, and things to get excited about. One small thing we can all do to improve our happiness is to find joy and contentment in the small things of life such as a spring bud on a tree or an exciting basketball game. What are the small things in life that get you excited?

Many of us go through life with our heads down, feeling sad about missed opportunities from the past or worrying about the future. One key to finding contentment in life is to learn to enjoy the moment. There are subtle beauties in the moment that we often miss because of our focus on the past or the future.

One therapy model we love at Logan River Academy is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). ACT focuses on mindfulness and learning to live in the present. ACT helps us learn to accept thoughts and feelings rather than push them away or distract ourselves. This model teaches us to make room for difficult emotions and to learn to observe them rather than get hooked or fused to them. As we lessen our resistance, thoughts tend to be less troublesome and move on more quickly.

One part of ACT I am personally working on is learning to connect in the present. I am trying to focus more on what is going on around me such as sounds, textures, and movements. I am trying to drive a little slower, eat in a more relaxed and slow paced fashion, and enjoy each conversation. Learning to connect and live in the Here-and-Now is crucial to contentment. Many of us go through life thinking life will be better after we make this much money, or have this relationship, or go on this vacation. When we live this way we miss out on the many joys right in front of us.

As we learn to appreciate each moment of each day, the hope is that contentment can settle upon us. ACT acknowledges that pain is inevitable and part of all of our lives. How we respond to pain is our choice. If we respond poorly, suffering is sure to come. If we make room for pain and handle it well, suffering may not have to be part of the equation. Let’s all try to enjoy the present and recognize the small, subtle nuances of life that can bring great levels of contentment!

If you are interested in learning more about ACT, please consider reading The Happiness Trap by Russ Harris. I am currently reading this book and enjoying it very much. 

 

Matt Erickson, LCSW