Midnight Mentoring with Manny
Welcome back to another Day in the Life blog from Ascend, where we spotlight a member of our team and the work they do for us. This month, we’re focusing on one of our on-the-ground team members, Manny the mentor.…
Mental Health
Understanding Teen OCD: Forms & Support
Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a mental health condition that can cause a lot of distress and anxiety. In TV and movies, it usually looks like someone who is obsessed with cleanliness and order. But in reality, OCD can look very different…
Masking in Teens: Why Do They Do It & How to Help
Have you ever felt like you needed to put on a different face to fit in with your friends or classmates? Maybe you felt like you had to laugh at a joke that wasn’t really funny or pretend to like…
Psychiatric Care with Dami
At Ascend, we’re always trying to pull back the curtain on how we do what we do. While we always strive to protect our clients and respect their privacy, there are still many things we can share about our operations…
Trigger Warnings for Teens: Effectiveness & Impact
Do Trigger Warnings Help? If you spend any time scrolling through Instagram or TikTok, you’ve probably seen trigger warnings pop up before certain videos. Everything from mentions of abuse to scenes involving self-harm might come with a warning that the…
Teen Mental Health: Helping a Friend Seek Support
It’s hard to watch a friend struggle. Maybe they’ve been making jokes that feel a little too dark, they’ve told you that they’re feeling anxious all the time, or they’ve dropped off the face of the earth and stopped answering…
Admitting You’re Ready with Brie
As part of our mission to ensure parents and teens feel comfortable working with Ascend, we have a commitment to transparency. In order to help you learn as much as possible about our programs, we highlight different staff members each…
Teenage Mental Health: Effective Ways to Support Your Teen
Ask any parent, and they’ll tell you that raising teenagers comes with challenges you never expected but also rewards you never imagined. When your teen faces mental health struggles, you may feel helpless, like you’re losing your connection to the…
How to Deal with Disillusionment: Tips for Teens
What to Do When You Feel Disillusioned It’s normal to spend a lot of time thinking about your future in your teenage years. College, career, relationships — trying to plan out your path can feel overwhelming. And for many teens,…
Pandemic’s Impact on Teen Mental Health: Anxiety, Depression & More
2020 feels both like an eon ago and like yesterday. Lockdowns, mask mandates, and social distancing were more than disruptions to daily life — they transformed the way people interacted with each other and the world. For teens, the effects…