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Showing posts from January, 2013

A diagnosis is not a label. Building resilience!

By Stephen C. Schultz Over the last 25 years, I have noticed a shift in the youth we work with and some of the struggles they encounter. What I’m seeing is not merely symptomatic of a rebellious teen or the burdens that accompany a mental illness. What I’m sensing goes to the heart of “Identity”; the very essence of who we are. Within the last two years there have been four suicides in my circle of friends, colleagues and co-workers. They were aged 14, 17, 24 and 29 years young! Each battled their own personal demons and each left this life overwhelmed with the prospect of continuing life as they knew it. They left behind grieving families and friends with the eternal question; why? While these families will try to solve their very personal and individualized “puzzles”, they will forever be searching for the missing pieces. You can read my other blog entries on suicide entitled; “ Why does suicide ever seem like a good idea ?” and “ Teen Suicide – Is there ever an answer ?” My

The Rescue - A McKenzie River Adventure

By Stephen C. Schultz (Authors note: This is an experience I had in 1978. I wrote about the experience on an old type writer complete with white out on all of my spelling errors. My mother recently sent me the original. I have transcribed it below just how I had written it as a 15 yr old teen. I hope you enjoy "The Rescue".) The ice cold, crystal clear water gurgled sporadically as it poured over my feet. I stood directing the two-tone green river boat carefully into the current of the McKenzie River . I grabbed the bow of the boat as the current gracefully spun the boat sideways and caused it to bump the bank with a soft squeak.  Dad pulled the truck and trailer up the boat ramp and parked alongside the road. As I turned and gazed at the river, I noticed it was a crisp morning with a light fog rising about a foot off the water. It appeared as though we were actually amidst the clouds. The sun shone through the damp, mossy limbs of the scrub oak and Douglas

The Value of Work in Recovery

By Stephen C. Schultz, BS, CAC Scott C. Schultz, J.D., MBA Jared C. Schultz, PhD Work. It is a part of life that has an immense impact on everyone. It plays a significant role in our identities, our happiness, and our feeling of being connected in our communities. In most cases, people tend to wander a bit through their teenage years, trying a variety of jobs, and refining their interests and vocational goals. We have found that for adolescents involved in therapy or receiving residential treatment, this “traditional” way of establishing what they want to do is disrupted. Often these teens, while bright and intelligent, find themselves becoming disenfranchised with school prior to their involvement in therapy. They lose sight of a college education and gravitate to thoughts and behaviors contrary to their family values. Sometimes there is a tendency to use substances, eating or lack thereof and sex to escape the emotional pain that soon follows. Parents intervene and