People often say that “kids don’t come with a manual” to illustrate the fear and frustration that comes from learning to parent one challenge at a time.
This is especially true for caregivers who face added difficulties due to the child’s mental health struggles. If mental health isn’t discussed in your family or social circles, you may not know where to begin. What you need is clarity about the realities of children’s mental illness. Explore our blogs and videos for tips!

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Transitioning from Military Survival Skills to Family Thriving Skills
Military training is designed to make service members ready to fight enemy combatants and survive very dangerous situations. These survival skills are quite important in…
read moreTeaching in Traumatizing Times: The Power of Attachment
We are two years into the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a time of complex and collective trauma. Collective traumas are cataclysmic; complex traumas are long-term…
read moreResponding to Your Military Child’s Fears about War and Deployment
Military-connected children are often aware of war at a much younger age than their peers; and experience the effects of a caregiver gone for long…
read moreJust like Pop Pop
Back in the “bad old days,” as I affectionately refer to the time right after my husband Larkin got hurt in Afghanistan, we were at…
read moreTeachers, How are You? Support your Students by Supporting Yourself First
Earlier this year, I was invited by a local elementary school to give a presentation on resilience and self-care for educators during the Covid-19 pandemic.…
read moreI am feeling BLUE t-shirt
The “I am feeling fine” shirts are back by popular demand! Green shirts were created to thank our donors for Mental Health Awareness Month in…
read moreTed Lasso’s advice for managing “bad” behaviors in the classroom
Anxiety – particularly in this time of COVID, masks/no mask, vax/no vax – manifests in a surprising variety of ways. For children, a common response…
read moreFacts and Fiction Surrounding School Shootings and Mental Health
Educators have a unique, but daunting role in the identification, prevention, and mitigation of school violence. As our country and communities continue to experience these…
read moreThe Value of Family Traditions for Children
Most of us love traditions. We may not have wondered why—we just know we enjoy them….especially around the holidays! It might be looking at lights;…
read moreOur Response to the Surgeon General’s Advisory on Youth Mental Health
On December 7, 2021, the U.S Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued a new Surgeon General’s advisory. These statements are used to bring the public’s…
read moreWould You Wait To Treat A Broken Arm?
If you’re reading this, odds are you have a child in your life that you love deeply. You may be a parent or grandparent. Perhaps…
read moreThe Juvenile Justice System
In our latest video series, The Juvenile Justice System, Bexar County Judges Lisa Jarrett, 436th District Court and Laura Parker, 386th District Court, provide their perspective on…
read moreWe Found The Casseroles!
Actually, we found the people who are willing to make and bring casseroles to families contending with mental illness and to encourage others to do…
read moreThe Healing Power of a Story
We like to tell stories. Long before technology streamlined our communication to texts, posts, comments and tweets, we shared stories. Why are we drawn to…
read moreIt’s Time To Tell Our Stories
“Share your story” was one of the themes of the morning as we celebrated the one year anniversary of the One in Five Minds advocacy campaign, on…
read moreDid We Get It All Wrong?
When Dr. Marcela Polanco knocked on “Alicia’s” door to meet her daughter “Sophia”, she suddenly realized she hadn’t reviewed the little patient’s clinical history. In…
read moreOne In Five Minds Presents: A Conversation With Liza Long
On a cool October evening, nearly 200 people gathered to hear a parent’s perspective on raising a child contending with mental illness. Her story was…
read moreTalking about teen suicide
In her May post, 10 Reasons Teens Avoid Telling Parents About Suicidal Thoughts, Stacey Freedenthal, PhD, LCSW, notes that the biggest reason she hears why teens…
read moreDoing Nothing Is Expensive
Stigma is just one of the barriers to treatment for families with a child contending with a mental, emotional or behavioral challenge. But there are…
read moreOn Movies, Mental Health And Roger Ebert
Popular film critic Roger Ebert died in April after a long struggle with cancer. He was 70 years old. Ebert was an intelligent, entertaining, and…
read moreBullying. how to recognize and prevent it.
Bullying. The mere sight of the word is enough to send shivers down a parent’s spine. Especially if your child is one out of every four children…
read moreMake mental health a priority, too.
When our children get a cold or a fever they can’t shake, we don’t hesitate to head to the doctor or give them medicine to…
read moreCoping With Your Child’s Bedtime Anxiety And Insomnia
It’s your child’s bedtime and you’re dreading it. Instead of the calm process you wish it was, it’s filled with tears, pleading, and excuses after…
read moreCOVID-19, Youth and Social Media: Is It Time For A Reset?
What is going on with kids and social media during COVID-19? It seems to be a mixed picture: some very hopeful changes, and still very…
read moreA Story of Hope: Healing From Transgenerational Trauma
Mary N. (name changed to protect privacy) was not the typical student in my first-year college experience. She always came to class early and sat…
read moreHow to Avoid “Parental Burnout:” Warning Signs and 4 Strategies That Can Help
As a parent, you dedicate your life to caring for your child every day. For years, you’ve helped them learn and grow, attending to their…
read moreHow to Talk With Children About COVID-19
COVID-19 is creating a big upheaval in everyone’s lives, especially for children. They may have no more school, daycare, after-school activities, or play dates in…
read moreRethinking Your Child’s Schedule and New Home Routine
If you’re like most families, the “new normal” is taking shape. Work from home and Zoom meetings don’t feel quite as foreign. School and child…
read moreEssential advice about family life during COVID-19 from psychologists
With the second week of no-school and now the “stay at home” order, it is likely that your family, like many others, is still trying…
read moreHow My Neighbor’s Family Is Responding To COVID-19
Although I cannot speak from personal experience, I have a sneaking suspicion that keeping up with all the COVID-19 news as a parent is more-or-less…
read moreIs It Anxiety, ADHD, Or Both?
Your child has always been very active but lately you’ve started to wonder if there is more to it than them just being a “bundle…
read more7 Free Screening Tools For Children’s Mental Health Concerns
You’ve noticed some changes in your child or teen and you’re wondering if something more is going on than them just having a rough day.…
read more5 Signs Your Teen Might Be Depressed
You’ve noticed some changes in your teenage son or daughter’s behavior. They’ve started snapping at you when you ask them a simple question or they…
read moreWhen Anxiety Doesn’t Look Like Anxiety
“Anxiety is one of those diagnoses that is a great masquerader,” explains Dr. Laura Prager, director of the Child Psychiatry Emergency Service at Massachusetts General…
read moreBurnout: It’s Not Just For Adults
I’m betting you have experienced burnout at least once in your adult life. That feeling of exhaustion, the utter lack of motivation, and the burning…
read moreA Strength-Based Approach To Helping Kids With ADHD
Dr. David Rabiner, an expert on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), defines the condition as “a persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity/impulsivity that occurs in…
read moreWhat If Your Child Is The Bully?
As the police car pulled out of the elementary school parking lot, my 11-year-old son handcuffed and sobbing inside, I turned to the principal. Tears…
read moreEffective Treatments for Children with ADHD
Martha Alaniz-Livingston, PhD, LPC, and Kelsey Cook Beers, PhD, with San Antonio Counseling and Behavioral Center, P.C., provided this presentation. They reviewed the assessment of…
read moreFinding The Help You Need In Your Child’s School
For any child with mental health needs, school can be a challenging and frustrating place. And schools can’t help if they don’t understand the extent…
read moreRisky Business – When Your Child’s Behaviors And Habits Might Be Unhealthy
Mental illness rarely first occurs as a full-blown disorder, short of a traumatic experience. There are usually warning signs and red flags that can alert…
read moreDe-Escalating A Dangerous Situation: SAPD’s Crisis Intervention Training
Imagine that your son or daughter has a history of mental illness with occasional, violent outbursts. What if one of those outbursts turns into a…
read moreMental Health Triage: Parents on the Front Lines
Melissa Deuter, MD/Medical Director of Sigma Mental Health Urgent Care, leads a session on how educators and mental health professionals work with families to define…
read more“Don’t Talk About My Child That Way!”
The old adage “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me,” is simply not true. Words are powerful. Use the…
read moreRedefining Anger In Children And Youth
“Dude. I don’t understand. What is it, exactly, that you are so mad about?” My teenage son was standing in front of me his face…
read moreRaising Non-Violent Children & Teens
In our latest on-demand video series, Raising Non-Violent Children & Teens: Strategies for Families & Caregivers, Karen A. Waldron, PhD, Professor Emerita and retired Director…
read moreYouth Suicide
Suicide is the third leading cause of death for youths aged 10 to 24. Recently, researchers found that only 26% of teens thinking about suicide…
read moreKids and Psychotropic Medications
Learn about commonly prescribed psychotropic medications for children and adolescents and the effects that parents and teachers should be aware of. For our latest on-demand…
read moreBehavior Management
Parents sometimes just don’t know what to do when their child is angry, aggressive, oppositional or sad. These are the difficult behaviors that challenge people’s…
read moreSuicide Prevention
Shawn Owens, RN, Clarity Child Guidance Center vice president of nursing, provides a brief overview of Basic Strategies for Suicide Prevention. Shawn explains the following:…
read moreHow Military Parents Miss The Warning Signs Of Mental Illness In Their Kids
“I can’t believe I didn’t see this sooner.” It’s an agonizing moment when you realize your child is possibly dealing with a mental illness. You’re…
read moreSupporting Families Impacted by PTSD
Jill E. Palmer, LCSW, is Clinic Director at the Steven A. Cohen Military Clinic at Endeavors, San Antonio. In this video presentation she discusses support for…
read moreUpfront Communication Can Help Ease The Fears Of Military Children
With the overabundance of media outlets today, many adults have difficulty discerning the line between reality and fantasy, so it should come as no surprise…
read moreA Strong Support System Reaps Big Rewards For Military Kids
Long before the African proverb “It takes a village to raise a child” found its way into American culture, military parents knew that raising their…
read moreFor Educators: The Unique Challenge of Working with Military Kids and their Families
Mrs. Lori A. Phipps is the Military Dependent Education Specialist for Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. Her Military Child Education Program – School Liaison Office…
read moreDeployment and Transition
In this 5-part video series Kat Cole LCSW, Director for The Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic at Family Endeavors in San Antonio, Texas discusses, Deployment…
read moreCo-parenting with a Wounded Warrior
Going through any transitions is always a challenging time for a family. An injury to a family member can be particularly difficult because it causes…
read moreSupporting Your Child During A Military-Related Separation
Between deployments, TDYs, training in the field, and preparing for missions at training centers, frequent separations are a common reality for military families. This can…
read moreRelocation, Relocation, Relocation: Planning Ahead Helps Kids Deal With Moving Stressors
The military move. Inevitable and exciting? Yes. Stressful? Not necessarily. With planning and communication, a military move can be something children – and parents –…
read moreHow can military parents find the right therapist for their child
You have decided to seek out professional mental health support for your child, but how do you find the right therapist? Dr. Joshua Essery, Director…
read moreThe Troubling Stats On Teen Suicide Among Hispanic Girls
The devastating statistics on teen suicide are startling, and should be taken seriously by any parent, especially if your child has existing mental health issues.…
read moreMental Illness Robbed my Childhood but not my Life: Lessons From my Lifelong Battle With Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Elizabeth McIngvale, PhD, LMSW, is an assistant professor at Baylor University’s Diana R. Garland School of Social Work. She is also the founder of the Peace…
read moreHow do children’s attachment issues impact their development?
Most of us think of childhood as a safe, peaceful and happy time in a person’s life. During this time, children usually learn they are…
read moreMental Illness: Know The Facts, Dispel The Myths
There is a persistent swirl of myths, inaccuracies, fears and assumptions that surround mental illnesses and their treatment. The origins of these beliefs are vague,…
read moreUnderstanding Sexual Violence and Improving our Response
Ethel Magaña-Lopez is Education Coordinator for the Rape Crisis Center in San Antonio, Texas. The Rape Crisis Center provides free and confidential counseling, 24-hour crisis…
read moreStress Vs. Trauma: One Is Not Like The Other
Occasional stress is a disruptive but normal part of a child’s life: whether it’s getting ready on time to catch the bus, having a lot…
read moreWhat Causes Children’s Mental Illness?
For parents, it is shocking and distressing to witness the changes in one’s child experiencing a mental health crisis. They wonder: is this my child?…
read moreChildren’s Mental Illness: How Do You Know The Signs?
One in five children will experience mental illness – that’s 80,000 children in Bexar County alone – but you wouldn’t know it to look at them.…
read moreBullying and Cyberbullying
Melissa Graham, PhD, is a San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) Psychologist. She is a member of the SAPD Hostage Negotiation team and an instructor in…
read moreSensory Integration Implications for Learning & Behavior
In this video, Teresa “Tere” Sariol, MOT, OTR, defines sensory integration and explains the role of the five senses as they pertain to sensory integration.…
read moreHow to Talk With Your Students About COVID-19
Most of the teachers I know, myself included, are still reeling from the massive and sudden shift to online teaching brought on by the COVID-19…
read moreSelf-Care and Setting Boundaries for Teachers During the COVID-19 Pandemic
In a matter of a week or two, your day-to-day life has been turned upside down. School has now gone online for the foreseeable future,…
read moreCaring for Kids’ Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic
COVID-19, which stands for Corona Virus Disease of 2019, is a novel respiratory illness that is spread from person to person. Thankfully, children do not appear to be…
read moreAdjusting From Classroom To Online Teaching: Tips From A Teacher Experienced In Both
This blog post was adapted from “Online Teaching 101” at my personal blog. I have included examples of emails, rubrics, and assignments there. In the second…
read moreHelp Your Child Conquer ADHD In The Classroom
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most commonly diagnosed mental disorders in children. About 10% of children ages 4 to 17 suffer…
read moreChallenging Behavior and Individuals With Autism: A Behavior Analytic Approach
In this 4-part video series, Jessica Graber, PhD, LP, BCBA Clinical Director, Ashley Labay, MA, BCBA, ABA Outpatient Program Manager, and Alexandra Villalobos, MEd, BCBA,…
read moreThe Power to Change Their Story
Timothy Johanson, MD, is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Arizona where he teaches the next generation of baby doctors. His research…
read moreWhen work and life don’t balance, serious life crises can trigger a cascade of employment problems—unless you know how to handle them
I’ll never forget the morning my son went to juvenile detention. I was conducting a community general education advisory board meeting for the college where…
read moreHandling Confrontational Parent Meetings … Without Ruining Your Day
You check your inbox and notice a new email pop up from a parent who is requesting a meeting. Your stomach sinks; these are the…
read moreSupporting Military Children in the Classroom
Having a parent leave for a deployments and extended separation (four to six months or more) is a common experience for military families. While all…
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