Conference Notes
Part One: Impact of Cannabis on Adolescent Brain Development
Dr. Riggs
Prenatal marijuana exposure
Smoking decrease fetal oxygen
*Permanent neurobehavioral and cognitive impairments; prevents
binding of certain neurons and prevents axons from growing
1/3 THC crosses placenta and interferes with development of
immune system
Infancy - Poor sleep, self regulation, hyper arousal
Age 3 – memory and reasoning deficits
Age 6 -ADHD type symptoms
Age 10- Onset of depression, continued academic problems
If MU use during teens, doubles risk for depression & anxiety in teens,
X4 risk of psychosis
**** prevents glutamate pathway development
½ of all mental illness – develop by age 14
¾ of all mental illness develops by age 24
Fluoxetine
Manualized motivalized cbt
Working with Adolescents with Non-suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI).
Elizabeth Newlin, M.D. and Vaughan Gilmore, LMSW, LCDCRepeated nssi can lead to greater pain tolerance and
decreased fear of death
Decreased fear of being violent against yourself
6% litem prevalence in adults
14-21% in lifetime prevalence in teens
40-60% in clinical population
Risk factors – social isolation, unconnected to school
Poor quality of attachment to parents – correlates with family
environment
Self critical + high parent criticism
WHY SI (self-injury):
Emotion Regulation –relief from an emotional state
- Create an emotional reaction (I just wanted
to feel something)
Self –Punishment – shame & guilt – due to problems with peers,
teachers
Communication – SI a care seeking – instead to attention
seeking – signaling emotional pain
Support : “To write love of her Arms” “Butterfly project”
• Discourage “youtube”
Tx:
Initially – Validate SI –seems like cutting has helped you deal with you
emotion/situation
Standardized tools: Ottawa self-injury & Others…
Emotions before, during, and after
Frequency and severity (scratching or deeper cuts with razor?)
Ability to modulate urge (impulsive or planned ?)
Escalation Why- (emotional regulation, self punishment, communication)
Motivation – motivated to stop?
Suicidal ideation? – ask often
Responses from family - & working with family
Treatment Goals
Safety
Help them make sense of their own triggers and internal state
Family & Support
Skill Development – social support, communication skills (being
able to tell people she is stressed out)-, **self –soothing skills (hot tea,
bubble bath, ice-“soothe your mood kit”, self-compassion, stressmanagement,
“I know it might happen while you are here, this is a safe place to
talk about it”
Validation –recognition an acceptance that once has feeling and
thoughts that are true and real to him/her.
As therapist – take mentalizing stance –of curious, modeling flexibility
of thought, playfulness/humor, -I’m not the “expert” approach –
Relapse prevention PARENTS, WHAT NOT TO DO:
THRATS & ULTIMATES
BODY CHECKS
DISMISS
PUNISHMENTS/SHAMING
Teens – who am I -SELF INDENTIFICATION They are seeking information for environment (most TV has some
sexual content)
-teaching TV shows is false portrayal….
-Need mentors& role models, and positive activities
-Sex-education should be about relationships and life choices
-education at very young age needed
-seeking gratification –leads to risky behavior
#1 predictor of teen sex? – being in relationship for more than 3
months…
Colfoundation.com