Growth and Change at PRN
Dear Friends and Colleagues:
It is with mixed emotions that we say farewell to our Director of Admissions, Alyson Daniel, LCSW. Aly and her family are in the process of relocating to New Jersey, where Aly will be taking some time to get settled and pursue a private clinical practice. We are excited that Aly will be able to devote additional time and energy to her family during this time of transition, and fully support her decision. We will also miss her big smile, joyful presence and all that she contributes to our work here at PRN!
In the four years since Aly joined our team at PRN for Families, our program has evolved greatly. We have made significant progress in developing our Tracks young adult services, as well as in developing partnerships with other programs and adding facilities that increase our capacity to create customized programming options for our clients. We have brought on additional clinicians to better serve families across the nation, as well as a full time marketing director to promote PRN for Families’ mission and expand our visibility through greater outreach to families, professionals, clinical practices and hospitals, schools and other organizations. It has been an exciting time of growth and program maturation, and Aly’s enthusiasm, professionalism, and willingness to take on additional projects whenever and wherever she was needed has been a big part of the process.
As Aly transitions out of her position, Mary Jo DeGrandi, Director of Outreach & Admissions, and I will be handling all admissions inquiries. You may contact me directly with referrals or questions at 970-923-2323 or celias@prnforfamilies.com, or use our admissions contact: admissions@prnforfamilies.com /
888-762-5973.
Please join us in extending our best wishes to Aly as she pursues this next step in her career, and this next phase of her family’s journey.
Sincerely,
Charles Elias, LCSW MAC LAC CCPS II SAP
Executive & Clinical Director
Summer Parenting
With kids out of school and summer well underway, there are some common themes echoing throughout the homes of many families. We wanted to offer some interesting articles and strategies that may be helpful in addressing some of them.
“I’m bored!”
According to many psychologists, boredom can be a good thing for children to experience. “Your role as a parent is to prepare children to take their place in society. Being an adult means occupying yourself and filling up your leisure time in a way that will make you happy,” says Lyn Fry, a child psychologist in London with a focus on education. “If parents spend all their time filling up their child’s spare time, then the child’s never going to learn to do this for themselves.”
Additionally, research shows a strong link between boredom and creativity. Restless minds seek information, activity, and engagement in the world around them. The philosopher Kierkegaard wrote: “The gods were bored; therefore, they created human beings.”
https://qz.com/704723/to-be-more-self-reliant-children-need-boring-summers/
Too much tech time?
We are inundated with information, warnings, and advice on this subject, and also aware that there is no “one size fits all” strategy for families. Many parents set only very basic guidelines, while other parents are very strict about tech use. Steve Jobs, one of the founders of Apple, was famously anti-technology with his own children.
Likewise, some teens and young adults manage their tech usage quite capably, while others quickly go “down the rabbit hole” and find themselves overly immersed and even addicted to their devices. Tech can also bring with it a minefield of issues and questions: When and how much social media is ok? How to keep an eye out for cyberbullying, social exclusion, sexting, or online predators? With an increase in unstructured time for many adolescents and young adults in the summer months, we’ve found the following articles to be useful, with suggestions and strategies for parenting around technology use.
https://www.amplify.com/viewpoints/should-kids-unplug-over-summer-break
Overwhelmed?
PRN for Families’ HOME FROM SCHOOL program can help:
Pre-assessment
Three to five day in-home intensive family assessment
Development & coordination of structured support plan
Family coaching
Eight weeks of consultation and case management
24/7 crisis support
Substance abuse testing as needed
