When Have Adolescents Crossed The Line?

Dr. John Gelinas, a board-certified child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist will facilitate “Adolescents: How Do You Know When They’ve Crossed The Line?” This program will be offered on Wednesday, November 3 at 7:30 pm in the Newtown  Youth Services Parents’ Corner.

Dr Gelinas, a well-known local psychiatrist and previous NYS presenter, evaluates and treats children and teenagers with psychiatric and behavioral difficulties, school problems, and family difficulties. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Georgetown University and the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, he is an active member of the American Psychiatric Association and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

The format of this program will be an open discussion of normal adolescent development and behavior. Dr Gelinas will offer advice on how to understand and appreciate if your adolescent has ventured outside the norm. Changes such as disruptive behaviors, risk-taking, impulsiveness, irritability, anxiety, and anger will be discussed. Additionally, Dr Gelinas will look at areas ranging from sadness to self-harmful threats and suicidal comments. Exactly where are the lines and how do you know when to get help?

Dr Gelinas offered the following as a helpful parental tool: “Assessing the safety of our children requires vigilance, and starts with the essential dictum, ‘know your children.’ By knowing our children, we are better able to appreciate and assess their developmental changes.”

To register for “Adolescents,” call Newtown Youth Services at 270-4335.