Blog

We always appreciate hearing updates from students and parents about their experience at Pacific Quest.  Here is a testimonial from a parent who shared their story as they reflected back on the decision to bring their son to PQ and how they are doing after his time in Hawaii.  Mahalo for sharing your story! “Only …

By:  Mark White, LMHC – CDC II “Life has always seemed to me like a plant that lives on its rhizome. Its true life is invisible, hidden in the rhizome. The part that appears above ground lasts only a single summer. What we see is the blossom, which passes. The rhizome remains.” (Carl Jung, Memories, …

Primary therapist, Teresa Bertoncin recently presented at the International Society For The Study Of Trauma And Dissociation Conference in Chicago. This conference provided cutting edge information about dissociation, the dissociative disorders, and all forms of complex trauma related disorders. It was comprised of the most recent developments in clinical interventions, theoretical concepts and research in …

We always enjoy receiving letters from past students – who share updates on how they are doing, how their experience at Pacific Quest has impacted them and how life post PQ is unfolding.  This is a letter from a student to her therapist – what an inspiring testimonial to the powerful work that takes place …

By:  Elnur “El” Gajiev, PsyD It was a crisp late February morning in Salt Lake City; snow falling upon the Wasatch mountain range to the east and the Oquirrh range to the west – quite a different scene than the tropic landscapes of Hawai’i that I’d become accustomed to. Yet, here in the heart of …

Pacific Quest is proud to announce that Mike McGee, Family Program Manager, was awarded a National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Hawai`i scholarship!  This scholarship supports social work students in good standing who are making a difference in their communities.  The NASW Student Scholarships were first awarded in 2009 and aim to assist students in …

Pacific Quest’s Academic Coordinator Isabel Holmes was recently in San Francisco attending the Winter 2018 Learning and the Brain Conference.  This event brought together hundreds of researchers, educators, clinicians, and school leaders from across the globe to explore the latest neuroscience research on innovation and creativity in an interdisciplinary forum. In sessions such as “Being …

Pacific Quest’s Young Adult Family Program: Breathing Life Into Relationships By: Dr. John Souza, Young Adult Family Program Therapist Ohana In Hawaiian culture the taro plant symbolizes family or “Ohana”.  The word Ohana itself comes from the taro.  The “Oha” are the new growth emerging from the corm, an underground storage organ that is the …

A  group of Young Adult students recently had the opportunity to assist with a Sandalwood Restoration project on the slopes of Mauna Kea.  After departing Reeds Bay, the group took a scenic drive to meet the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park rangers at the restoration site.  The rangers explained the importance of this project and the …

By:  Genell Howell, Primary Therapist Every week, therapists at Pacific Quest lead two group therapy sessions with students in the field.  Why is this form of therapy important?  This setting allows for greater accessibility of students to share some of the issues that they’ve been holding on to as well as develop greater trust within …