Blog

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”  – Hippocrates At Pacific Quest, we believe food is medicine.  We provide whole foods, hypoallergenic, anti-inflammatory, and blood sugar balancing diet, rich in critical nutrients for optimizing health.  There is a daily focus on healthy foods and nutritionally complete meals, which mainly consist of organic fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, and …

By:  Isabel Holmes, Academic Coordinator This month Pacific Quest will host two company wide Horticultural Therapy trainings.  Last week, over 40 staff members gathered at Reed’s Bay for the first training.  We were able to utilize the full campus and make the most of our garden experiences for staff and the land. The day included …

By: Crystalee Mandaguit, Logistics Director Every year Pacific Quest hosts a special day for students and employees that focuses on the Makahiki celebration.  This is an important season in Hawaiian culture and honors the God Lono and celebrates the abundance of the aina (land). The Makahiki celebration spans approximately four lunar months – from around …

By: Theresa Hasting, LMHC, Clinical Supervisor As students come and go in waves, I have seen an upsurge in students experiencing complicated grief issues.  Mostly recently, I’ve worked with four students within a six month period who have experienced the loss of a parent; through long-term sickness, suicide, and unexpected accidental death.  What these students …

By: Dara Downs, Alumni & Family Services Liaison In mid April of 2016 we started the Eat Local Initiative at our Young Adult Program at Reeds Bay.  This initiative was designed to help track the amount of produce being harvested, being cooked, as well as to help create motivation in the student milieu. It’s set …

By: Cynthia Albers, Admissions Coordinator There is an onslaught of advice, cautions, directives and warnings supposedly to guide us toward a healthy lifestyle.  So, what, exactly, does it mean to be healthy?  What does healthy feel like?  At Pacific Quest students are given the opportunity to ask themselves this same question and discern what that …

Wilderness Therapy Hawaiian-Style This week Dr. John Souza, Primary Therapist and Mike Sullivan, Alumni & Family Services Director were featured on LA Talk Radio “Answers For the Family“.  During the program they shared their experiences with developing and implementing family therapy with young adults, often referred to as “emerging adults”, in an Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare …

By: Mike McGee, Family Program Manager The term “decolonization” is controversial.  It forces us to critically examine the western approaches to nearly all intellectual pursuits from politics to science to religion and social interactions.  The opinion is held by many that decolonization requires radical action while others propose further education to create a fully imagined …

By:  Dr. Lorraine Freedle, Clinical Director Sandplay therapists and researchers from 24 countries gathered in Kailua-Kona this summer to explore the latest trends in Jungian Sandplay Therapy and to participate in the 24th Congress of the International Society for Sandplay Therapy (ISST). With support from my Pacific Quest ohana and the Hawai`i sandplay community, I …

By: Kellyn Smythe, Admissions & Outreach Manager This week Pacific Quest’s Executive Director Mark Agosto and I traveled to Houston to share the aloha spirit with victims of Hurricane Harvey.  With support from the team at Academic Answers, needs like diapers, mattresses, food, refrigerators, clothing, bedding, and a full set of new kitchen appliances were …