Blog

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: PQ Alumni I was a student at PQ last year. I just received my letter from a year ago* and I wanted to let you know that I really appreciate what you did. Words cannot express my gratitude. I know that not all of the students at PQ take the program completely to heart …

By: PQ Alumni Student I didn’t realize how much of my life I was hiding from, and how much I didn’t know about myself, until the three months I spent at Pacific Quest.  Prior to going to PQ in February, I was in a severe depression. I hated every minute and everything about myself.  It …

Pacific Quest is pleased to announce alumni student, Daniel Wallock will be a featured speaker at Sky’s The Limit Fund’s 5th Anniversary Breakfast, Thursday, October 30 in Palo Alto, California. Daniel will share his story and how his experience at Pacific Quest changed his life. Daniel is an award-winning, published author, presently attending college in Vermont. His nonfiction …

Below, is a college essay from a former student at Pacific Quest…we are always grateful to hear from past students as they continue on their journey. I was fourteen years old and terrified. I had traveled eight hours by plane to Hawaii, driven three hours up and around the Kilauea volcano with a stranger, and …

By Kelly Weld, Therapist The holiday season is a significant time for many of us.  It is a time to gather family and send love to those far away. It is a time to appreciate spirit and acknowledge the sacred within and among us.  It is a time to consider the year that has past, …

By Kelly Weld, Therapist Being a counselor at an intervention program is a challenging and rewarding task. When students arrive they are lost and desperate, their families are in crisis, and it is our job to help re-align the system in a relatively short period of time. The process feels first like a roller-coaster (with …

By Lindsey Baldwin, Therapist One of the best parts of my job as a therapist at Pacific Quest wilderness therapy program is being a part of the Rites of Passage story council on Thursday mornings. On these mornings, students return from a two-day ceremony and share their experience with a group of peers.  My role …

By Tom De Trolio, Outing Supervisor Recently, the Ohana took an adventure to Honomalino Bay which lies 2,000ft down the scenic 5 mile road leading to Miloli’i, one of the last ancient fishing villages to rely on fishing as a way of life. From the town of Miloli’i, the group hiked about a half mile …

The Hawaiian term “kuleana” is quite difficult to define.  The literal translation, as I have heard, is “responsibility.” Kuleana means much more than that, as it seems to include a broader sense of responsibility –  a person’s responsibility to themselves and his/her community.  At PQ, we have named the second stage of growth Kuleana.  We …