Blog

By Mike Sullivan, MA, LMHC I dawned my running shoes and am back running the single lane jungle roads of Hilo, Hawaii. Having just spent the last week in La Jolla, California at a professional conference, I have a lot to reflect on. I do some of my best thinking while running. I traveled to …

As many of you know, I don’t post much on FB and when I do, it’s rarely personal.  This is a long one and many will not finish.  I’m not posting it for sympathy or kudos.  I’m posting it for a few reasons – to let others know they are not alone, to thank a …

Who killed Wellington, the neighborhood’s beloved poodle? That’s the question Christopher John Francis Boone, a 15-year-old autistic teen decides he must answer in Mark Haddon’s book “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time.” The hunt for the truth takes him on a journey full of struggles, questions and triumphs in this coming-of-age tale …

From mSpy to MamaBear, there are more than a handful of apps to assist you in spying on your teen and their personal activities, upping the temptation quotient ten-fold. While the creations of these technologies are mainly a result of concerned, well-intending parents, they aren’t always necessary. This is why it’s important you don’t get …

The results of group therapy vary from one participant to the next, but the benefits are well documented. Group therapy presents a different model of recovery that removes some of the variables present in one-on-one sessions, particularly for those suffering from social anxiety. Group therapy does away with a more severe approach, and offers further …

January is National Mentoring Month—does your college student have a mentor? According to a report compiled by the Institute for Higher Education Policy, both undergraduate and graduate students alike report mentoring as having helped them develop the proper skills and mindset necessary to succeed professionally. “Ultimately, mentoring connects a young person to personal growth and …

By Theresa Hasting, LMHC You’ve given everything you had; sleepless nights making sure your son stayed in his room, missing work to ensure he went to school, constant vigilance to ensure his safety.  You’ve got him in a safe place where he is able to work on these issues.  Now what?  As we work with …

By Maureen Riley, MPH, MA Thanksgiving has passed and the holiday season is upon us. However, for students in a therapeutic wilderness program like Pacific Quest, gratitude is always in season. Feelings of gratitude for one’s family members, life opportunities and material possessions, emerge quickly for students who are away from home for an extended …

Eight Pacific Quest therapists are currently immersed in the Empowerment and Transformation experiential art and sandplay therapy training program based on the principles of Jungian psychology and the neuropsychology of expressive therapy.  Training began in September and will continue until May, 2016. Therapists meet monthly to practice art therapy techniques using mediums such as paint, …

Life has a way of sneaking up on us. One minute you’re carefree, and the next your life is being shaped by the pressures of reality. This is true for our teens, as well. After all, they face a great deal of stress (daily!) from social and academic pressures to worrying about things like school …