What's New at Pacific Quest: February 2018 News

February 2018

Young Adult Family Program: Breathing Life Into Relationships

Dr. John Souza

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 foundation of the taro. Adding the word “na” pluralizes the Oha, thereby creating a group growing together or an “Ohana”.

Within the word Ohana are the words “Ha” and “Hana”. “Ha” is the sacred breath of life carried by all and which joins us. beings. “Hana” is the work into which we breathe our life; and in which we engage with joy knowing it is through our shared work that we make our family relationships healthy and vibrant.

Pacific Quest’s Young Adult Family Program has become a haven in which families come to practice joyfully breathing life into their relationships. In 2017, our Family Program had the privilege of hosting 316 students and caregivers. With over 90% of our students participating in Family Program, PQ is an Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare (OBH) program that continues to emphasize integration and diversity, something the garden teaches us is essential for resiliency.

Read Dr. John’s full article here!

Mike McGee Receives Scholarship

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 their education as they pursue careers in social work.

Mike McGee, Family Program Manager

Mike is currently pursuing his MSW at the University of Hawaii – Manoa, focusing on Mental and Behavioral Health. Of the award, Mike comments, “I am truly humbled to be chosen for this scholarship. Social work is such a unique field in its acknowledgement of the strength and capacities of all human beings. Throughout my years of experience at PQ, I see how these strength-based values are essential for the therapeutic process.” Mike hopes to further utilize his education and experience in pursuit of becoming a therapist at Pacific Quest.

Mike will receive the award on March 16th in Honolulu – Congratulations, Mike!

Read the full blog here!

Learning and the Brain Conference

Isabel Holmes, Academic Coordinator

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 Creative is a Choice”, “Visible Literacy in Learning”, and “The Middle Way: Finding the Balance Between Mindfulness and Mind Wandering for Creativity and Achievement”, Isabel was able to learn about new strategies to develop innovative and creative mindsets in staff and students and see evidence of the benefits of imagination, mindfulness, and mind wandering for memory, literacy, and achievement.

Read about the conference here!