Wellness Program
Our Integrated Health and Medical Wellness Program
Pacific Quest’s focus on whole-person wellness addresses the clinical and medical complexity of each individual. Specifically, our fully integrated clinical and medical team teaches students to focus on five pillars of wellness—nutrition, the mind-body connection, sleep, breathing, and movement.
Medications & Medication Review
If medication review is warranted, we use a collaborative team assessment approach to determine the best course of treatment. The team includes your child’s Primary Therapist, our Integrative Psychiatrist, our Naturopathic Medical Director, and referring professionals.
Mind-Body Connection
Many students experience the physical symptoms of trauma, depression, and anxiety. They often present as gastrointestinal distress, headaches/migraines, noise or light sensitivity and a host of other inflammatory symptoms. In our integrated health and wellness program, the wellness and clinical teams collaborate with students to build insights into their physical experience as an expression of their emotional experience. Somatic based interventions offer a chance to interrupt the cycle and provide relief from the pattern inflammation.
Movement
Decades of research on anxiety, depression, and exercise show that exercise’s psychological and physical benefits can also help reduce anxiety and improve mood. Students participate in daily structured exercise; this includes bodyweight and strength training, yoga, core conditioning, and games like basketball and volleyball. Weekly outings include paddle boarding, day hikes to remote beaches, swimming, and exploring Volcanoes National Park. PQ can scale all activities based on ability.
Nutrition
At Pacific Quest, we believe food is medicine. Our students learn that what you put in your body directly affects how you feel. We also teach how to cook and prepare food using fresh, natural ingredients. Our staff closely monitors all kitchen work for safety and hygiene.
The typical Pacific Quest anti-inflammatory diet includes:
• Whole grains (brown rice, oats, and quinoa)
• Wide variety of vegetables and fruits
• Protein (beans, chicken, fish, tofu, eggs, beef, and seeds)
• Limited amounts of dairy (yogurt and cheese)
• No refined sugars or processed foods
• Plenty of water and herbal teas (no sugary or caffeinated drinks)
PQ can accommodate a range of dietary preferences, including vegetarian, vegan, and kosher. We are also equipped to support most food-based allergies safely. We are a peanut-free facility. Occasionally through the course of treatment, we discover dietary sensitivities and can then individualize the menu to support optimal wellness.
Sleep
Disrupted sleep cycles are one of the most common challenges our students face. At Pacific Quest, adolescents and young adults wind down around sunset and rise with the sun. This routine helps to reset their natural circadian rhythm. Students practice evidence-based sleep hygiene and learn relaxation tools and techniques to facilitate proper sleep cycles and rest. Shortly after joining us, most students report more restful and restorative sleep patterns.
Breathing
Breath is the link between the mind and the body. Breathing exercises help decrease heart rate, lower stress, and regulate the central nervous system, encouraging relaxation in anxious or hyper-aroused students. At Pacific Quest, we view breathing practices as valuable tools that students can carry throughout their lives, no matter the situation.
During their time at Pacific Quest, students also learn to pay close attention to their emotions, asking themselves: how am I feeling, am I expressing my feelings, am I moving through the emotions, or keeping them bottled up? We help create a sense of awareness so that sources of stress, anxiety, sadness, anger, or agitation may be identified and addressed through mindful breathing practice.
