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 …
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: 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 …
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: 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: 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 …
A group of Young Adult students recently had the opportunity to assist with a Sandalwood Restoration project on the slopes of Mauna Kea. After departing Reeds Bay, the group took a scenic drive to meet the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park rangers at the restoration site. The rangers explained the importance of this project and the …
Pacific Quest’s Young Adult Family Program: Breathing Life Into Relationships By: Dr. John Souza, Young Adult Family Program Therapist Ohana 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 …
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 …
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 …