Ever wonder what is really going on in the life of your teenager? Especially when it comes to a young adult on the verge of being labeled a troubled teen? While it is advised to go and ask your teen about what’s going on in their life, we have a little sneak peek before you …
By Hilary Moses, Therapeutic Program Director I have found myself recently focusing on how to articulate the Pacific Quest wilderness therapy model. I know intimately what we do, day in and day out; I know the roles that everyone plays and how they contribute to a very full spectrum of services; I know that we …
You may have heard of boot camps, and if so, there may be a lot of questions swirling around about what boot camp really is. Is boot camp right for my troubled teen? Can girls go to boot camp? Is boot camp the same as wilderness therapy? We’ll take a closer look at the above …
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 Travis Slagle, Horticulture Therapy Director To love the land is the oldest and most essential way of life in Hawaii. The people who care deeply for the land know what it means to be “pono” (to have integrity); they respect the ancestors by continuing their work, by planting the seeds, cultivating the “kalo” (taro), …
Pacific Quest Wilderness Therapy is pleased to announce the addition of two new clinicians to our ohana! Haley Robinson and Bridger Jensen joined Pacific Quest in May as Primary Clinicians. Haley Robinson joins Pacific Quest from Seattle, where she has worked for the past several years providing mental health and substance abuse counseling to young …
By Erin Levine, Clinical Admissions Director Every Friday evening when I am winding down my week, I take some time to view the slideshow of pictures that catalogs the activities the students participated in that week. I scroll through hundreds of pictures of busy and smiling faces in the different camps, at different phases of …
Do you have a teen that has bouts of irritability, angry outbursts or occasional mood swings? If yes, then you have a very typical teen moving through the transition from childhood to adulthood with a healthy dose of emotional growing pains. These types of benign behaviors are not depression. Depression is a clinical diagnosis that …
By Mike Sullivan, Therapist This is fascinating – and you will likely be able to relate to this. Mihály Csíkszentmihályi and colleagues in Italy pondered the mental state of artists while in the act of creating art. Through phenomenological studies, Csíkszentmihályi, maintains that people can basically become absorbed into an activity and reach a particular …
If you have struggled with how to manage and raise your troubled teenager, you may have had the discussion about where to get help outside your family circle and the community around you. Fortunately, there are specialized programs targeted at varying degrees of outcomes depending on the ultimate needs of your particular child. Whether you …