Blog Articles
Additional resources written by our PCS therapists.
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Being Present
Series Two; Blog Fifty “The distinction between past, present and future is only a stubborn persistent illusion. Time is an illusion”. Albert Einstein My bed was next to the upstairs window on the south side of our house facing our neighbor’s home. While lying in bed I could also see… -
The Influence of Early Childhood on a Concept of God
Series Two; Blog Forty-Nine Step 2: “Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity” “If you live insane and bizarre long enough you think others around you are the afflicted ones, not you. At least, that was my experience”— KW When I look back,… -
Winning that Defines Long-Term Sobriety
Series Two; Blog Forty-Eight “There’s always the motivation of wanting to win. Everybody has that. But a champion needs, in his attitude, a motivation above and beyond winning.” Pat Riley “Winning and losing is not everything. The journey is more important than the outcome. It’s the journey that creates the… -
The Secret Life of Long-Term Sobriety -Part Two
Series Two; Blog Forty-Eight “It is by going down into the abyss that we recover the treasures of life. Where you stumble, there lies your treasure.” – Joseph Campbell Recovery from relapse is about finding the secrets of every-day brilliance in the experience of stumbling and personal failure. Listed are… -
The Secret Life of Long-Term Sobriety
Series Two; Blog Forty-Seven For many in recovery sobriety is a mystery. A 12-step group usually starts with a prayer and ofttimes ends with clasped hands in a circle repeating in unison “it works if you work it and you’re worth it”. Over the years I have heard many addicts… -
The Betrayal Predicament
Series Two; Blog Forty-Five “The important thing is this: To be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become”— Charles Dubois There are many complex consequences that come with traumatic experiences in life. When an addict chooses to act out h/she is unaware of… -
Introducing: After The Session
Elijah Bedrosian, LPC, SEP introduces his new Series Within A Series: After The Session – where he will be interviewing others in the Mental Health field. Coming soon! -
Striking Gold in Our Interactions with Others
Ancient Greek philosophers were onto something when they coined the term “the golden mean,” which posits that at one extreme lies excess, at the other deficiency, and in the middle—the only desirable option—the golden mean. Think about it. If we regularly eat too little or too much, our health suffers…. -
A Call to Action: Remembering the Pulse Massacre
Last month, as part of Pride Month, we have marked the 5-year anniversary of the grim terrorist attack on the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida. This horrific attack took the lives of 49 people and wounded 58 more. The victims, primarily LGBTQ and Latinx, had gathered in a supposedly safe… -
Velvet Steel–Uncovering Meaning in the Hard Places of Life
Series two: Blog Forty-Four When I was in 7th grade the basketball team I played on was upset by our crosstown rival Central. They obliterated us on the court. We were favored but beaten badly. I went home and took the loss really hard. I always took losses hard. During… -
Step 2- The Spirituality Step
Series Two: Blog Forty-Three Step 2, in a 12-step recovery program is a very difficult step. When you are ready to face Step 1 in your addiction recovery program, there is enough carnage all around you that admitting to powerlessness and unmanageability becomes a no-brainer. Making the decision to turn… -
Clarifying the Obvious
Series Two: Blog Forty-Three Betrayal in relationship is having the rug pulled out from under you. The description of impact from cheating is beyond words. Betrayal is elementary to the life of an addict. There are levels of betrayal. When addicts act out they betray themselves. Values are undermined and… -
Acceptance of Personal Flaws
Series Two: Blog Forty-One Acceptance of personal flaws is a difficult experience for anyone who seeks to find sobriety and serenity in life. You begin by observing that everyone has shortcomings. It is a characteristic of being human. This is a safe place to begin the journey of self acceptance…. -
Grieving and Gratitude: Important Components in Step 3
Series Two: Blog Forty Step 3 of the 12-Step Program addresses the game of control in the life of an addict. It starts with making a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. This step is fraught with problems… -
Intensity or Intimacy
Series Two: Blog Thirty-Nine The nature of addiction is to crave the escape that comes in the pursuit of a substance or a process high. It could be numbing out with drugs and alcohol—the adrenaline rush of something new like the risk of a new relationship, physical challenge, exotic adventure… -
Originality—The Fabric of Authentic Recovery
“Originality is unexplored territory. You get there by carrying a canoe—you can’t take a taxi”— Alan Alda I read this quote in a daily reflection book called Touchstones. I think that the essence of a recovery journey is for each person to discover their own originality. Even though there are… -
Taking What Is and Making It Work
Series Two; Blog Thirty-Six Feelings in recovery can be like a pendulum that swings from one extreme to the other. There are times that we are oversensitive and other times we are not sensitive enough. Sometimes we seem to work very hard to make something out of nothing and other… -
Finding Center Again
Elijah Bedrosian discusses finding your center not matter the external environment. -
Some Thoughts on Boundaries
In working with clients, the concept of boundaries comes up frequently. Although we are all told to have “good” boundaries, the concept is actually quite nuanced. This article speaks to one way of looking at boundaries. I encourage you to do your own research and talk to others as you… -
He’s My Dad
The following letter was dropped off at an outpatient clinic of a large teaching hospital. Although the writer’s identity is unknown, its content is relevant to all those in healthcare, including behavioral health. To Each Staff Member of this Facility: As you pick up that chart today and scan that…
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