Blog Articles
Additional resources written by our PCS therapists.
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Lessons and Reflections from Addicts on 2020
“Life is short, break the rules. Forgive quickly, kiss slowly. Love truly. Laugh uncontrollably and never regret anything that makes you smile.”— Mark Twain For most of us 2020 could not end quickly enough. For many who were waiting for the nightmare to end, the virus insidiously smothered and snatched… -
Christmas Day—A Day of Reflection
“It’s not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.” — Mother Teresa “Christmas will always be as long as we stand heart to heart and hand in hand.” — Dr. Seuss Winston Churchill, famed UK prime minister, once stated, “Christmas is a season not only of… -
Fantasy, Folly or Fortitude
Christmas is a season of fantasy. Famous singers perform holiday programs on TV titillating memories from Christmas past of times that never really existed. Advertisements capture the fantasy of the season with the Budweiser Clydesdales stomping in unison through a snowy Christmas night (got to be tough for those of… -
Hungry to Connect- Pandemic Fatigue and Addiction Recovery
Holidays are difficult seasons of life for many. It is a time that disillusionment and fantasy crowd out reality. People go into a trance of holiday mood, eat special foods, practice giving, sing seasonal songs, and are tempted to pretend that the real world doesn’t exist. Most like to think… -
How Do I Say I Love You When I Feel Like Running Away?
Sandy discovered that Alex was messing around from the first day they met and throughout their 24 years of marriage. She prepared for the disclosure with her individual therapist. The experience felt worse than she could ever imagine. Alex worked hard to make sure that he did not omit important… -
Play— A Confessional
To A Child- Christopher Morley The greatest poem ever known Is one all poets have outgrown: The poetry, innate, untold, Of being only four years old. Still young enough to be a part Of Nature’s great impulsive heart, Born comrade of bird, beast, and tree And unselfconscious as the bee- And yet with lovely reason skilled Each… -
WAKE UP CALLS- the Reality of Relapse in Recovery
Thirty-one years ago I was a neophyte in the recovery world. Determined to overcome my addiction, I did everything my sponsor told me to do, read books I could get my hands on and listened to audio tapes that would help me stay sober. I did everything my therapist would… -
Taming Your Critical Voice
“The older you get, the more you understand how your conscience works. The biggest and only critic lives in your perception of people’s perception of you rather than people’s perception of you.” ― Criss Jami, Killosophy A man and his son were once going with their donkey to market. As they… -
The Power of Peaceful Decrease—Discovering Meaningfulness in Transitional Moments of Life
Recovery inevitably engages the experience of transition. The stages of life also create change, both wanted and unwanted. When life changes and things are different from what they once were, we can become vulnerable with feelings of insecurity and uncertainty. We might crave for past relationships and the way in… -
Worm Holes and Black Holes with Warp Speed on Black Friday
Today is Black Friday. People are known to line up hours before a store opens to be the first to crush the aisles with warp speed in in pursuit of door buster deals. This year to promote the Black, retailers have needed to cultivate online creativity in an attempt to… -
The Downside and Upside of Dreams
I dreamed I was a butterfly, flitting around in the sky; then I awoke. Now I wonder: Am I a man who dreamt of being a butterfly, or am I a butterfly dreaming that I am a man? — Zhuangzi The magic of dreaming begins with children. Many of us… -
Day Counts, Rain Checking, Bookends
Day Counts: I remember my mother used to boast that I was a “Sunday School baby”. I was born on a weekday and she would proudly say that the first Sunday of my life I was in church and that I never missed a Sunday being in church for the… -
Detachment
“I believe detachment can become a habitual response, in the same manner that obsessing, worrying, and controlling became habitual responses” — Melody Beattie There was a couple in my life who were the best friends I have had. Many times we talk about people or an experience that saved our… -
Creating a Culture of Recovery
Sobriety and serenity is never an accident or a matter of luck. If you are addicted to a substance or process this seems obvious. Yet, addicts who do not experience sobriety often conclude that temperance is a luck of the draw, some can do it and some cannot. If you… -
Managing Microbursts that Bubble from Betrayal
Alex raced down the freeway in an attempt to get his son Trevor to the airport in time for his flight back to university. Kelly, his wife, was all over his case on the way to the airport for waiting too late to leave the house. Everything needed to line… -
Affirmation: The Magic That Makes Recovery Real
“Beneath the surface of the protective parts of trauma survivors there exists an undamaged essence, a Self that is confident, curious, and calm, a Self that has been sheltered from destruction by the various protectors that have emerged in their efforts to ensure survival. Once those protectors trust that it… -
Resurrecting Sobriety from the Ashes of Relapse
“Once you’ve seen a solution to the disease that’s tearing you apart, relapsing is never fun.” ― Anthony Kiedis, Scar Tissue Desperately I want to avoid the fear, the isolation, the sense of being all by myself- even though there are many times I seek to be alone. So much anxiety,… -
Listening to Your Limits
“The first duty of love is to listen”- Paul Tillich Sunny Weingarten was an unforgettable friend of mine. He was beset by polio when he was a child in 1949 paralyzing his capacity to breathe and confining him to an iron lung. His world shrunk to the confines of his… -
Be Happy
Elijah Bedrosian discusses happiness as a reflection on the upcoming holidays. -
Why an Intensive?
One of the aspects of working with Intensive Treatment Program (ITP) clients that I genuinely appreciate is witnessing an incredible amount of change in a short time. Catharsis. When I used to facilitate outtake sessions, I was aware of how and why our ITP clients’ experience change through the process….
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