Blog Articles
Additional resources written by our PCS therapists.
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Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why and Talking With Your Child
A cautionary warning to parents regarding the Netflix series, 13 Reasons Why, and recommendations for their children. Article by Cynthia Shaheen, Principal, Horizon Honors Secondary School. Recommendations by our PCS Psychologist, Dr. Gloria Gilbert. Your child’s safety is always at the forefront of my mind. Last week a new Netflix… -
Addicted to Porn: Chasing the Cardboard Butterfly
PCS invites the residents of the Valley of the Sun to a free screening of the new documentary film Addicted to Porn: Chasing the Cardboard Butterfly addressing the challenging ordeal of pornography addiction. Filmmaker Justin Hunt has established himself as a proficient producer of groundbreaking documentaries such as American Meth… -
Trauma and Substance Abuse in Teens
Trauma and Substance Abuse in Teens As psychologists who work with adolescents, parents often ask, “Why did my child get involved with drinking and/or drugs?” Teens commonly report they initiate drug use due to peer pressure and curiosity in discovering “what it’s like.” The more critical question is: “What causes… -
Top 5 Benefits Of Staying In A Recovery Home
Attending an intensive outpatient program is one of the most exhausting and overwhelming times of an addict’s life. After living in active addiction for years, many of these individuals just don’t know what “normal” looks like. Often the only stable thing in life before recovery was chaos. During treatment, a… -
The Most Important Relationship: Tips to Reconnect with Yourself
We are relational beings, and throughout our lives we are driven to connect – with our primary caregivers, our family and peers, nature, often a higher power, and in adulthood with partners and children. Relationships often bring joy, connection, and understanding. But I’ve noticed a primary relationship that often goes… -
What is (and isn’t) Narcissism?
People often relate “narcissism” with arrogance, conceitedness, or boastfulness. It’s no surprise that it can be difficult to be in a relationship with someone who has these traits. Their partners often feel a lack of received empathy and equality. What is less known is that it can be difficult to… -
Post Abortion Recovery
An abortion is a very personal decision, and something that we do not freely speak to others about, rather, we tend to internalize the abortion experience and what it means to us. At first, we may feel a sense of relief, but then, perhaps, some sadness may start to creep… -
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Facing Fears
Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, focuses on how our thoughts (cognitions), actions (behaviors), and feelings (emotions) interact with each other. It teaches that by changing one of these, the other two will also be impacted. For example, if you change something about the way you think, you will feel differently… -
Remembering and Exploring Contentment
Often in the nitty gritty of mental health, it is all too easy to get bogged down in the negative. We all want to feel better, and in order to do so we must sometimes face what has been preventing us from thriving in the first place. Because of this,… -
The Definitions of Love: Video Exploration
The concept of love is one of the most commonly investigated in almost every area of life. From philosophy to scientific study, love is often defined or laid out as one thing or another. And indeed, most people develop a sincerely held vision of love as they experience their life… -
Caring Communication
Valentine’s Day is unavoidable. Whether we like it or not, it’s success as a commercial holiday makes it a part of almost everything from the beginning of January to the actual event mid February. Some enjoy the festive atmosphere, others ignore it and make the day more personal. And of… -
Love
Love. Most have felt it, some claim to have it, yet if asked to define it (i.e., “How do you know you’re in love?”) few of us have an answer. “I can’t explain it,” I’ve heard myself say before, “it’s just a feeling.” “If you’re in love, you just know,”… -
Healthy Hobbies
Free time can often seem like it comes in a limited supply. Everyone has said at least once that they’d give anything for some time to relax. Often, though, it is not a matter of having time to spend on non-essential activities, but rather not wasting time procrastinating or doing… -
Living In The Present
At the beginning of anything, especially something as defining as a new year, it can seem like there are infinite possibilities. The feeling of a clean slate or a fresh start can be an exciting and daunting one. There are many pressures to make plans for the future or start… -
Practicing Mindfulness
Life is stressful. Often, we go about our days accumulating worries and burdens without noticing. Work, family, friends, and relationships keep us busy, and our mental health goes by the wayside. For many, the issue becomes simply not knowing how to relax, not knowing how to step away from the… -
Vulnerability: The Pathway to Change
From childhood on, we’re taught to be “brave,” to hide our feelings, and to avoid appearing weak and vulnerable. We learn to associate vulnerability with feelings of exposure, embarrassment, or discomfort and go to great lengths to avoid it. After all, why would we want to experience something that the… -
Alcohol, Drugs, and Powerlessness
Addiction affects many people’s lives in one way or another, whether it is you, a spouse, parents, siblings, an aunt or uncle. For the people who struggle with addiction, life can feel hopeless. Nothing seems to work. At some point in the addict’s story, typically he or she has tried… -
Mood Influences
In my experience, “I am feeling anxious or depressed” are the most common reasons individuals provide for why they are pursuing therapy. While anxiety and depression are very real issues, I often find they are a catch-all phrase for a more complex picture. The potential drawback to using words like… -
New Year, New You
Ok everyone. 2017 is here! Another year has gone by, and we’re ready to start fresh. Tis’ the season for the (in)famous New Year’s Resolution. The tradition of the New Year’s Resolution dates back to ancient times. Babylonians made promises to their gods at the start of each year that… -
Seasonal Affective Disorder – The Winter Blues
In the middle of winter it can seem like the sun sets at noon every day. Even those of us in warm climates can feel the effects of winter’s shorter days and cooler nights. If you notice an increase in mood swings, anxiety, or lethargy in the midst of winter,…
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