Putting Social Media in its Place

Social media. It’s hard to imagine that there was ever a time when it didn’t pervade almost every aspect of our lives. Personal, professional and everything in between, social media is here to stay, so we’d better find a way to live with it. The question is, how do we master our use of social media, rather than letting it master us? Read More

School Shootings: The Trauma Left Behind

By Beau Black “Unresolved trauma … leaves traces on our minds and emotions, on our capacity for joy and intimacy, and even on our biology and immune systems.” – Meadows Senior Fellow Bessel van der Kolk in his bestseller The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in… Read More

Separating Fact from Fiction: Putting Peer Pressure in its Place

Peer pressure is a strong motivator. Wanting to be liked or fit in can cause you to push boundaries — sometimes without considering the risk to your safety or any future consequences. Those things are a small price to pay for acceptance, right? That kind of thinking is what keeps your parents awake into the wee hours. Read More

What Parents and Caregivers Should Know About Program Aftercare

“Aftercare” is a general term for activities and other resources that behavioral health and addiction treatment patients receive after being discharged from a primary care facility. Aftercare answers the question of “Now what?” once your child has completed a behavioral health program. This aftercare can help keep patients on… Read More

Scars: What Lies Beneath; Emotional Abandonment

When we think of trauma we most often think of incidents that are blatant and acute, visible and sudden, such as a natural disaster or a car wreck, mass shootings, or acts of terrorism. But some people experience trauma as more subtle and chronic that present in the form… Read More

Holiday Wish

Don’t worry about making any one person the answer Let recovery be the answer Don’t worry about finding that good mother Let the rooms embrace you Don’t worry about the “God thing” Let the peace of the program grow inside you one day at a time Don’t even worry about… Read More

Bullying and the Internet: A Synergistic Impact

By Dr. Claudia Black Today’s young adults, 18 to 26 years of age, are facing an escalating mental health crisis. One in five is suffering from a diagnosable mental, emotional, and behavioral disorder. Depression, substance abuse, social anxiety, self-harm, and suicidal ideation are experienced at alarming rates for those of this young age. Read More

New Blog about Triggers by Clinical Director of Rio Retreat

When Current Events Trigger Your Past Trauma By Dr. Georgia Fourlas, LCSW, LISAC, CSAT-S Clinical Director of Workshops Rio Retreat Center at The Meadows Most people have dealt with some form of trauma in their lifetime. Some have sought professional help, while others relied on their family and friends’ support… Read More

What I Wish I’d Known as a Teenager

I worried about grades as a teenager. I mean, I really worried. Today, I know this was not typical anxiety about school. Looking back, I struggled with obsessive-compulsive disorder and perfectionism. Among other things, I was obsessive-compulsive about never wasting time. Not. One. Second. Further, I was laser-focused on… Read More

The Magic of Sand Tray

Sandtray therapy is a valued medium I use to help young adults who are trauma survivors and/or are struggling with addiction. At the Claudia Black Young Adult Center I use it with clients with early childhood complex trauma, those with attachment disruption often associated with adoption histories, those with dissociative symptoms, or major traumatic events such as sexual assaults, nightmares, and polarities around addiction.  Certainly, family dynamics can be explored with this medium. For the client who is showing resistance, has poor verbal skills and/or social-relational difficulties it is really useful as the sand tray becomes both a visual and a sensory tactile experience creating the ability to go deeper within and regain an internalized sense of control and safety. Read More