mental health

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 other people relied on their support system of family and friends to assist them through healing. Others may have never dealt with their trauma at all. They may have found a way to numb out their reactions to their trauma (e.g. substance use, intimacy disorders, overworking, eating disorders, etc.). Or they may have forgotten memories of the traumatic event... 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

Adopted Children Often Face Mental Health Struggles as Young Adults

By GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC Adoption is a delicate process that comes with many different considerations. The relationship between an adopted child and his or her adopted parents is unique, and in many ways unlike that between parents and their biological children. It is difficult to predict how a child will… Read More

What Happens to Young Adults with ADHD?

By Krysha Thayer Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD for short, is a mental disorder that is most commonly found in children between the ages of 4 and 17. Upon entering young adulthood, it is common for people who have been diagnosed with ADHD to grow out of it. But this is not true for everyone. Many young adults who were diagnosed with ADHD during childhood continue to struggle with it throughout their young adult life. Still, others who may not have been diagnosed during childhood can be diagnosed with late-onset ADHD. Around 60 percent of children who are diagnosed with ADHD in their childhoods continue to struggle with ADHD into their adult lives. That means that roughly 5 percent of the adult population in the United States has been diagnosed with ADHD. That is nearly 11 million people. Some studies have shown that the number of people struggling with this disorder is probably much higher than 5 percent because many cases of ADHD are never diagnosed and go untreated. Read More

Approach ‘13 Reasons Why’ with Curiosity Instead of Fear

By Lindsay Merrell, Therapist, Remuda Ranch at The Meadows Since the years of my internship, working with patients facing suicidal thoughts has been concerning, challenging, and inspiring. Individuals struggling with such hopelessness come to professionals in desperate need of relief from what is starting to feel like an inevitable outcome. Our responsibility as professionals is to be persistently and empathically interested in the individual’s struggle. Our curiosity gives them the courage to look at the very pain they fear. Read More

When Parents Have a Distorted Sense of Boundaries

Excerpted from the book Changing Course by Claudia Black, Ph.D., Senior Fellow at The Meadows Many times abandonment issues are fused with distorted, confused, or undefined personal boundaries. We experience abandonment when parents have a distorted sense of boundaries, their boundaries and ours. They want us to like what they like, dress like they dress, and feel as they do. If we in any way express differences from our parents, or make different choices than they would, we know we run the risk of rejection. Read More

All of the Feels: Accepting the Gifts of Emotion

By Brenna Gonzales, MS, LPC, Rio Retreat Center at The Meadows Therapist In our culture, we are taught that certain feelings are off-limits. There is a general sense that if you’re not happy most of the time that you’re doing life wrong. Read More

11 Signs Your Young Adult May Need Help

By Ashley Chesky, MA, LAC and Patricia Plum, MSW, LMSW Do you sometimes feel that you no longer recognize the child that you raised? When you look at your young adult, do you find yourself asking, "Who is this person?" Do you feel "crazy," "lost," or “at your wits end?” Have you lost all hope?  Maybe this is where hope begins. Read More