PAL Blog
A Parent’s Story
Articles by Parents Like You
Transforming Heartache into Hope
I’m a single mom and grandma. I have 2 beautiful daughters and a granddaughter. My daughter who struggled with alcohol was so smart, a straight A student and super athletic. She did everything: soccer, volleyball, gymnastics, Taekwondo, track, AND basketball. ...
I was afraid and it kept me from making changes
YESTERDAY: I was broken. My wife and I were not seeing eye to eye on how to parent our addicted son. I had a brother who died from an overdose many years ago and I did not want to have a repeat of that. I could not let go of trying to control the outcome –...
Delayed emotional growth
Jake was the first-born child in our family, and like all moms and dads, we had aspirational dreams and hopes for his future life. His childhood included a Christian school for the first few years, above-average grades, and playing multiple sports. Our family attended...
The View from Recovery
Articles by People in Recovery
Changing Others
Ask your self I learned several things reading Stage II Recovery by Ernie Larson. This book was written for those in recovery as they take the next steps to really change their lives. However, I have found it to be very helpful to parents and others who...
Every Second Counts: Embrace Life’s Struggles and Triumphs
I couldn’t tell you exactly what the catalyst was for me. For true change. For recovery. Sometimes it feels like luck. Working in behavioral health, I’m confronted with tragic outcomes and end stages of addiction and mental illness consistently. It can be...
The Bear
I’ve been watching, sometimes even re-watching on occasion, a show called The Bear in recent months. It’s probably the most honest, unflinching portrayal of what it’s like living in the unrelenting shadow of trauma, anxiety, and mental illness I’ve seen on screen,...
From Counselors
Articles by PAL and Partner Counselors
Families and Addiction, a podcast
Dr. Aaron Weiner, licensed clinical psychologist, recently sat down to do a podcast with Dr. Brian Licuanan, a friend and colleague to discuss families and addiction. Dr. Licuanan is an author, speaker, and board-certified psychologist practicing in...
Protecting our behaviors with excuses keeps us stuck
Have you ever become aware of an unpleasant part of yourself that you didn’t want to see? Becoming self-aware is a foundational principle and an inevitable part of the process of change. We must learn to step back and observe ourselves from a distance, so we can...
The Unknown
What do we do when we feel powerless towards other people, places, and things? What do we do when the unknown takes over our thoughts? Let’s first talk about what powerlessness is. It is a feeling or idea that we lack control of what is happening in our life. When...
