Drama Therapy & Addiction

By Susan Finley, Ed.D., NCC “Great theatre is about challenging how we think and encouraging us to fantasize about a world we aspire to” – Willem Dafoe The following is a Q&A provided by the North American Drama Therapy Association (NADTA). What is Drama Therapy? NADTA defines drama therapy asContinue Reading

Fighting Addiction: Finding the Source of My Pain

By Dr. Kerri Heath “The cure for pain is in the pain.” -Rumi If you are searching for a rehab center, you are probably experiencing a lot of pain.  The substances may no longer be working to numb the pain.  You know that it is time to heal this painContinue Reading

Unlearning Learned Behavior

By Susan Finley, Ed.D., NCC “You have to throw a gold brick into the uncertain waters of the future, and have faith because there will be many difficult days before you will see the returns start rolling in…” -P. T. Barnum Elephants in Captivity Have you ever attended a circusContinue Reading

How to Break a Habit

By Susan Finley, Ed.D., NCC “Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.” Warren Buffett If a habit or old behavior brings about the desired result, why stop doing it? Change is only initiated when the solution to a problem startsContinue Reading

Am I An Addict? | Passages Addiction Treatment Centers

By Dr. Kerri Heath “You will see it when you believe it.” –Wayne Dyer This is a very tough question to answer.  An addict is someone whose life is controlled by alcohol or drugs.  Anyone who has struggled with substance abuse has told themselves many times that they “have itContinue Reading

Self Soothing Through the 5 Senses

By Susan Finley, Ed.D., NCC Mindfulness is the ability to steer clear from worry and anxiety bringing one’s attention to the present moment. Feeling overwhelmed and ill-equipped to deal with life’s challenges is not uncommon early in sobriety. The use of drugs and alcohol is no longer an option, norContinue Reading

Online Dating in Recovery

By Susan Finley, Ed.D., NCC Google “online dating tips” and you will be inundated with article after article ranging from top ranking dating sites to online dating safety tips, to rules of dating, to how to set up a winning profile (or avoid a terrible one). “The Dating Game” ThereContinue Reading

Sound Therapy at Passages Malibu

By Susan Finley, Ed.D., NCC “A sound mind in a sound body, is a short, but full description of a happy state in this world” -John Locke Sound Therapy—the use of vibrations to affect cellular resonance (the frequency at which an object naturally vibrates). Cellular resonance is found in eachContinue Reading

Disclosing Your Addiction at Work

By Susan Finley, Ed.D., NCC  “Complete honesty is not the same thing as full disclosure.”  ― Ron Brackin When an individual seeks help for an addiction or substance use disorder, it is not surprising that other areas of that person’s life begin to shift as well. The workplace environment is noContinue Reading