Picture swimming in the ocean with no land in sight. I have a paddleboarder and motorboat to my right, a motorboat to my left, and attached to my ankle is an Ocean Guardian* shark repellent: a three-foot-long meshed metal tail with a battery on the end that shocks me and the surrounding water every six seconds. This is what I …
January Pathway on Insurance a Big Success
On Wednesday, January 22, NCPSG hosted Joe Feldman, President of Cover My Mental Health, for a discussion on overcoming insurance obstacles to behavioral health care. After describing a number of specific actions that family members or loved ones can take, Joe answered questions from parents. Joe is a mental health advocate who is one of the few who can claim …
Pathway Session on Failure to Launch a Big Success
On Tuesday, December 10, 2024, we hosted Uri Berger, PhD, for our last Pathway Session of the year. The Zoom session was a success, as the Failure to Launch (FTL) topic is timely and there were plenty of good questions during the Q&A. In our support group meetings, I have heard dozens and dozens of stories of young adult males …
Pathway Session on Trauma and Polyvagal Theory a big success
On Wednesday, November 12, we hosted Maria Kratsios, LCSW, and Founder & Chief Clinical Officer of Nest Behavioral Health, for a Pathway Session on trauma. Maria is a well-respected psychologist, educator and speaker who is passionate about healing trauma using a holistic, polyvagal theory-based treatment approach. Maria set the stage for the Zoom session by first describing her own personal …
Aidan’s 2024 Vigil Testimonial
Following is Aidan’s 2024 Vigil Testimonial, word for word. To view the video of his speech click here. My name is Aidan, and I’m an addict. I grew up in New Canaan, to a single mother. Growing up I felt rather anxious, I didn’t have a lot of friends, and I got diagnosed with depression, anxiety and ADHD at a …
Pathway Session on Boundaries a Big Success
On Wednesday, October 16, we hosted Amanda Craig, PhD, for a Pathway Session on setting healthy boundaries to promote recovery. Dr. Craig is a licensed marriage and family therapist and board-approved clinical supervisor with a clinical focus on issues impacting our relationships. To start off the meeting, Amanda set the stage by defining a boundary as a “property line” where …
Vigil speeches are now available on YouTube
We were touched by each of our speakers this year, at our 8th Annual Community Addiction Awareness Vigil. Aidan, Cini and Ben each did an amazing job, each coming from a different background and each with their own individualized pathway to recovery. Aidan C. started off our speaker program, following a powerful introduction from Aidan’s mom, Jacqueline. Aidan’s testimonial, complete …
Do Recovery Stories Save Lives?
At our August 29 New Canaan Vigil, I introduced the concept of Power of Story. By this, I meant that recovery stories told, in a courageous, vulnerable way, saves lives. I have even quantified it, even though–as I mentioned–I have no academic or work-related credentials. I said that every story told openly results in at least one life saved. Why …
September Letter from the Founder
Our September newsletter is out, and I was grateful for the opportunity to write about our August 29, 2024 New Canaan Vigil. There were so many things that went right for our 8th Annual, which I discuss in the Letter from the Founder below: We did it! Hit the stretch target of 500 attendees at our 8th Annual New Canaan Vigil. …
Thanks to all who made the Vigil possible
It’s hard to believe, but we actually hit our stretch target of 500 people at our August 29th Vigil, on a beautiful evening at the corner of South Avenue and Elm Street. Our goal was to touch and inspire through the recovery testimonials, and we believe we succeeded with our recovery speaker line-up of Aidan C., Cini Shaw and Ben …