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I grew up in New Hartford, Connecticut, a small town with a loving family and every opportunity I could have asked for. Looking back, there wasn’t one defining event that made me feel the way I did. It was more of a feeling that followed me for a long time. I moved through life with a persistent sense of discomfort.

On June 9, 2026, we hosted Frank Bartolomeo, PhD, for a Pathway Session on how the Family System can promote recovery. Frank is a well-known local psychotherapist and founder of the Well Center for Development n New Canaan. Frank started off introducing the Family Systems Theory (Bowen), which conceptualizes the family as an interconnected emotional unit. In Frank’s view, families organize around

I was the girl people expected to make it. I was a straight-A student. I was accepted to Yale with hopes of becoming an attorney. I was a first violinist in local philharmonics and symphonies. I played sports, danced, and studied abroad in Japan. Growing up in Norwalk, I had dreams bigger than anything I was facing at the time.

On May 13, 2026, we hosted Sean McGowan, VP–Continuing Care for High Watch Recovery Centers, for a Pathway Session on Aftercare Planning to promote recovery. In his storytelling style, Sean talked about his own journey from addiction and recovery, and how important his aftercare program for long-term recovery success. Sean started off with his own story, which is a story

Question: “How does one perform reverse alchemy, going from a normal newborn with almost unlimited potential to a diseased, depressed adult? How does one turn gold into lead?” (Felitti, 2002, p. 45).  Answer: Trauma. The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study, conducted by the CDC and Kaiser Permanente (1995–1997) with over 17,000 participants, found a powerful, graded relationship between childhood trauma

On April 15, 2026, we hosted Tracey Masella, LCSW, for a Pathway Session on setting healthy boundaries. Per her style, Tracey encouraged the participants to ask questions throughout, which made for an informative and relevant session indeed. Tracey started off with a review of the brain, which has two key opposing parts: the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex. The amygdala

“I woke up this morning, with a bottle next to me and my head upon an old wooden floor.” That’s a line I would come to write years later, trying to make sense of the last days of my drinking. But before it was a song lyric, it was a moment I lived through—one that took place in New York,

On March 24, 2026, NCPSG hosted a Pathway Session on how nutrition can be a pathway to recovery. KC Cannon, ND, and Annie Harrington, MSN, both of Wellness Insights of Darien, were the speakers. I am grateful that they agreed to participate. KC and Annie started off, in layman’s terms, explaining the rationale behind good nutrition, and how it helps

A second proposed bill in CT would overhaul how the state taxes marijuana to an excise tax approach. A public hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, March 11, at 1pm in the Joint Committee on Finance, Revenue and Bonding. House Bill 5109, introduced by State Representative Jason Rojas (D), would eliminate the state’s current potency-based THC tax and replace it with

I was born a first-generation American to parents who came to the United States from India in 1995 through an arranged marriage, carrying sacrifice, faith, and tradition with them. I grew up in Maryland in a multigenerational home, my parents, grandparents, aunt, and uncle all under one roof. I was surrounded by family and love, yet from an early age