Seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, is a form of recurrent depression that impacts approximately 10 million Americans per year. An additional 10 to 20 percent experience mild symptoms. SAD is sometimes called the “winter blues,” as it most commonly appears in the fall or winter and subsides in the spring — and this year, things […]
Author: Cheryl K, LCSW, CEO, Co-founder and Partner
Cheryl has a 24-year history of founding and managing treatment programs for adolescents, in addition to providing therapy for them and is now excited to work with adults at Corner Canyon Health Centers. Her own treatment experiences informed the development and implementation of the foundational components of Corner Canyon, and she looks forward to directing a program that meets all the expectations she had while in treatment and includes all the therapeutic practices that she has found to be effective throughout her career. In 1998 Cheryl co-founded Second Nature Wilderness Program, which grew to be the largest private wilderness therapeutic program in the United States and included 5 separate locations. Cheryl also helped found Gateway Academy, a pre-eminent residential treatment program for adolescent boys, and looks forward to working with the Gateway Academy owners at Corner Canyon. In 2003, Cheryl was elected by her colleagues throughout the United States to serve as a board member for the National Association for Therapeutic Schools and Programs. Cheryl works clinically with addiction, mood disorders, anxiety, trauma, family systems problems, and other co-occurring issues. She loves working with clients the most out of all the different roles she has played. Cheryl completed her education at Brigham Young University where she received her Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Sociology in 1991 and her Master’s Degree in Social Work in 1993. Her clinical training included CBT, DBT, Motivational Interviewing, Assertive Communication, and providing individual, family, group therapy and marriage counseling. Cheryl is the oldest of ten children and has two adult children, a daughter and a son. Her interests include water sports, photography, interior design, household projects, and spending time with her family and friends. She loves house boating on Lake Powell, but her favorite pastime is spending time with her 5 wonderful grandchildren.
COVID-19 and Depression: How You Can Seek Help
The world wide pandemic we are currently experiencing has created depression and anxiety and sometimes addiction to unhealthy habits for many people, as well as added more for those who already struggle with these kinds of concerns. The many months of additional stress, isolation, and uncertainty have taxed even mentally healthy individuals who have good […]
The Effects of Addiction on the Body and Brain
Addiction is a complex disease that can have significant effects on the brain and body. It can change the way the brain works, which is what controls the way a person thinks, feels, talks, and moves. On top of that, the brain controls the function of all the other organs in the body. These organs, […]
SGB (Stellate Ganglion Block) Shots Reduce PTSD Symptoms Rapidly
Corner Canyon Health Centers offers the SGB shot to clients who struggle with PTSD symptoms, a recent Veteran’s Administration study demonstrates efficacy of a long acting anesthetic injected into the stellate ganglion nerve plexus in the neck. Veterans with PTSD had a statistically significant reduction in trauma symptoms following a series of 2 or […]
Paying for Treatment: How to use Insurance for Mental Health and Addiction Treatment – In three simple steps
Paying for Treatment When considering a drug and alcohol addiction program, payment is often one of the main topics of concern. The cost of rehabilitation can feel like it’s out of reach, however there are options when it comes to taking on the financial involvement for care. One of those options is utilizing your insurance […]
The Connections Between Trauma and Adult Anxiety
The experiences of trauma can trigger anxiety and depression. Everyone responds to trauma differently, and anxiety is likely to develop from a complex set of risk factors including personality, brain chemistry, and life events, especially trauma. The neurotransmitters serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, and GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) are believed to be connected to anxiety disorders and mood. […]
Factors That Contribute to Substance Abuse and Addiction
Addiction can happen to anyone from any background, social status, race, or gender. However, it is scientifically proven that many people have higher risk factors for substance abuse and addiction than others. There are certain factors that increase the risk of a person developing an addiction to drugs or alcohol. Genetics, family history, mental health, […]
Different Types of Experiential Therapy for Addiction
Many treatment centers are now including Experiential Therapy in their addiction recovery programs, and there are many benefits to this particular kind of therapy. What exactly is experiential therapy, and how can it help us? Experiential therapy, which is sometimes referred to as Recreational Therapy, refers to various kinds of therapy and therapeutic techniques where […]
Prioritized Self-Care to Maintain Emotional Health Now
And HACKS ‘an appropriate application of ingenuity’, to Help Quickly Many people’s routines, which normally might have built-in self-care like the gym, healthy meals at work or school, and regular social interaction, have been completely disrupted by the current situation, which may or may not be the new “normal” for the next several months. General […]
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder And Addiction Therapy
“We can all help prevent suicide. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals. Call 1-800-273-TALK (8255).” Those of us living with addiction are also often struggling with mental health issues such as […]
The 8 Phases of EMDR Therapy
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a psychotherapy for trauma resolution that enables people to heal from the symptoms and emotional distress that are the result of disturbing life experience. Using the detailed protocols and procedures learned in EMDR therapy training sessions, clinicians help clients activate their natural healing processes. EMDR therapy is an […]
How an Inpatient Alcohol Treatment Center Can Help You Through Withdrawal
Entering an inpatient alcohol treatment center is a powerful yet challenging first step in overcoming alcohol addiction. Entering treatment is usually not easy for a variety of reasons. One aspect that is especially difficult is withdrawal. This is the first step to sobriety. Withdrawal or detox is when the toxins from alcohol abuse are eliminated […]
Self-Care, Nutrition, and Recovery: The Importance of Taking Care of Yourself When Overcoming Addiction
Getting sober is hard work. A person’s lifestyle and mindset need to change, and they must be determined throughout the process and maintain a positive attitude to see success in recovery. Addiction takes a toll on a person’s physical and mental health, which usually results in poor habits when it comes to food, sleep, […]
Entering an Addiction Treatment Center: What You Need to Know
Admitting you have a problem with drugs or alcohol takes a lot of courage and strength. It is also the first step to recovery. Acknowledging you have a substance abuse problem is difficult but necessary in the recovery process. Once you have come to terms with the idea that recovery will improve your life significantly, […]
How to Help a Loved One Through Addiction
Unfortunately, addiction has touched and will continue to touch many lives. Addiction not only affects the addict but has a ripple effect through the lives of their loved ones as well. If your loved one is battling addiction, you may not know how to help them or where to even start helping them. This can […]
How to Navigate and Approach Mental Health in the Workplace
Discussing mental health in any setting can be difficult, but it is even harder in the workplace. However, when nearly 1 in 5 adults (44.7 million) 18 years or older struggle with some type of mental illness, discussing mental health in the workplace becomes more necessary than ever. It can be scary to approach mental […]
Ending the Suicide Stigma and Getting Help
“We can all help prevent suicide. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals. Call 1-800-273-TALK (8255).” If you are struggling with depression and substance abuse, Corner Canyon Health Centers can offer help. […]
Is Marijuana a Gateway Drug to Harder Substances?
For many years, there has been a division about the long- and short-term effects of marijuana. Many people argue that marijuana is safe because the withdrawals are not as intense as they are with other substances. There is also a misconception that marijuana is not addictive. However, this is not the case. According to the […]
Misunderstood Symptoms of Depression
People seem to think that if someone says they are depressed, it just means that they are simply sad. Unfortunately, sometimes it may take having depression to truly understand what it means. Having a better understanding of depression will give you better sympathy if you ever meet anyone who has depression and will know what […]
What are Important Reasons to Talk About Your Trauma?
It can be very painful to revisit a traumatic memory. Many are afraid to talk about them in fear of reliving the same pain that you felt when it felt happened. By speaking to others about your trauma, you will feel a huge weight has been lifted and that you found someone to confide in […]
How Can I Support My Spouse Through Their Depression?
A spouse having depression can put a strain on your marriage. It is hard to have a husband or a wife who often critical, unhappy, or negative. It is important to separate the person from the mental illness and to offer treatment options to better their chances of experiencing happiness. How Do I Separate My […]
How is Trauma Linked with Depression?
Going through tragedies such as a sudden death, sexual assault, surviving a war or terrorist attack, a shooting, a disaster, and others can bring about depression. It can make you see how tragic the world can really be as well as give you nightmares, flashbacks, or even post-traumatic stress disorder. What Are the Symptoms of […]
Building a Sense of Belonging While Depressed
Many people become depressed because they feel like they do not fit in anywhere. They can have black and white thinking in that if they do not have any friends or are not close with their family, they cannot fit in anywhere. There is always somewhere for you to belong as long as you are […]
What Are Some Behavioral Addictions?
We commonly associate addiction with dependence on drugs and alcohol, but as addicts we know that any substance or behavior can become addictive for us. We can use anything to try and self-medicate our mental health issues, to numb our pain and cope with the demands of our lives. When we are trying to escape […]
Changing Our Limiting Beliefs Around Addiction
As we’re working to heal, one of the best things we can do for ourselves is change our limiting beliefs around our addictions, our ability to heal and our identity as addicts. When we’re struggling with addiction, we tend to believe that we aren’t strong enough to heal. We don’t think we’re capable of doing […]
What Are Some Warning Signs of Addiction in Children?
Alcohol and drug use are rampant in our culture, and overusing and abusing them are popularized and glamorized every day by our mainstream media and entertainment outlets. Young people are brainwashed into thinking that substance abuse represents coolness, popularity and likeability. Young people are experimenting at younger and younger ages, being pressured and influenced by […]
How Are Our Family Members Affected by Our Addictions?
Support groups are well known for helping us cope with our addictions and mental health issues. Family members can also benefit tremendously from attending support groups, and there are ones specifically designed for the loved ones of addicts. There are particular issues unique to their specific experiences, and they can be struggling with difficult emotions […]
Is There Treatment for Depression and Anxiety?
If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide, PLEASE call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255). We most often associate treatment centers with treating addiction, but we often don’t realize that there are treatment programs specifically designed for our depression, anxiety and other mental health issues. We often assume that we can only be […]
Finding Healthy Replacement Coping Skills
When we start to analyze ourselves and our addictions more closely, we’re able to gain more understanding around what purposes our addictions were serving in our lives. This process can help us to find better, healthier replacements for them. The idea is to develop healthy coping skills we can rely on instead of the default […]
How Does Self-Judgment Impact Relapse?
Through our recovery work, we learn that being judgmental with ourselves and down on ourselves only makes us feel worse about ourselves and more insecure, causing us to be more likely to turn to our addictions to make ourselves feel better. Our feelings of security, stability, groundedness and centeredness are all fragile when we’re working […]
What Purpose Did Our Addictions Serve?
A powerful way of healing from our addictions is to examine what purposes our drugs of choice were serving so that we can find healthy replacements for them. Very often we use our addictive substances, behaviors and relationships as coping mechanisms for our mental and emotional pain. It is possible to discover other ways to […]
How Do Addiction and Mental Illness Affect Us Similarly?
Mental health issues are often referred to as co-occurring disorders that manifest alongside our addictions. How do the two illnesses affect us similarly? What are some of the symptoms and causes that are the same for both? With both addiction and mental illness, we can experience deep sadness and fear. We can feel intense anxiety, […]
Why Do Mental Illnesses Co-Occur Alongside Addiction?
When we’re living with addiction and mental illness, we’re often not conscious of the deeply rooted issues at the core of our mental and emotional challenges. We know we’re in pain, we know we’re suffering, but we’re not sure why. We haven’t yet traced our difficulties back to the traumatic experiences we endured. We haven’t […]
Starting Over After Addiction
Making the commitment to get treatment for addiction is a huge step in the recovery process. It can be very difficult to acknowledge you have a problem with drugs and alcohol. The stigma surrounding addiction makes it hard to ask for help. Starting over after addiction can seem overwhelming, but there is hope in recovery. […]
What Do I Do To Support Veterans Suffering with PTSD and Addiction?
“We can all help prevent suicide. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals. Call 1-800-273-8255.” Veterans who sacrifice their lives to defend our country often come back home from combat with post-traumatic […]
Why Get Sober?
Addiction is complicated and recovery can seem out of reach for a person struggling with it. Recovery is a life-long process and you will face many challenges and obstacles in your journey to sobriety. When a person is addicted, personal relationships with loved ones are compromised and fall apart. Addiction can result in job loss […]
Holistic Addiction Therapy
Treatment for addiction can be tailored to your individual needs. The length and type of treatment depend on the severity and duration of the drug or alcohol addiction, the type of drug used, and mental health. Holistic addiction therapy is effective in treating addiction and focuses on healing the mind, body, and spirit. Holistic therapy […]
The Effects of Drugs and Alcohol on the Brain
Drug and alcohol abuse has been linked to a variety of mental and emotional health disorders. This is because drugs and alcohol can cause temporary or permanent damage to the areas of the brain that are responsible for our emotional and psychological well-being. Short-Term Effects of Alcohol & Drug Abuse The short-term effects of alcohol […]
Staying Sober During The Holidays
Tips from the staff at Corner Canyon Health Centers 1) Be proactive: make plans, don’t sit around and wait; take control of your schedule and fill your time and find people to connect with and activities to fill your schedule that are pleasurable and life affirming. 2) Go to 12 Step Meetings: Many of us […]
Parents With Teens In Drug And Alcohol Treatment
As a trauma-informed addiction treatment center in Utah, approaching anxious parents with empathy and compassion is essential to the work we do at Corner Canyon Health Centers. Heather R. Hayes, M.Ed., LPC, CAI, CIP, has provided this style of support in the intervention and clinical care she’s provided to addicted adolescents and young adults and their […]