Journey to the Positive Path

Finding the right help for mental health or substance use challenges can feel overwhelming, especially when you don’t know where to begin.

In this episode, Karen L. Hunt, founder of Hunt Consulting and Coaching and Passage2Evolve, shares insights from more than 20 years in behavioral health, addiction treatment, eating disorders, adolescent treatment, and coaching.

Karen explains how she helps individuals and families navigate treatment options, from outpatient programs to residential care, and why there is no single path to recovery. She also discusses the importance of continued care, family involvement, and finding professionals you can trust.

The conversation also explores her coaching work with women and professionals navigating career changes, divorce, grief, business growth, and other major life transitions, as well as how DISC assessments can help individuals and teams better understand their strengths, communication styles, and blind spots.

Whether you’re seeking treatment, supporting someone you love, or navigating a major transition, Karen’s message is simple: you don’t have to figure it out alone.

PTSD can affect far more than veterans or first responders. Trauma can come from violence, abuse, neglect, bullying, chronic stress, sexual assault, and other experiences — and its effects can show up in relationships, work, sleep, substance use, anxiety, depression, and everyday life.

In this episode, Positive Path owner Sari Dangler sits down with Sean O’Connor, Executive Chairman of Reflections Lifestyle Center, for an important conversation about post-traumatic stress disorder, trauma, and the treatment options available for people who need more support than traditional weekly therapy.

Sean also shares his own experience as a survivor of sexual assault and how his personal treatment journey inspired him to create a mental health program designed to fill gaps he saw in the system.

Together, they discuss the different forms trauma can take, why PTSD often occurs alongside depression, anxiety, and substance use disorders, and treatment approaches including EMDR, DBT, cognitive processing therapy, and individualized trauma-focused care.

They also break down Partial Hospitalization Programs (PHP) and Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOP), how these programs allow many people to continue living at home and even working while receiving treatment, and why finding the right level of care can make such a difference.

Most importantly, this conversation offers a reminder for anyone struggling with trauma — or watching someone they love struggle — that PTSD is treatable and help is available.

“Addiction doesn’t discriminate—it can affect anyone, anywhere, at any age.” Paige Furin, executive director of Winning the Fight and long-term recovery advocate, shares eye-opening insights on the hidden dangers of opioids like fentanyl and the urgent need for open conversations and community education. Tune in to learn how to recognize the signs of substance use and why one pill can be deadly.

Eating disorders affect millions but often hide in silence—did you know one in ten individuals struggles with these complex conditions? In this episode, Jana Hamilton from Eating Recovery Center shares how early intervention, family support, and tailored treatment can transform lives. Tune in to uncover the realities of eating disorders and discover the compassionate care that paves the way to recovery.