Blog

I was talking on the phone with my husband Matthew a few weeks ago when I read these words to him, “I’m pleased to tell you that you have been selected to receive the Arizona Psychiatric Society’s Mental Health Public Service Award for 2022.” Gazing on this message...

I was putting on makeup one morning and the chorus to this song from a playlist caught my attention as it streamed from a speaker in the next room. The artist, Chris Renzema, was asking God to “tear my house down.” In fact, that’s the title of the song. Why would he...

Do not assume irrational behavior to be spiritual. Pray for and with them, not as in a exorcism, but as you would pray for any injured or grieving friend. And seek professional medical assistance. 

A Caregiver’s Perspective Most discussions of caregiving related to a crisis involving serious mental illness (SMI) start with a highly visible event or series of events. That is how it should be. That we should jump to rally around and support families who suffer...

Last week in our Caregiver Support meeting, I recalled a difficult time for our family when we were living in the throes of chaos and crisis. Due to my husband’s job loss in 2008, we had to let our dream home go to foreclosure. The following is from a blog-journal I...

Have you ever missed a standing meeting, and someone later asked if you were there? You realized they didn’t even notice you were gone in the first place. It seems worse than if you had been present. I mean, you really weren’t there, and they didn’t even notice that....

Thanks to so many of you, this will be our 5th year of providing gift cards to more than 14 group homes in our community that serve men and women with serious mental health challenges this Holiday Season! You rock! This year we would like to expand this effort. If you...

I get a general sense that most people I speak with want to “do something” about helping our seriously mentally ill neighbors. We see the people on our streets and we donate to homeless shelters or offer to volunteer and pass out food. These are good and obvious ways to respond, but how do we think about and move forward in terms of addressing the more daunting issue of isolation?

Sometimes the pain from battling a serious mental illness can be overwhelming. Whether you have a mental illness or love someone who struggles, it can feel like you are walking in complete darkness at times. Questions and confusion may swirl in your head each...