Author Archives: Janice Airhart

Beautiful Words

There are three little words that everyone knows are the sweetest to hear from those we love, but last week I heard four of the most satisfying words I’ve heard in a while. In a note from my editor to the publisher at Lived Places Publishing: “this manuscript is approved.” Less than 48 hours afterContinue reading “Beautiful Words”

Tragedy in Central Texas

The Central Texas flooding on Friday has been devastating to dozens of families, and I have watched with horror as the death count rises. From the pictures I’ve seen of the mountains of debris that litter the banks of numerous rivers near me, I know it will be some time before the missing are accountedContinue reading “Tragedy in Central Texas”

Transinstitutionalization – Whew!

I agree—the title is a mouthful! But it’s an important concept in psychiatry practice. “Transinstitutionalization” is a single-word description of the movement of individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) in the 1960s and beyond from psychiatric hospitals to prison. The term was coined by Lionel Penrose in 1939, who recognized that as the number ofContinue reading “Transinstitutionalization – Whew!”

Community-based Mental Health Services: Bluebonnet Trails

I had a busy week last week, and I’m exhausted. It’s a good kind of exhaustion, though. Our grandsons from California spent a week with us, and our local granddaughter spent much of the week here as well. All three are teenagers and very active, which means I was more active than usual as well.Continue reading “Community-based Mental Health Services: Bluebonnet Trails”

Truth Sandwiches

Photo by Mae Mu on Unsplash When I taught Freshman Composition to college students, I learned a method of giving feedback on their essays that was compared to a sandwich. I’ve heard various labels that use this method for delivering criticism, like “compliment sandwich” or “critique sandwich,” but I preferred to call it a “feedbackContinue reading “Truth Sandwiches”

Family Involvement Improves Outcomes for Those with Mental Illness

In my last post, I mentioned being lost in a research rabbit hole—I’m only halfway out by now. The research I’m doing is for the conclusion of a book manuscript that’s due to my publisher at the end of the summer. That may sound like a long time off, but between now and then isContinue reading “Family Involvement Improves Outcomes for Those with Mental Illness”

Of Rabbit Holes and Legislator Lunacy

Help! I’m at the bottom of a rabbit hole, and I can’t see daylight! Last week, I started on research for the concluding section of the book I’m working on about family members who advocate for a loved one diagnosed with a mental illness. I interviewed 12 family members in four categories: parent, child, sibling,Continue reading “Of Rabbit Holes and Legislator Lunacy”

Reading and Young Children: It’s Fundamental!

About once a month, a group of teen moms at the Margaret Hudson Program gathered with their children in the school cafeteria for a story hour hosted by the Tulsa City-County Library’s Reading is Fundamental (RIF) program. Students with children in the toddler rooms were released from classes to attend. The girls were always delightedContinue reading “Reading and Young Children: It’s Fundamental!”

Family Planning and a Nation’s Welfare

A couple of blocks from where I taught at the Margaret Hudson Program (MHP), and a few hundred yards from the Head Start program our students’ children attended was the office of Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. It was tucked into the far end of a nondescript strip center, set backContinue reading “Family Planning and a Nation’s Welfare”