If you had known me as a child, you would not have suspected that I would become an author. I was horrible at spelling and poor at grammar. As a teenager, I wasn’t much of a reader, either. But I always have been fascinated by people and their experiences and some of my favorite memories are of the times when my father, a minister, would take me with him at night to go “call” on members of his church. I don’t think many preachers actually visit people at their homes anymore, but in the 1960s in rural Colorado, they did and I discovered early on that nearly everyone has a story to tell.
Adding Anosognosia to the DSM
A Lecture from a Hero of Mine
I was delighted when I opened my email and discovered that Major Sam Cochren, who often is called the “Father of Crisis Intervention Training,” had sent me a note. Sam is one of my heroes and has probably saved more lives of police officers, persons with mental illness, and their loved ones, than anyone else in our nation in recent times. He is also a modest and decent guy who is dedicated to helping persons such as my son even though he does not have a family member with a mental illness.
I tell Sam’s story in my book and describe the key role that he played in developing CIT in Memphis, then spreading it across the nation and now internationally. Talk about someone who is making an impact!
The reason Sam was writing was to give me a well-deserved lecture — in his gentle, Southern way.
Serenity: Is it Possible?
Votes or Money? We need both!
Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell has proposed cutting $300 million from the state’s mental health budget. His plan would reduce mental-health treatment beds by 232, take 5 percent in funds from community service boards (which provide mental health treatment in the community) and freeze enrollment for a program that provides insurance to low-income children.
What McDonnell is doing is not much different from what other governors are doing across the country. Each day, I get a NAMI alert from some state chapter about budget cuts that will cause havoc in mental health programs.
Psychiatrists vs Psychologists Anyone?
I couldn’t get home last week from Los Angeles because of the snow storm so I flew into Las Vegas to do interviews for my new nonfiction book. I enjoyed being in the only city in America, I think, that didn’t have snow on its streets or freezing weather. It also was interesting to drive along the famous Strip and see how much it has changed from when I did my research in 1997 for my book, Super Casino.
While the Luxor is still there with its shiny black exterior and brilliant pyramid tip, it looked puny compared to the new billion dollar mega-resorts that have been constructed recently.
One thing that hasn’t changed is the contrast that you see in Las Vegas, even when you’re trying to find things to do in Las Vegas with kids.