9 Reasons We Love Spring in Michigan!

Spring sneaks up on you when you live in Michigan. Suddenly, there is a fresher feel to the air – birds are tweeting, warbling, and chirping as you amble to your car in the morning. And miraculously, the barren trees are sprouting a riot of flowers. The grass is lush and green. I have to admit, […]

12 Hopeful Ideas to Improve Your Mental Health 2025

In January and February each year, Sanford Behavioral Health creates an article series that looks at hopeful ways to improve your mental health. As a behavioral health organization, we know that treatment and medication management are important elements of improving and maintaining mental health. However, science has shown that community, passionate interests, and even limiting […]

Announcing Therapy Dogs of Sanford!

Sanford Behavioral Health is launching a new Instagram account called @therapydogsofsanford. Jacqueline Campbell (Jacq), a licensed vet tech with a certification in animal-assisted therapy, spearheads the account. Jacq is also the daughter of Sanford Founders Rae and David Green. She is familiar with the beneficial experience of communicating with  Apollonia (Apol) and Lola, Sanford’s working […]

The “Lady” With the Lamp – Modern-Day Nursing in Mental Health

What would life be like without nurses? Florence Nightingale, the pioneer of modern-day nursing, devoted her life to the service of others. She felt called to help as a young woman and made it her life’s passion. Florence worked deliberately to educate herself in the art and science of nursing at the cost of the […]

Ideas to Bolster Your Mental Health – 12 Days of Hope Series

12 Days of Hope Series #1 Last year, we published a series of hopeful ideas for improving mental health during the winter holidays and beyond. (Even playing in the snow can be good for mental health!) We’re doing it again this year, beginning with the best ideas from last year. As we head into 2025, […]

Hope for Creating Personal Boundaries in the Addicted Home

Recently, Sanford Behavioral Health Founder Rae Green and I presented an educational in-service for the Mental Health Association of Michigan. Our focus was on boundaries (personal or external) for recovering families. After the presentation, I began thinking deeply about boundaries and recovery. I became even stronger in my belief that families dealing with addiction have […]

Dopamine Rush – 27 Things to Do Instead of Scroll

These days, studies, marketing campaigns, and warnings abound about excessive smartphone scrolling, but many of us reach for our phones the moment our eyes open in the morning or a beep alerts us to a new message. Grabbing the phone can be practical for checking the schedule, weather, and time. However, according to the former […]

10 Sober Holiday Traditions at Sanford Behavioral Health

It’s December 1st, and for those in recovery, the holidays may loom as a stressor, not the stuff of storybooks. At Sanford Behavioral Health, our sober holiday traditions have stood the test of time through gloomy days and a pandemic. Remember staying sober through that holiday season? Along with the customs of tinsel, candles, dreidels, […]

Worried About a Loved One’s Drinking During the Holidays? 7 Ways You Can Help

Updated 11/19/ 2025 At Sanford Behavioral Health, we get feedback from the loved ones of previous clients this time of year. They tell us about the difference between holidays in recovery versus the years prior when their loved ones were in active addiction. We hear, “It is such a relief. I used to get so […]

How Can We Establish Family Boundaries in Recovery?

  Let’s face it: family members can push every button. When a person is in recovery from a substance use disorder, the entire family is involved in the delicate process of transitioning beliefs, feelings, and actions. How can we establish family boundaries in recovery? In an upcoming webinar with the Mental Health Association in Michigan, […]