Letting Go in Family Recovery (Happy Thanksgiving!)
Once again, it’s the holiday season with a tradition of gathering and gift-giving to folks you care about! And Thanksgiving is the time we count our blessings and express gratitude – all part of the recovery process! At Sanford Behavioral Health, we care about our clients and Excursions readers and have a little practical […]
Avoiding the Whack-a-Mole Eating Disorder Game
I’ve never liked the carnival game whack-a-mole. Bashing heads with a cartoon hammer while an endless succession of new rodents appears. It is too stressful and unpredictable. But I could relate when a friend in recovery said they thought eating disorders, popping up during addiction treatment, reminded them of playing whack-a-mole. Because just when […]
Anorexia in Larger Bodies? Busting Misdiagnosis and Stigma
When you think of anorexia, what is the mental picture you have? Images of an emaciated individual come to mind: a whisp of a young woman, clothes hanging off a skeletal frame. In reality, serious eating disorders can occur in individuals of all body sizes, any gender, and most ethnic groups. Only 7% of […]
Body Acceptance & Diet Culture – A Parent’s Guide
In October, we celebrate Body Acceptance Week (National Eating Disorders Association) and at Sanford Behavioral Health we support NEDA. In fact, eating disorder programming has shaped the way the entire organization looks at body acceptance and meals. We know that body dissatisfaction is a risk factor in the development of an eating disorder. But […]
Focus: First Responders – New Podcast for Sanford
How do first responders manage the stress of the job? In a new podcast, Focus: First Responders, host Matthew VanLiere explores the mental health issues associated with being first on the scene to face challenging, dangerous, and exhausting situations. Matt comes by the subject naturally, as a 29-year veteran of the Ottaway County, Michigan […]
Sanford Behavioral Health Founders Earn Distinguished Alumni Award
Rae and David Green Honored with Top Award from Alma College ***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., September 30, 2022 – Rae and David Green, founders of Sanford Behavioral Health, a regional mental health treatment center, were awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award at the Alma College Homecoming last weekend. The Alma College Distinguished […]
Hiking and Addiction Recovery – Nature’s Dynamic Duo
September boasts both Michigan Trails Week and National Recovery Month. I could not let the month end without comment, because the combination of hiking and addiction recovery is brimming with mental health benefits! More than that, Michigan outdoors has been a lifesaver in my own recovery story. My glowing accounts of dune scaling and […]
Recommended Reading 2022 – Dr. Flores’s Library
One of the joys of a Michigan autumn (after shuffling through leaves and looking at color) is to settle in with a lap blanket and a good book. For those in recovery, reading can be a distraction, an escape, and even a stress and anxiety reliever. Reading a good book about another person’s experience […]
Binge Eating Disorder and Diet Culture
Binge Eating Disorder (BED) is characterized by the consumption of a large amount of food in a discrete period of time. It is the most common eating disorder in the United States, and it affects people of all racial and ethnic groups. About 1.25% of adult women and 0.42% of adult men have binge […]
Take the Video Tour – Sanford West Behavioral Health Campus
Sanford West Behavioral Health Campus, is built on 18 rural acres just outside of Grand Rapids, Michigan. After a year long renovation, Sanford West opened in January 2022, extending and complementing the services at Sanford Behavioral Health. The hallmarks of Sanford are apparent in the new facility: beautifully restored spaces serve as a first […]
