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Acknowledgments

From Victor

First, I would like to thank the late Merton Cochran, PhD, my boss at the Sheridan VA Medical Center, and the staff at the Serious Mental Illness Treatment Resource and Evaluation Center (SMITREC) at the Ann Arbor VA Center for Clinical Management Research. Dr. Cochran encouraged me to submit a proposal to SMITREC for a specialty program of intensive treatment and rehabilitation for veterans with serious mental illness, and when SMITREC accepted my proposal, he and the center’s staff provided me with the resources to develop and assess the program that led to this workbook.

I want to thank my good friend and colleague Joe Graca, PhD, who worked at the Knoxville (Iowa) VA Medical Center at that time. Dr. Graca helped me refine the workbook version my staff and I initially used so we could share it with other providers. He offered considerable encouragement and support over the years and became a strong advocate for this approach.

Many staff members at the Sheridan VA Medical Center worked with me or used this workbook with their groups and provided me with feedback. I would like to mention three with whom I particularly enjoyed working: Barbara Zeigler, PhD; Karen Walmsley, LCSW; and Denise Hagney, CNA.

When I served as Recovery Coordinator for the Sheridan VA Medical Center, I worked and became familiar with Megan Harvey, PhD, Recovery Coordinator at the Denver VA Medical Center. Dr. Harvey also supported the use of this workbook and helped make it available to veterans in that facility.

Susan Blaney, MSN, FPMHNP-BC, of the Cheyenne VA Medical Center, took a special interest in the workbook and successfully used it with veterans in her care.

I have had the good fortune to work under several other supervisors who supported my use of this workbook. David Schultz, MD, nominated me for a special award based on the program on which this workbook is based. Michal Wilson, MD, and Michael Hiller, MD, were also supportive of my program and made it possible for me to continue to offer a longer-term approach when resources were slim and other programs were discontinued.

I am grateful to Dr. Robert Hutzell for granting me permission to use his Life Purpose Scale in this workbook free of charge.

Well-known psychologist and recovery movement advocate Fred Frese, PhD, showed an interest in this workbook after I gave a presentation on it at the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Wyoming Conference in May of 2014. Dr. Frese graciously provided the excellent Foreword to this workbook.

I want to thank Vanessa Hastings, my editor and collaborator on this version of the workbook. Working with her has been a pleasure, and she finds clearer ways to say things than I do. She also has demonstrated courage in sharing the details of her experience with mental illness in this workbook, which I believe greatly enhances its value to users. I would like to thank Nancy Schenck, Executive Editor of CRP, for her gentle and able assistance in polishing this workbook into its present form.

Consultant Jack McHugh’s knowledge of the publishing field has proven invaluable. Jack helped me deliver this volume to you, and I am grateful for that service.

I also want to thank my wife, Janet, who has always believed in my work and has helped me realize that this workbook is worthy of a larger audience.

Finally, I want to thank the hundreds of veterans I have had the privilege and pleasure of serving. They showed me quite clearly the power of self-acceptance to transform lives and promote recovery from mental illness. I learned as much from them as I taught them. My work with them has been the highlight of my career as a psychologist.

From Vanessa

I want to take the opportunity to thank Jackie and Ned Peterson, my aunt and uncle, for sheltering me from the storm of my early years and for always being there for me.

I also thank my husband, Adrian Chavez, and my dear friend Autum Goodspeed for sticking by my side through this difficult journey. I can’t adequately express my gratitude for their dedication, compassion, and patience.

Endless thanks to Heather McIntosh, licensed professional counselor and massage therapist. She saved my life, and she constantly reminds me to appreciate the puppy dogs and rainbows of life.

Finally, I deeply appreciate Dr. Ashear for developing this workbook and for asking me to help make it available to the public. Our association and collaboration have improved my life tremendously.