Author: Janis Johnston

Janis Clark Johnston, Ed.D., has a doctorate in counseling psychology from Boston University. She has worked with children, families, and groups (ages 3-83) with presenting issues of anxiety, depression, trauma, loss, and relationship concerns. She initially worked as a school psychologist in public schools and was awarded School Psychology Practitioner of the Year for Region 1 in Illinois for her innovative work. She was a supervising psychologist at a mental health center, an employee-assistance therapist and a trainer for agencies prior to having a family therapy private practice. Recipient of the 2011 Founder’s Award for her dedication to the parenting education of Parenthesis Family Center (now called New Moms), and the 2002 Community Spirit Award from Sarah’s Inn, a domestic violence shelter and education center, Johnston is an active participant in numerous volunteer activities supporting children and families in her community. A frequent presenter at national psychology and educational conferences, Johnston has published journal articles, book chapters, and two books -- It Takes a Child to Raise a Parent: Stories of Evolving Child and Parent Development (2013, hardback; 2019, paperback) and Midlife Maze: A Map to Recovery and Rediscovery after Loss (2017, hardback; 2019, paperback). In addition to augmenting and supporting personal growth in families, Johnston is a Master Gardener and loves nurturing growth in the plants in her yard.

Pearls of Community Bonding

Rattlesnake Plant enfolds its brilliant leaves together at night but unfurls beauty every morning. The leaves-within-leaves plant reminds me of the hardy Hawaiian people. Although foreign takeover of their islands in 1983 attempted to separate Hawaiians from their sacred culture, there has been an ongoing momentum to unfurl genealogy stories and traditions orally. Ancestral land… Continue reading Pearls of Community Bonding

Flourishing Pearls

Are you flourishing or floundering? On January 1st I had several captive hours at an airport. I watched a lone duck swimming in circles in a courtyard pond. Was this duck flourishing in the sunlit zone or floundering somehow? Later the duck swam sideways, ditched repetitive circling, shook its feathers, and settled into cozy napping… Continue reading Flourishing Pearls

Pain and Pearls

Have you ever found yourself in an awkward position? I have. My latest awkward move was falling off a curb on my first day of a Hawaiian vacation with extended family who live on Oahu. Wearing flipflops, like every other islander, I slid sideways off the edge of a curb and twisted my right foot… Continue reading Pain and Pearls

Holiday Pearls

Are you a sunset watcher? My parents were sunset devotees. I have sunset appreciation in my DNA. I’ve been privileged to observe the elusive green flash just as the setting sun slides silently beyond the visualized horizon. The latest plume of special coloring happened with my children on Winter Solstice. With an ocean-wave symphony in… Continue reading Holiday Pearls

Legacy Pearls

A long-time friend visited last weekend. She told how she took her inherited pearls for an appraisal. Upon opening their container, the precious pearls let loose; now unstrung, they tumbled down helter-skelter like falling leaves in a storm. Do you have any restringing projects in your legacy from your family tree? All of us inherit… Continue reading Legacy Pearls

Pearls of Equality

“The source of all wakefulness, the source of all kindness and compassion, the source of all wisdom, is in each second of time. Anything that has us looking ahead is missing the point.” This poignant reminder to live in the present moment was offered by bell hooks. This poet’s pen name included ditching capital letters;… Continue reading Pearls of Equality

Helper Pearls

Pearls help a person look well dressed. Think of all of the photographed pearl-wearing First Ladies of the U.S. — and now our first woman Vice President, Kamala Harris, shares her lovely pearls everyday (see United by Pearls, 8-30-21). Go ahead and wear real or faux pearls. The First Ladies wore both kinds! You do… Continue reading Helper Pearls