Mental Health News Radio

Nanette V. Larson, BA, CRSS, serves as the Deputy Director/Ambassador for Wellness & Recovery for the Illinois Department of Human Services/Division of Mental Health. Since 1999, Ms. Larson has worked with the Illinois Department of Human Services/Division of Mental Health, providing leadership and consultation to further the development of recovery-oriented services within the mental health system. In her more than 15 years as a state employee, Ms. Larson has served in a variety of positions within the Division. In her role as Ambassador, Ms. Larson will continue to forward many of DMH’s successful recovery initiatives, such as Wellness Recovery Action Planning (WRAP®), Certified Recovery Support Specialist (CRSS) training and development & monthly Recovery & Empowerment Statewide Calls. Additionally, she and her team will develop and expand proactive, outcome-focused wellness strategies organized around the eight dimensions of wellness identified by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services

Join Joshua Garrin and host Kristin Sunanta Walker as they talk about the importance of Minimalism. Two highly empathic people at it again sharing trusted emotional space for and with each other on another show. Caring for your soul in the age of the digital imprint is a full-time job. Dig in with both of them to find out how to stay focused on being present in your life.  Joshua holds a Ph.D. in health psychology, an M.S. in cognitive psychology, and a B.S. in general psychology and journalism. Following the completion of his doctorate in 2014, Joshua was the recipient of Walden University’s Harold L. Hodgkinson Award for Outstanding Dissertation Research for his inquiry on health beliefs, outcome expectancies, and stress appraisal in college seniors. In addition, he is the recipient of Walden University’s 2015 Presidential Alumni Research Dissemination Award for having published his award-winning dissertation research via multiple literary channels.As a health psychologist, Joshua’s interests focus on the i

Ann Roselle is a nurse practitioner who has been in the nursing field for nearly twenty years. She currently practices in the field of adult and geriatric psychiatry. She lives in greater New Haven Connecticut with her husband and three children. Ann took part in McLean Hospital's initiative www.deconstructingstigma.com to talk about postpartum depression and how the medical community can stigmatize those who work in the field when they report mental health problems.www.bipolarandme.virb.com

Dr. Shelley Uram is a Harvard trained, triple board-certified psychiatrist and a Distinguished Fellow of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. She speaks around the country about psychological trauma and how it often interferes with our ability to thrive in life. She is best known for communicating very complex information in an interesting and easy to understand way.  Dr. Uram conducts patient lectures and provides ongoing training and consultation to the treatment staff at The Meadows, and is a Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at The University of Arizona College of Medicine.Dr. Uram has written numerous articles about psychological trauma and the brain and is currently writing a book on the subject. www.shelleyuram.com

Alice Washington is an associate at the California Institute for Behavioral Health Solutions. Ms. Washington was awarded a Bachelor’s of Art degree from Stanford University during March of 1988.  Her major was Sociology:  Social Sciences. In the past few years, Ms. Washington has received a Train-the-Trainer Certificate from California State University, Sacramento.  In 2013, Alice completed an A.S. in Graphic Design. She also completed a Diploma in Web Design and Interactive Media in December 2015. Finally, Alice has skills in developing technology-based trainings. Alice has been living with schizophrenia, depression and anxiety since age 27. She has had diabetes for about 6 years during to Zyprexa and obesity.www.facebook.com/alice.washington.125LinkedIn.com/in/alicejographics

Join Kristin Sunanta Walker, counselor Shari Botwin, and Patricia Leary Steuer, all sexual assault survivors as they discuss their experiences and the healing necessary in order to find measures of peace. All three of these women keep it real and very personal as a shared discussion on the trauma, long-term PTSD, anxiety, and depression that we all suffer after these kinds of experiences. A full transcript of the show can be downloaded here.Shari Botwin, LCSW has been counseling survivors of trauma and abuse for over 20 years.  She has given expert testimony on most major news outlets and will be featured in a documentary later this year on healing from sexual trauma.  She is working on her second book, Conquering Trauma. Through the years she has witnessed patients go from surviving to thriving into a full life. Listen to Shari's first interview here. Shari's article in the Philadelphia Inquirer regarding the Bill Cosby trial is here.www.sharibotwin.comPatricia Leary Steuer joins us to share her personal sto

A friend of our CEO, Kristin Sunanta Walker, joins us for this special show. Gopinath (Gopi) is the owner of a very successful technology company based in Bangalore India. He joins us today to talk about the state of affairs in India around Mental Health stigma and services. Gopi and Kristin started out as colleagues 13 years ago working on extensive projects in technology. They became close friends and that friendship is conveyed in this eye opening interview. If we think we have issues eradicating stigma around mental health in the U.S. just wait until you hear how it treatment is viewed in India. A fascinating show with a very compassionate and intelligent man that Kristin is honored to call friend.  

Amy Cerel is a 57 year old wife and proud mom of 2 young men ages 22 and 18.  She began her family after earning an MSW and MBA, and embarking on a successful career as a clinical social worker and organizational consultant.  She suffered a postpartum depression following the birth of her first child, and with the support of wonderful family and an outstanding physician, sought and received the appropriate treatment for her illness.  She chose to stay on her treatment course and did not relapse following the birth of her second child.  While raising her sons she returned to work part time, as she continues to do now that her sons are grown.  She volunteered to participate in McLean Hospital's public awareness campaign, Deconstructing Stigma, to raise awareness that postpartum depression is an illness to be treated and not a character flaw or judgment on one's ability to be a mother and love her children.  Today she is actively involved in her local community outreach efforts to support organizations that assi

We met the lovely Eamon and Nina at the Evolution of Addiction Treatment confernece in Los  Angeles, Ca. They were calm in a sea of noise on a busy exhibit hall floor. We simply had to interview them! Eamon O’Hara comes from a substance abuse treatment background. He was originally introduced to this industry through personal experience where he attended a facility early in his 20’s and began his journey of continued sobriety.  When achieving one  year of sobriety he began work at a drug and alcohol rehab facility and climbed through the ranks becoming the company’s director of operations in. Eamon has helped thousands of people get clean and sober and his involvement in the industry brings unprecedented insight to Alignment Addiction Recovery Group.Christina (Nina) Warthen is from an upper class family with no addiction in sight. At twenty years old she began a successful fifteen-year career in modeling. While modeling she was very often struck by how many people in that industry were functioning addicts and

Bill Prasad, LPC-S, LCDC, Certified Trauma Counselor is the Vice President of Clinical Programs for Lifeway International where he drives clinical operations and builds high performance teams. As an L-P-C Supervisor and L-C-D-C he also works as a therapist for Contemporary Medicine Associates where he treats people who are challenged by trauma, addiction, depression and anxiety. He has worked as a Director of Intake, outpatient/Inpatient services for two Houston psychiatric hospitals. He is also a certified trainer of group C-I-S-M response and has run on calls including the Navy Yard shootings in Washington which resulted in 12 people being gunned down in the workplace. Before moving to Houston, Bill directed a behavior health program for Fairfax County Fire and Rescue in Virginia where he worked closely with law enforcement and firefighters. Also, he worked as an EAP counselor for Raytheon and the Office of Naval Intelligence in Maryland. Bill has post graduate certifications in leadership from the Universi

Highly sensitive beings can have a tendency to see the world through rose colored glasses. It's a measure of safety, naivete (sometimes), but also a gift. Seeing the best in others when we aren't well boundaried can lead us down roads where we end up in trauma. Many toxic people count on us wearing those glasses and keeping them foggy. We cover a lot of ground on this show with our original trio of Melanie Vann, Melissa Richards, and Kristin Walker. The message is simple though - wear those glasses proudly, just remember to keep the lenses clear. www.mentalhealthnewsradio.com

Another terrific contributor to McLean Hospital's mental health inititative Deconstructing Stigma, Jessica Fahey joins our host Kristin Walker to talk about OCD and Anxiety Disorder. Jessica is the picture of success. She manages more than 25 employees that oversee lab space where scientists work on lifesaving discoveries. She recently married her love, an army veteran of the Afghanistan war turned police officer. They bought a house and rounded out their family with a new puggle puppy (a pug/beagle mix). Jessica accomplished all this with severe obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and anxiety disorder. Looking back, Jessica remembers the ritualistic behaviors she developed as a young child. She would recite prayers over and over again until they were perfect, otherwise she feared someone in her family would die. She also pulled her hair and eyebrows out and picked at her cuticles until they bled because of her nervousness. Her senior year in high school, she had her first panic attack—gasping for breath and

We have been reading The Angry Therapist's posts for a while thinking, "Who is this awesome and cutting edge healer?"  It was a great pleasure to interview the founder John Kim and find out exactly what he and his message are all about.  John practices complete authenticity and transparency with his many clients, frowned upon in the clinical world, and continues to look for new and unconventional ways to help people. John lives in Los Angeles where he makes videos on his phone, Crossfits, and rides his motorcycle to coffee shops to do sessions. His work has been covered in TheAtlantic.com, Hyphen, Psychology Today, MindBodyGreen.com, NPR.com, and Mental Health News Radio (where we love things that are "frowned" upon). www.theangrytherapist.comInstagram:  https://www.instagram.com/theangrytherapist/ Twitter:       www.twitter.com/angrytherapistFacebook:   www.facebook.com/theangrytherapistYou Tube:  https://www.youtube.com/user/theangrytherapist  

As she's already heard, April is a breath of fresh air. We met by chance at The National Council for Behavioral Health and immediately set up a live interview.  Now MHNR Network is doing all we can to further her message with www.spsmchat.com.  Doc Foreman has her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology. She enjoys working in rural settings, and finds that the picture in her office of her grandmother holding up an enormous catfish can often mean more to her clients than the degrees hanging on the opposite wall. She believes that using information technology and social media resources can bring state of the art mental health care to her rural clients. She has experience using a system of phone texting to help clients chart their daily mood and share them with a treatment team and trusted circle of friends and family. She also uses social media platforms like Twitter to connect with innovators and thought leaders in healthcare across the world, and uses her website to curate compelling Twitter chats on issues about whic

We had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Robert (Bob) Johnson, LCSW and CEO/President of The Samaritan Institute. I haven't received a hand written thank you card in a very long time. Bob wrote one to me after we met at The National Council for Behavioral Health conference in Seattle of 2017. A gentleman and forward thinker ready to take the institute to new heights and sheppard in technology, compliancy, and growth for the 60+ organizations under the Samaritan umbrella. Robert (Bob) P. Johnson, MS, LCSW joined the Institute in July 2016. Prior to this, he served on the Institute Board of Directors, the Clergy and Congregation Care (CCC) Leadership Team, and has been a member of Leadership Consultation Group (LCG) II since its inception in 1998. Bob was the Executive Director of the American Foundation of Counseling Services, a Samaritan Center, located in Green Bay, Wisconsin from 1996 – 2016. During this time the Center grew from providing 5,000 hours of service annually to over 20,000 hours across thre

Glen Coppersmith, PhD is the founder and CEO of Qntfy (pronounced “quantify”), a software company that combines capabilities rarely found under one roof: data science to construct research hypotheses, automated data collection from non-traditional and traditional sources, and the ability to build complex data-driven systems. We translate data science and machine learning into practical, patient centered solutions. He is also an independent consultant on a range of data science related work, including various DARPA data science programs and some engagements with my friends at The Data Guild. We met Glen at the 2017 National Council for Behavioral Health conference held in Seattle. www.qntfy.com 

Becca Braren's brother died of a drug overdose in 2012. In the aftermath of his death she decided she had to do something to better understand and help prevent this senseless loss of life. The result is a feature documentary focusing on alternative modalities in addiction prevention and recovery. She introduces global experts and an award-winning team of filmmakers, who are all donating their time. Her production partner, Kristen Murtha, just debuted her most recent film BANDAID at Sundance three weeks ago. It is featured here at the top of Rolling Stone's most anticipated movies of Sundance. (Rolling Stone Article)Their goal is to unite the nation in a battle against the suffering that causes addiction and end the battle against individuals who suffer. In our film, we share how other nations have done this. Together we can turn this crisis around. www.thefixfilm.com www.vandiverproductions.com 

Paul Gionfriddo was named President and CEO of Mental Health America on May 1, 2014. He has worked in a variety of health and mental-health related positions during a career spanning over thirty years. In 2013, he was appointed by HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to a four-year term on the 12-member National Advisory Council to the SAMHSA Center for Mental Health Services.Prior to joining MHA, he was a consultant, speaker, and writer, and author of a popular weekly health policy blog entitled Our Health Policy Matters. His essay entitled How I Helped Create a Flawed Mental Health System That’s Failed Millions – And My Son, was published as the Narrative Matters essay (and was the most-read article) in the September 2012 issue of Health Affairs and was also published in the Washington Post in October 2012. The full-length version of the story was published as a book, entitled Losing Tim: How Our Health and Education Systems Failed My Son with Schizophrenia.He is a graduate of Wesleyan University. He lives with

No Shame On U Founder and President, Miriam Ament, has a B.A. in American History from Barnard College, Columbia University and an M.A. in Organizational Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University.  She was also a recipient of the JCC PresenTense Chicago 2014 Fellowship and, in 2016, earned her Certificate in Leadership from Northwestern University and Spertus. In addition, Miriam is certified in Mental Health First Aid. Miriam is also a member of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention Faith Communities Task Force. Over thirteen years ago, Miriam was hospitalized three times for depression and encountered stigma and isolation from many friends and family members who didn't have the emotional tools and practical knowledge base to deal with the illness. Miriam is dedicated to utilizing her life experiences in order to normalize the mental health conversation and end the stigma. She lives in Chicago with her husband, musician David Forman.Miriam was a part of McLean Hospital's initiative

Jamie is one of the incredible partipants on an initiative created by McLean Hospital called Deconstructing Stigma. Our podcast platform has agreed to help spread the word about this incredible program. Jamie was one of our first guests on the podcast and her story is so raw, honest, funny, and exactly what millions of people deal with every day, including our host Kristin Walker.Join us for what was an joyful yet painful conversation about both of their triumphs, struggles, and the on-going work it takes to stay on the path to mental well being.www.deconstructingstigma.com Read more the story around the intiative in the Boston Globe HERE.