July 4, 2025 • 17 mins
Dr. Pete shares insight into the ever changing world of Mental Health. Tune in for practical tips & learn how to take control of your mental health and make it a priority.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:17):
Hello and welcome back to On Air with Dr Pete.
I'm your host, dr Pete Economo,and May was Mental Health
Awareness Month, and so wethought it would be a good idea
to recap the month.
We had some really amazingguests on and you know it's
interesting and guests sincethen and looking at the world
that we're living in.
And you know, all over theworld there's different types of
(00:39):
months that have all differentthemes, and you know, black
History Month and ALS Month andMS Month and all these things
are really important because wehave to continue to combat those
.
You know, diagnosis disordersthat you know need more support
and we have to understand itmore.
And when I first started doingmental health treatment, I never
(01:00):
thought it'd be what it istoday, especially in the world
of sports.
You know that really going, youknow, from the one provider for
an entire organization to nowmultiple providers and the
conversations are being had allover the place.
So, you know, may, mentalHealth Awareness Month please
tune into some of those episodesand if you didn't get a chance,
I want to recap some of them.
So, dr Emmanuel Mercedes and I,so we jumped in about you know
(01:24):
being really, you know, goodfriends but also classmates.
That's where our friendshipbegan.
We met in class and he is aimmigrant from the Dominican
Republic and the challenges thathe brought with him that really
led him into studying and nowtreating other people.
And one of the things that hesaid in that episode was, like
(01:45):
you know, leaving DominicanRepublic with a bag, but then
all the other bags that youcarry, you know, we we're all
carrying bags that you don't see, and that's a metaphor.
I've used a lot with clients Iwork with where I'll say just
leave your bag here.
You know, kind of imagine thatthis office is a storage locker
for you and you don't have totake it with you.
You know, manny has beenworking over 13 years of
(02:06):
experience in New York and NewJersey and we are involved and
he's been instrumental to theLatino Mental Health
Organization.
There's a national associationas well as a state association,
and so there will be people thatthink, oh, there's no need for
that.
Or you know, that's diversity,that's DEI and that's a bad word
, and I'll just say that youknow, recognition of differences
(02:27):
is a power, it's a strength tosay that we are different, and
you need organizations like theLatino Mental Health Association
to ensure that we have peoplethat are committed to these
diverse groups that have notsought or had access to care in
the same way that others withprivilege have, and that's
ultimately what we think aboutas part of our conversation was
(02:50):
the role that mindfulness, andin that episode he reminded me
that I was the one that turnedhim onto meditation, which is
pretty cool.
So for listeners that are maybetuning in for the first time and
you wanted to hear the recap Imean I have been practicing
mindfulness meditation for manyyears, studying Zen.
For 15 years.
I'm a Dharma holder and asensei in the White Plum lineage
(03:13):
of Zen, having studied withRobert Kennedy Roshi, and when
Dr Mani came to me he was like,oh, I'm trying to deepen my
practice.
He had been doing, he had uhbeen doing some mindfulness
stuff and some meditation whenhe and I were in school, like it
wasn't in the same kind of waythat it is today.
So we, you know, and we talkedabout that, like how things have
changed and mental health haschanged and he's changed, you
(03:37):
know, his family and all thattype of stuff, cause he's got
some wonderful, beautifulchildren and a wonderful wife
and and all of that.
So, uh, I think, uh, you know,that was a really exciting
episode because, uh, you know,it was full circle, like I think
it's really cool, like noteveryone does the same thing and
so not everyone feelscomfortable doing a podcast, not
or or even has an interest, andso I was so thankful that he
(03:59):
came on.
And then the next one was supercool Cause it was a former
student, dr Norna Jules, andthat was all you know, because,
she being a former student, itwas so cool to have her there,
because to watch her now, as alicensed psychologist and
working with individuals,families and children,
adolescents so important, and Idon't because I don't work with
(04:19):
adolescents Once in a while Iwill treat, um, an older
adolescent like somewhere in theuh, it's not, it's not, this is
not scientific.
When I'm saying this 15, that'sI know it's not older
adolescents almost kind ofgetting there, but I have
treated like a 15, 16 year old.
It was like an elite athlete,um, and you know, uh, that fits
more in my wheelhouse, but justkind of general adolescence it's
(04:42):
a really, really tough time.
I always joke and say, like itreminds me of how awkward I was
during my adolescence, and DrNorton, jules and I jumped in on
that and I think we even talkedabout, we like giggled about
that, because I don't she seesme as her professor and this
person you know kind of doingsome of the social media stuff
and podcasts and on TV, but Iwas so proud to like see her sit
(05:06):
there and talk about, likeneurodiversity and the impact of
neurodevelopmental disorders,and so I say that, and I say
that as if it was something Ilearned.
I did not learn neurodiversity,and so somebody who's trained in
multicultural competence anddiversity was a word that we use
a lot, never aroundneurological processes.
So I do want to say I find thatquite curious because I I there
(05:29):
is no diversity.
But what I'm going to say assomebody who studies the brain
and, you know, as a psychologist, all of our brains are diverse,
you know.
And so of course and that'sgoing to be a little provocative
, and so there are going to besome people hearing that and not
liking me say that Now thereare diagnoses that now meet that
criteria, things like autismspectrum disorder, but then what
(05:50):
I'm also going to say is ADHD,ocd, anyone that's kind of
behaving in a really organicbehavioral diagnosis like those
I just mentioned that'sneurodiversity and what I know
from, like, our imaging studies,is that All things are pretty
diverse in the brain, you know,because most imaging doesn't
tell us much.
You know we look for littleslight changes or activity
changes in certain areas of thebrain.
(06:13):
But you know, dr Nona Jules hasmade a lot of her career now in
understanding how COVID hasimpacted teens, as well as
social media and other externalfactors.
So those are really importanttopics because in today's world
we're, we're, we are so consumedby social media and by COVID I
mean this cohort of people Ithink right now, like those
(06:36):
graduating college.
I'm recording this in 2025.
So May 2025 was that May mentalhealth awareness month, and
that this group that justgraduated, this cohort, was
entered college during COVID.
So that might not be rightbecause 2020 was COVID, so this
might be like this, the secondclass, but you know they were
(06:56):
graduating high school duringthat, you know.
So anyway, around that sametime period.
That is really affectingbecause these are really, as we
know from neuro,neurodevelopmental science, as
Dr NorderJules told us, it has adirect and significant impact
on how the brain functions.
Then Dr Jason Kristofiak came.
This was like such a cool monthfor me, so Dr Kristofiak and I
(07:16):
work very closely together atRutgers Sports Health.
He and I both workpredominantly with the football
team at Rutgers University andso you know we know each other
very well.
He wants to kind of embark onhis social media journey, which
is really cool to watch, andhe's the chief sports medicine
for Cooper and Barnabas MedicalCenter and he is the team
(07:37):
physician for the Rutgersfootball team.
So we talked about concussionand just the impact of
interdisciplinary care, that weneed a team, and so for anyone
listening that for me mentalhealth awareness was like a
little like whatever or soft orall that, or you know, you're
not sure who to go to.
It does take a team and so he,you know as a medical physician,
(07:58):
he'll call me and lean on meoften and I'll do the same.
Hey, this just happened.
You know, if an athletedescribes something to me
medically that I'm unsure of, Ican call him up and get some
more information.
And so, understanding that therole that we, he and I have
developed this interdisciplinaryteam, especially like around,
(08:19):
again, like I mentioned,concussion and the impact that
concussion has on mental healthbut also then on
neuropsychological functioning,and so he's really involved in a
lot of research aroundconcussion and some of the new
technology around there to bothhelp treat and diagnose and so
but I interestingly in thatconversation we didn't go too
much into the hard science ofconcussion and we really spent a
(08:39):
lot of time just talking aboutgeneral mental health and the
role that it plays in both, youknow, the athlete's physical
health and performance, and itwas really cool for me to hear
Dr Krasofiak talk about theimportance of mental health,
because you know, I'll also saythat I'm a fake doc.
(08:59):
I'm not a fake doctor, but I'mnot a real doctor, is what I'll
say.
So the world likes hierarchiesand you know there's hierarchies
in all things and, um, mostlythe medical world, physicians at
the top, and even withinphysicians there's MDs and DOs,
different degrees, hierarchiesestablished.
I'm a PhD as a psychologist andso that's why I joke and say
(09:19):
I'm not a real doctor.
Uh, one time at one of thebasketball games the head of
security came over to me.
He's like oh I, we need yourhelp.
There's someone on the secondfloor, second level, that I
think they're having.
He think he's having a heartattack and I was like I don't
know what to do with that.
Now, I was trained in first aidand I would know what to do.
But, um, it was after the factthat I knew it was being cared
of, um, we, we, the role and howimportant he saw mental health
(09:40):
and even the work that he'sdoing.
Dr Erica Lander Miller oh my God.
So she and I go way back and Iguess I'm giving you some of the
stories.
You didn't realize that allthese guests I've had
(10:00):
relationships with and maybeI'll do that every May kind of a
little carousel of my crew.
It's important to have a crewright.
I work with teams.
I got my own team.
These are my crew.
So Erica's my crew.
Dr Miller she and I wereinvolved in co-establishing, or
establishing I'll say she didmost of the work the Association
(10:21):
for Contextual BehavioralSciences in New Jersey.
But we did a lot of worktogether around that and she's
got a thriving, amazing practicein New Jersey and specializes
in cognitive and behavioraltherapy for adolescent and
children, you know.
And so really a critical thing.
I will say I've always workedwith adults.
As I was saying earlier aboutDr Norna Jules, I've always
(10:43):
worked with adults.
Even in my residency I was theone adult intern.
There was eight child internsand one adult.
I was the one, and that's justimportant to recognize, because
I used to say, hey, we shouldbring the children up to the
adult unit so that they couldsee why it's important they work
on their mental health now sothat they don't become this
(11:03):
later and again provocativestatement, but it was one that
was, you know, sprinkled in withsome truth that it's so
critical the role that Ericadoes at her practice Behavioral
Care Center of New Jersey,treating children, adolescents,
because they, you know, startyoung, early intervention.
If you can get to the root ofsome of the challenges that
(11:25):
these children are having as anadult, they won't need it.
And especially since shepractices in the same domain
that I do cognitive behavioraltherapy her job is to not have a
job.
So, just like I always say, herjob is to sit there and give
the family, give the parents,and that's the thing about child
and adolescent therapy is thatthe family has to be involved.
So I think sometimes people are, you know, dropping off their
(11:52):
kids and being like, okay, fixmy kids.
And the reality of it is that'snot what we do.
You know, we, we help and weimprove, but it's gotta be the
whole system that's involved anduh, dr Miller you know we had.
That was a great episode.
I had a lot of fun with thatCause.
The thing about Dr Millerthat's so cool is she is
brilliant, but she doesn'talways celebrate her brilliance.
And one thing I'll share if youknew me, you would know that I
(12:15):
love to make people feel good.
I know that sounds cheesy, butI love to empower and I could
just see that she doesn't seehow brilliant she is.
And that episode you will get alot of tips from her,
especially for parents ofchildren.
Lot of tips from her, you know,especially for parents of
children, adolescents.
Uh, because she had this, thesegems of uh techniques that were
(12:36):
really critical, you know, forparents to, to, to, uh,
implement and then, to wrap upMay mental health awareness
month, it was a deep, deep, deepepisode, uh, where it was
Samara and I, uh, samara and herhusband founded Endurant and
her husband Neil, and that wasafter their son who was
(12:58):
diagnosed with autism, his wholelife, completed suicide, and
you know they really did a lotfor their child.
They have a daughter still.
A lot for their child, uh, theyhave a daughter still.
And uh, a lot because theconversation was around the
frustrations of finding theappropriate care, finding care
(13:19):
in general, and how reallydifficult it could be to do so.
And, uh, samara and her husbandNeil really did everything.
You know, they did everythingthey could, um, to try and give
their son as much as Anthonybecause that's why they call
Endurant Ant his capital.
At the end they did everythingto try and give him some
(13:42):
services and he was asking forit Like he knew something wasn't
right.
And you know, he just had thispain and, you know, obviously
potentially complicated withautism and some other you know
challenges and the mental health, and so, endurant, they have
now committed to suicideprevention, a special focus on
mental health and thenespecially for neurodivergent
(14:03):
individuals.
And so it was a real, you know,and actually it was a cool part
about that was that Samara isconnected with our producer, lee
Costelli, and so that's howSamara came to us and got on the
show and it was really justsuch a heavy, deep episode
because it was the first oneSamara did on her own.
She often did it with herhusband, neil, and she said that
(14:27):
he would usually kind of takethe wheel and she would chime in
, but he had another commitmentto do for, I think a high school
or some other organization,where he was speaking about
men's mental health.
So, again, very important workthat they're doing, and it was
so cool.
So I got Samara to myself andit was just uh, she and I having
a conversation about mentalhealth and the journey, um, you
know, kind of leading up to, uh,her son's suicide, uh, and then
(14:50):
what they've done after Very,very powerful episode.
So that was the last one in May, so if you have not heard that
or listened to that episode,please go jump on in to hear it.
So, may, mid-south AwarenessMonth.
Now, just because May is overdoesn't mean we're not going to
give you more.
I mean pretty much everyepisode.
Uh, I I'm going to close onthis I started a show called the
(15:16):
shrinks, and by by started Imean it's just a concept years
ago, um, and it's called theshrinks and it is like a bunch
of, you know, diverseperspectives, diagnosing and
dissecting why people do whatthey do, and you know
conversations around it and youknow it is just so critical.
(15:37):
And I say that because, uh, onair with Dr Pete, like, even
though I bring you all differenttypes of news, the lens that I
see things through is throughthe scientific lens of learning
theory and behaviorism that youknow we are beings that uh act
in patterns and you know thegoal for us as cognitive
behavioral therapists are toidentify patterns and break
(15:59):
maladaptive ones, and so I willoften see some sort of patterns
or science in the behavior.
So that's why when you tune into On Air with Dr Pete, even if
it's June, july, august,September, if it's not, may, you
still will hear and learn aboutmental health because it's
important, it is a big piece ofour well, our well-being and all
that.
So I thank you so much fortuning in and if you have any
(16:25):
issues, we have tons ofdifferent resources on the
website NAMI and differentreferral sources that if you
yourself are struggling withmental health, there are
resources out there.
There's organizations likeEndurant you know that we had on
at the end of the month andlots of different.
Every state association wouldhave some kind of resources for
(16:46):
people that are struggling.
So it's not easy and I hate thatabout the field, but medicine's
not easy and so it'scomplicated.
It's a really robust system andso you know there's checking
the so notes if you have any.
You know issues there, kind oflink to some resources, but so
thankful for you tuning in foryour support.
(17:07):
I always encourage you to like,follow and share.
Everything is at official DrPete.
We will be back next week, asalways, bringing you some new
topics for the summer.
So until then, spread a littlekindness and stay well, thank
(17:34):
you.
Hello and welcome back to On Air with Dr Pete.
I'm your host, dr Pete Economo,and May was Mental Health
Awareness Month, and so wethought it would be a good idea
to recap the month.
We had some really amazingguests on and you know it's
interesting and guests sincethen and looking at the world
that we're living in.
And you know, all over theworld there's different types of
(00:39):
months that have all differentthemes, and you know, black
History Month and ALS Month andMS Month and all these things
are really important because wehave to continue to combat those
.
You know, diagnosis disordersthat you know need more support
and we have to understand itmore.
And when I first started doingmental health treatment, I never
(01:00):
thought it'd be what it istoday, especially in the world
of sports.
You know that really going, youknow, from the one provider for
an entire organization to nowmultiple providers and the
conversations are being had allover the place.
So, you know, may, mentalHealth Awareness Month please
tune into some of those episodesand if you didn't get a chance,
I want to recap some of them.
So, dr Emmanuel Mercedes and I,so we jumped in about you know
(01:24):
being really, you know, goodfriends but also classmates.
That's where our friendshipbegan.
We met in class and he is aimmigrant from the Dominican
Republic and the challenges thathe brought with him that really
led him into studying and nowtreating other people.
And one of the things that hesaid in that episode was, like
(01:45):
you know, leaving DominicanRepublic with a bag, but then
all the other bags that youcarry, you know, we we're all
carrying bags that you don't see, and that's a metaphor.
I've used a lot with clients Iwork with where I'll say just
leave your bag here.
You know, kind of imagine thatthis office is a storage locker
for you and you don't have totake it with you.
You know, manny has beenworking over 13 years of
(02:06):
experience in New York and NewJersey and we are involved and
he's been instrumental to theLatino Mental Health
Organization.
There's a national associationas well as a state association,
and so there will be people thatthink, oh, there's no need for
that.
Or you know, that's diversity,that's DEI and that's a bad word
, and I'll just say that youknow, recognition of differences
(02:27):
is a power, it's a strength tosay that we are different, and
you need organizations like theLatino Mental Health Association
to ensure that we have peoplethat are committed to these
diverse groups that have notsought or had access to care in
the same way that others withprivilege have, and that's
ultimately what we think aboutas part of our conversation was
(02:50):
the role that mindfulness, andin that episode he reminded me
that I was the one that turnedhim onto meditation, which is
pretty cool.
So for listeners that are maybetuning in for the first time and
you wanted to hear the recap Imean I have been practicing
mindfulness meditation for manyyears, studying Zen.
For 15 years.
I'm a Dharma holder and asensei in the White Plum lineage
(03:13):
of Zen, having studied withRobert Kennedy Roshi, and when
Dr Mani came to me he was like,oh, I'm trying to deepen my
practice.
He had been doing, he had uhbeen doing some mindfulness
stuff and some meditation whenhe and I were in school, like it
wasn't in the same kind of waythat it is today.
So we, you know, and we talkedabout that, like how things have
changed and mental health haschanged and he's changed, you
(03:37):
know, his family and all thattype of stuff, cause he's got
some wonderful, beautifulchildren and a wonderful wife
and and all of that.
So, uh, I think, uh, you know,that was a really exciting
episode because, uh, you know,it was full circle, like I think
it's really cool, like noteveryone does the same thing and
so not everyone feelscomfortable doing a podcast, not
or or even has an interest, andso I was so thankful that he
(03:59):
came on.
And then the next one was supercool Cause it was a former
student, dr Norna Jules, andthat was all you know, because,
she being a former student, itwas so cool to have her there,
because to watch her now, as alicensed psychologist and
working with individuals,families and children,
adolescents so important, and Idon't because I don't work with
(04:19):
adolescents Once in a while Iwill treat, um, an older
adolescent like somewhere in theuh, it's not, it's not, this is
not scientific.
When I'm saying this 15, that'sI know it's not older
adolescents almost kind ofgetting there, but I have
treated like a 15, 16 year old.
It was like an elite athlete,um, and you know, uh, that fits
more in my wheelhouse, but justkind of general adolescence it's
(04:42):
a really, really tough time.
I always joke and say, like itreminds me of how awkward I was
during my adolescence, and DrNorton, jules and I jumped in on
that and I think we even talkedabout, we like giggled about
that, because I don't she seesme as her professor and this
person you know kind of doingsome of the social media stuff
and podcasts and on TV, but Iwas so proud to like see her sit
(05:06):
there and talk about, likeneurodiversity and the impact of
neurodevelopmental disorders,and so I say that, and I say
that as if it was something Ilearned.
I did not learn neurodiversity,and so somebody who's trained in
multicultural competence anddiversity was a word that we use
a lot, never aroundneurological processes.
So I do want to say I find thatquite curious because I I there
(05:29):
is no diversity.
But what I'm going to say assomebody who studies the brain
and, you know, as a psychologist, all of our brains are diverse,
you know.
And so of course and that'sgoing to be a little provocative
, and so there are going to besome people hearing that and not
liking me say that Now thereare diagnoses that now meet that
criteria, things like autismspectrum disorder, but then what
(05:50):
I'm also going to say is ADHD,ocd, anyone that's kind of
behaving in a really organicbehavioral diagnosis like those
I just mentioned that'sneurodiversity and what I know
from, like, our imaging studies,is that All things are pretty
diverse in the brain, you know,because most imaging doesn't
tell us much.
You know we look for littleslight changes or activity
changes in certain areas of thebrain.
(06:13):
But you know, dr Nona Jules hasmade a lot of her career now in
understanding how COVID hasimpacted teens, as well as
social media and other externalfactors.
So those are really importanttopics because in today's world
we're, we're, we are so consumedby social media and by COVID I
mean this cohort of people Ithink right now, like those
(06:36):
graduating college.
I'm recording this in 2025.
So May 2025 was that May mentalhealth awareness month, and
that this group that justgraduated, this cohort, was
entered college during COVID.
So that might not be rightbecause 2020 was COVID, so this
might be like this, the secondclass, but you know they were
(06:56):
graduating high school duringthat, you know.
So anyway, around that sametime period.
That is really affectingbecause these are really, as we
know from neuro,neurodevelopmental science, as
Dr NorderJules told us, it has adirect and significant impact
on how the brain functions.
Then Dr Jason Kristofiak came.
This was like such a cool monthfor me, so Dr Kristofiak and I
(07:16):
work very closely together atRutgers Sports Health.
He and I both workpredominantly with the football
team at Rutgers University andso you know we know each other
very well.
He wants to kind of embark onhis social media journey, which
is really cool to watch, andhe's the chief sports medicine
for Cooper and Barnabas MedicalCenter and he is the team
(07:37):
physician for the Rutgersfootball team.
So we talked about concussionand just the impact of
interdisciplinary care, that weneed a team, and so for anyone
listening that for me mentalhealth awareness was like a
little like whatever or soft orall that, or you know, you're
not sure who to go to.
It does take a team and so he,you know as a medical physician,
(07:58):
he'll call me and lean on meoften and I'll do the same.
Hey, this just happened.
You know, if an athletedescribes something to me
medically that I'm unsure of, Ican call him up and get some
more information.
And so, understanding that therole that we, he and I have
developed this interdisciplinaryteam, especially like around,
(08:19):
again, like I mentioned,concussion and the impact that
concussion has on mental healthbut also then on
neuropsychological functioning,and so he's really involved in a
lot of research aroundconcussion and some of the new
technology around there to bothhelp treat and diagnose and so
but I interestingly in thatconversation we didn't go too
much into the hard science ofconcussion and we really spent a
(08:39):
lot of time just talking aboutgeneral mental health and the
role that it plays in both, youknow, the athlete's physical
health and performance, and itwas really cool for me to hear
Dr Krasofiak talk about theimportance of mental health,
because you know, I'll also saythat I'm a fake doc.
(08:59):
I'm not a fake doctor, but I'mnot a real doctor, is what I'll
say.
So the world likes hierarchiesand you know there's hierarchies
in all things and, um, mostlythe medical world, physicians at
the top, and even withinphysicians there's MDs and DOs,
different degrees, hierarchiesestablished.
I'm a PhD as a psychologist andso that's why I joke and say
(09:19):
I'm not a real doctor.
Uh, one time at one of thebasketball games the head of
security came over to me.
He's like oh I, we need yourhelp.
There's someone on the secondfloor, second level, that I
think they're having.
He think he's having a heartattack and I was like I don't
know what to do with that.
Now, I was trained in first aidand I would know what to do.
But, um, it was after the factthat I knew it was being cared
of, um, we, we, the role and howimportant he saw mental health
(09:40):
and even the work that he'sdoing.
Dr Erica Lander Miller oh my God.
So she and I go way back and Iguess I'm giving you some of the
stories.
You didn't realize that allthese guests I've had
(10:00):
relationships with and maybeI'll do that every May kind of a
little carousel of my crew.
It's important to have a crewright.
I work with teams.
I got my own team.
These are my crew.
So Erica's my crew.
Dr Miller she and I wereinvolved in co-establishing, or
establishing I'll say she didmost of the work the Association
(10:21):
for Contextual BehavioralSciences in New Jersey.
But we did a lot of worktogether around that and she's
got a thriving, amazing practicein New Jersey and specializes
in cognitive and behavioraltherapy for adolescent and
children, you know.
And so really a critical thing.
I will say I've always workedwith adults.
As I was saying earlier aboutDr Norna Jules, I've always
(10:43):
worked with adults.
Even in my residency I was theone adult intern.
There was eight child internsand one adult.
I was the one, and that's justimportant to recognize, because
I used to say, hey, we shouldbring the children up to the
adult unit so that they couldsee why it's important they work
on their mental health now sothat they don't become this
(11:03):
later and again provocativestatement, but it was one that
was, you know, sprinkled in withsome truth that it's so
critical the role that Ericadoes at her practice Behavioral
Care Center of New Jersey,treating children, adolescents,
because they, you know, startyoung, early intervention.
If you can get to the root ofsome of the challenges that
(11:25):
these children are having as anadult, they won't need it.
And especially since shepractices in the same domain
that I do cognitive behavioraltherapy her job is to not have a
job.
So, just like I always say, herjob is to sit there and give
the family, give the parents,and that's the thing about child
and adolescent therapy is thatthe family has to be involved.
So I think sometimes people are, you know, dropping off their
(11:52):
kids and being like, okay, fixmy kids.
And the reality of it is that'snot what we do.
You know, we, we help and weimprove, but it's gotta be the
whole system that's involved anduh, dr Miller you know we had.
That was a great episode.
I had a lot of fun with thatCause.
The thing about Dr Millerthat's so cool is she is
brilliant, but she doesn'talways celebrate her brilliance.
And one thing I'll share if youknew me, you would know that I
(12:15):
love to make people feel good.
I know that sounds cheesy, butI love to empower and I could
just see that she doesn't seehow brilliant she is.
And that episode you will get alot of tips from her,
especially for parents ofchildren.
Lot of tips from her, you know,especially for parents of
children, adolescents.
Uh, because she had this, thesegems of uh techniques that were
(12:36):
really critical, you know, forparents to, to, to, uh,
implement and then, to wrap upMay mental health awareness
month, it was a deep, deep, deepepisode, uh, where it was
Samara and I, uh, samara and herhusband founded Endurant and
her husband Neil, and that wasafter their son who was
(12:58):
diagnosed with autism, his wholelife, completed suicide, and
you know they really did a lotfor their child.
They have a daughter still.
A lot for their child, uh, theyhave a daughter still.
And uh, a lot because theconversation was around the
frustrations of finding theappropriate care, finding care
(13:19):
in general, and how reallydifficult it could be to do so.
And, uh, samara and her husbandNeil really did everything.
You know, they did everythingthey could, um, to try and give
their son as much as Anthonybecause that's why they call
Endurant Ant his capital.
At the end they did everythingto try and give him some
(13:42):
services and he was asking forit Like he knew something wasn't
right.
And you know, he just had thispain and, you know, obviously
potentially complicated withautism and some other you know
challenges and the mental health, and so, endurant, they have
now committed to suicideprevention, a special focus on
mental health and thenespecially for neurodivergent
(14:03):
individuals.
And so it was a real, you know,and actually it was a cool part
about that was that Samara isconnected with our producer, lee
Costelli, and so that's howSamara came to us and got on the
show and it was really justsuch a heavy, deep episode
because it was the first oneSamara did on her own.
She often did it with herhusband, neil, and she said that
(14:27):
he would usually kind of takethe wheel and she would chime in
, but he had another commitmentto do for, I think a high school
or some other organization,where he was speaking about
men's mental health.
So, again, very important workthat they're doing, and it was
so cool.
So I got Samara to myself andit was just uh, she and I having
a conversation about mentalhealth and the journey, um, you
know, kind of leading up to, uh,her son's suicide, uh, and then
(14:50):
what they've done after Very,very powerful episode.
So that was the last one in May, so if you have not heard that
or listened to that episode,please go jump on in to hear it.
So, may, mid-south AwarenessMonth.
Now, just because May is overdoesn't mean we're not going to
give you more.
I mean pretty much everyepisode.
Uh, I I'm going to close onthis I started a show called the
(15:16):
shrinks, and by by started Imean it's just a concept years
ago, um, and it's called theshrinks and it is like a bunch
of, you know, diverseperspectives, diagnosing and
dissecting why people do whatthey do, and you know
conversations around it and youknow it is just so critical.
(15:37):
And I say that because, uh, onair with Dr Pete, like, even
though I bring you all differenttypes of news, the lens that I
see things through is throughthe scientific lens of learning
theory and behaviorism that youknow we are beings that uh act
in patterns and you know thegoal for us as cognitive
behavioral therapists are toidentify patterns and break
(15:59):
maladaptive ones, and so I willoften see some sort of patterns
or science in the behavior.
So that's why when you tune into On Air with Dr Pete, even if
it's June, july, august,September, if it's not, may, you
still will hear and learn aboutmental health because it's
important, it is a big piece ofour well, our well-being and all
that.
So I thank you so much fortuning in and if you have any
(16:25):
issues, we have tons ofdifferent resources on the
website NAMI and differentreferral sources that if you
yourself are struggling withmental health, there are
resources out there.
There's organizations likeEndurant you know that we had on
at the end of the month andlots of different.
Every state association wouldhave some kind of resources for
(16:46):
people that are struggling.
So it's not easy and I hate thatabout the field, but medicine's
not easy and so it'scomplicated.
It's a really robust system andso you know there's checking
the so notes if you have any.
You know issues there, kind oflink to some resources, but so
thankful for you tuning in foryour support.
(17:07):
I always encourage you to like,follow and share.
Everything is at official DrPete.
We will be back next week, asalways, bringing you some new
topics for the summer.
So until then, spread a littlekindness and stay well, thank
(17:34):
you.
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