March 31, 2022 • 49 mins
Abilities in Motion welcomes Catherine Reynolds from Mental Health America. On this episode, Catherine discusses the importance of mental health and its increasing prevalence over time. Additionally, MHA offers free Mental Health Screenings on the MHA website where you can dive into your own mental health.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Intro (00:02):
Welcome to Disability Talks, a podcast produced by
Abilities in Motion.
I'm your host Ed Granger.
Join us to encounter uniqueperspectives on accessibility
and independence, and to hearstories from everyday people
living their most independent,everyday lives; where essential
conversations find their place.
Let's talk.
Ed (00:25):
Today's guest on the podcast is Catherine Reynolds, the
program marketing manager forMental Health America.
The nation's leading communitybased nonprofit dedicated to
addressing the needs of thoseliving with mental illness and
promoting the overall mentalhealth of all.
MHA's programs and initiativesfulfill its mission, promoting
mental health and preventingmental illness through advocacy,
education, research andservices.
(00:47):
MHA's national office and its200 plus affiliates and
associates around the countrywork every day to protect the
rights and dignity ofindividuals with lived
experience and ensure that peersof their voices are integrated
into all areas of theorganization.
So at following that mouthful,uh, from the MHA website, I'm
going to welcome Catherine tothe podcast.
Catherine (01:07):
Hi Ed.
Thank you so much for having meI'm excited to be here.
Ed (01:10):
So I I'm, I'm really excited to have you.
Um, I, I have been spent a lotof time on your website.
It's fantastic.
There's a lot of ground therethat we can cover in this, but I
guess first I'd like to hearkind of in your words about the
mission of MHA National and kindof what it's all about and your
role there.
Catherine (01:26):
Sure.
So Mental Health America wasfounded in 1909 by a man named
Clifford W.
Beers who had lived experience.
He, uh, had what we called backthen manic depression.
So, which is what we now know asbipolar disorder today.
So our organization was reallyfounded to give people with
lived experience a voice, um,after his experiences, um, being
(01:46):
institutionalized.
And, um, ever since then, ourorganization has really
maintained a lot of leadershipand programming run by people
with lived experience.
Um, so what we really, reallyadvocate for is early
intervention and prevention forall.
Uh, a lot of our programming,um, really tries to help people
when they're kind of early onthat spectrum kind of getting
(02:09):
help with mental illness.
Um, and what I do there is Iwork on our annual conference.
So every year we have M Maha'sannual conference this year, it
is June 9th through 11th, andwe're really excited because the
pandemic actually brought usopportunities to go, um, hybrid.
So we are really thankful to beoffering, uh, free virtual
access for all of our attendeesthis year.
(02:29):
It will have closed captioningin English and Spanish.
So definitely check that out.
And, um, I work in the eventsmarketing department and it's
one of my favorite things I getto do because, uh, it's really
about kind of, um, tellingpeople what MHA is about and
welcoming them to our space forjust about four days outta the
year.
And, um, it's really, reallyfun, fun job to do.
Ed (02:50):
That's fantastic.
Um, let, we'll talk more aboutthat.
Uh, later, that was anotherpiece of your website that I
found really, reallyfascinating.
So I'm, I'm interested to hearmore about it.
Can you share, cuz we talkedabout, you know, the importance
of lived experience and, and itsvalue to the organization.
Can you share a little bit aboutyour own lived experience and
kind of what led you, uh, tothe, the place you are now?
Catherine (03:10):
Sure.
So it's been about 10 yearssince I was formally diagnosed
with bipolar two disorder.
And, um, something that I thinkis a little bit unique about my
story and hence, um, theorganization's, uh, emphasis and
my own personal emphasis onearly intervention on average,
about 10 years go by between thetime that someone starts showing
symptoms of a condition and whenthey get an accurate diagnosis
(03:34):
and for me, it only took aboutthree years.
And, um, so from the time whereI was about 14, when I started
to have suicidal thoughts andstarted to self-harm for the
first time, it wasn't too muchlong after that, that I was able
to get a formal diagnosis ofbipolar two.
And, um, over the past 10 years,I've come a long way.
(03:54):
Um, in my I, I identitydevelopment as someone with a
mental illness and as far as,um, my own advocacy in this
space as well.
So when I was in college is whenI really got involved in formal
mental health advocacy and wasgiven the opportunity to share
my story and having a newspaperarticle published in the
(04:15):
university of Alabama newspaper,detailing my experiences with
self harm arm and beinghospitalized.
Um, it really gave me theopportunity to publicly come
forward.
I think in my own skin for thefirst time, because I was able
to kind of live authentically asthis person with a mental
illness, you know, and, and, uh,prior to that, I really felt
(04:36):
alone and I felt isolated in the, uh, many experiences that I've
had, but the more I learn aboutthe mental health community and
more recently the disabilitycommunity, our differences are,
are not nearly, um, as many asthe things that we have in
common and something that I'vereally enjoyed, uh, since
(04:57):
learning more about thedisability community is kind of
all the various shared feelingsof exclusion that some of us
feel, and it doesn't necessarilydepend on what type of
disability that you have.
Um, it's more so just the broad,you know, the shared experiences
that we all have with theconditions that we do deal with.
Ed (05:18):
So you went from college to the organization you're with now
, and I believe that was kind ofa, a straight line into, uh,
into the work that you're doingcurrently.
Can you tell, tell a little bitabout how that all unfolded for
you?
Catherine (05:31):
Sure.
So as I kind of mentioned, I wasfortunate enough, uh, to get
involved in, uh, campus mentalhealth advocacy.
And it really began with thatarticle that was shared about me
and that there's a really greatquote that I've, I've heard over
the years, that is be who youare, so that other people
looking for, you can find you.
And it seemed like, you know, Iwas out there and I got my story
(05:53):
out there and then thatconnected other people on my
campus to say, Hey, you know,we're starting this organization
and, and we think you might beinterested.
And so it was there that Ihelped kind of start a campus
mental health advocacyorganization, and got really
interested in advocacy and insupporting other people, um, who
were in situations like my own.
(06:13):
So my senior year of college, Iwas thinking, you know, it'd be
really great to go intern forone of these really big, uh,
mental health advocacyorganizations.
And I fortunately, um, got aposition as the public education
intern.
Um, and five days after Igraduated school, moved to
Washington DC for that position.
And even more fortunately, um, ajob opening kind of just
(06:35):
happened to open right, as I, uh, joined the organization.
And it was a huge privilege tostart working at Mental Health
America because for the firsttime, and, and really this
experience was unmatched comingto Mental Health America and
(06:56):
realizing that there were spacesthat my mental illness brought
me strength and that myexperiences, you know, in the
hospital or taking medicationor, you know, going to the
doctor actually made mequalified for different
opportunities at theorganization.
And it made me qualified fordifferent pieces of, um, you
(07:16):
know, content creation and beinga part of a team that
prioritized and placed a valueon my lived experience was
really life changing to me.
And I think, you know, eversince those days, I've really
been, um, concerned with inseeking out opportunities that
allow me to share some of thoseexperiences in a, in a positive
(07:36):
light.
Ed (07:37):
So storytelling sounds like it's an important, uh, it's
important to you.
It's important to yourorganization.
You know, I, I noticed thatthere is a, a section on
storytelling in your conferencethis year.
So it does seem to be sort ofthere's that theme that runs
through your work and your lifeabout the, you know, the
importance of being able to tellyour story.
I, I know you've, you kind ofhinted at this a little bit, but
(07:57):
within the, the sort of mentalhealth community, not everybody
identifies as living with adisability.
So can you share a little bitabout that?
Um, and, and how you kind ofpositioned yourself within that
space?
Catherine (08:09):
Yeah, sure.
So I, myself do identify asdisabled and I do identify my
mental illness as a disability,and it wasn't until I was in an
outpatient center in the summerof 2020, and that I really
understood that the ADA wasthere to protect me.
It was then, uh, coming out ofthis outpatient program that I
(08:32):
really started to fullyunderstand what my rights were
under the ADA.
And I realized, oh, wow, mentalillness is covered under the ADA
and a lot of people I think inthe mental health community, One
do not understand that, or don'teven realize that their mental
illness is actually coveredunder the ADA.
So for example, people don'tknow that their employers have
(08:56):
to give them time off to go totherapy.
And of course, you know, we doknow that with the ADA, there
are some more technical thingsto consider.
Like, you know, your employer, Ibelieve is not able to offer you
those things unless you first,you know, come forward with that
disability.
But I think all throughout mytime in mental health advocacy,
(09:18):
it took me a long time torealize the intersections of
mental health and, and ofdisability.
And, you know, many people inthe mental health community are,
I think really scared of theterm disability.
And they're scared of the termdisabled.
And, um, I think for many peoplemyself in included a piece of
that is not knowing that webelong to that community.
(09:40):
I think a lot of people, and Idon't think this is specific to
mental illnesses.
I think a lot of people feellike they're not quote unquote
disabled enough, or you know,that they don't get to claim
that word because they perceivethat what they're going through
might not be as bad or, youknow, as, as critical as what
(10:03):
other people are going through.
But to me, I think that thedisability community really
offers a lot of, um, communityand inclusion for people with
mental illnesses.
And it was, um, you know, seeingthe great movie Crip Camp and
learning about the 504 riots andthem wanting to fight for people
(10:23):
with mental illness andsubstance use conditions to make
sure that we were included aspart of the ADA.
And so I think knowing thathistory made me feel like, oh,
wow, like they were thinkingabout us.
You know, our, our community hasbeen a part of and welcomed as a
piece of the disabilitycommunity for a very long time.
(10:43):
And I don't think a lot ofpeople really fully know that.
I do think that there are a fewreasons for that.
And I think learning more aboutthe disability community, a
really good example of thedifferences between mental
health and disabilitycommunities is when it comes to
person first versus identity,first language.
So in the mental healthcommunity, we're pretty, pretty
(11:06):
big advocates of person firstlanguage.
Now, I, myself like many otherpeople, I think with mental
illnesses and maybe with othertypes of disabilities, went
through my own kind ofgymnastics on language.
And on early age, a clinicianhad said, you know, I keep
saying, I am bipolar.
I am bipolar.
And she suggested that I changethose words and to,"I have", you
(11:29):
know, to take an ownership andit, and it really did.
I was, I was in, you know, about20 years old at that time.
And that cognitive switch reallydid a lot for me.
And, you know, kind of come backnow, um, you know, six or seven
years later, and I've kind ofshifted my ideas on that.
And, and that was once a copingskill for me.
(11:49):
And I was really uncomfortablewith saying I am bipolar because
I was, you know, so focused ondistancing myself from bipolar
disorder.
It wasn't until I believe, youknow, 2020 towards the end of
that year.
Once I really started to learn alot about disability, that I,
that I was comfortable callingmyself bipolar.
(12:10):
So whereas the mental healthcommunity is very much person
first language.
And honestly, when I started tolearn about the disability
community and I was reading, Iwas like, no, no, like it should
be person first.
And then I started to understandthat no people in the disability
community, some people have apreference for identity first
language.
And, um, there's a really greatbook called Disability
(12:32):
Visibility by Alice Wong.
And it's an anthology of allthese different disabled authors
writing about variousexperiences that they had.
And for me, it was reallybeautiful to see all these
different people with differentlife experiences who belonged to
different communities that allkind of under this umbrella of
(12:53):
disability.
And I really started understandand learning about how, you
know, people in the, the littleperson community, you know,
that's a, that's a communityidentity, you know, it's a point
of strength.
It's not something that, um, I,you know, that is necessarily as
stigmatized.
And so I think when I got intothe disability community, it was
(13:16):
almost like I was givenpermission to actually
self-identify as bipolar.
And it be a positive thing, youknow, like that there were other
people out there with thatcertain set of life experiences
that could relate to me who arealso proud to have had those
life experiences.
Ed (13:33):
Right.
And I, and I guess it'sobviously it's a very personal
kind of decision and there'salso, you know, it's, it's up to
anybody, uh, with a disabilityto decide when to disclose to
whom to disclose, you know, and,and everybody has to kind of
navigate that for themselves.
I think sometimes working herein employment services, people
don't realize that it's notnecess, it's not even, uh, a
(13:56):
disadvantage to say you'resomeone with a disability.
It can be an advantage becausecompanies are looking for good
workers because they have tomeet certain criteria for hiring
and promoting people.
Um, so it can actually be astrength, but it's obviously
that's something everybody kindof has to decide.
And I'm wondering, you know, ifsometimes it isn't kind of sit
(14:18):
situational, like you don't haveto have one, it's not one choice
and you have to, you know, keepthat choice forever.
Within one context you could,you could, you know, you can
adopt one way of thinking in adifferent context, you could
adopt a very different way ofthinking.
And I think we think ofidentities as being these solid
core things that we puttogether, but they're actually,
I think maybe more flexible or,you know, or more multifaceted
(14:39):
than we realize sometimes.
Catherine (14:41):
Oh, for sure.
I think you stated that reallynicely.
Um, and I think context doesmatter.
So me personally, you know, Iwill never use, um, identity
first language, especially whenit comes to mental illness,
because I think, you know, thereis a lot of stigma attached with
being called bipolar.
You know, people use that wordas an adjective, sometimes same
(15:02):
thing with schizophrenia.
Um, so I am very, you know, Iwill never assign, I will never
use identity first should talkabout another person unless they
first self-identified that way.
And even myself, I'm verycautious of how I speak because
I do think it's important again,I, for people to be able to
(15:23):
choose.
So a lot of times, depending on,you know, the, the context or
the audience that I'm workingwith, I will still just identify
as a person with a mentalillness or person with bipolar
disorder.
Today, you know, we're on anAbilities in Motion podcast,
talking about disability talks,don't dis my ability.
So heck yeah, I'm out here, I'mbipolar, I'm disabled.
(15:43):
And I, um, am, you know,sympathetic to the fact that
most of our listeners might beworking along those lines.
And I also, um, reasonablyassume that, you know, listeners
of this podcast are going to be,um, intentional when they use
that language as well.
Whereas if I were, you know,speaking to a group who wasn't
as, um, knowledgeable and mentalhealth, because if I were to
(16:08):
call myself bipolar, they mightthink that that gives them
permission to call some one elsebipolar.
Right.
So I do think, um, it is veryfluid and I think that's some of
the great, uh, freedom andluxuries, I guess, that you
could, if you could call it aluxury, um, of being
knowledgeable about, uh,disability and all the different
(16:29):
communities is because you dohave freedom of expression and
you do have freedom of, of wordchoice, um, that you can fit,
you know, your surroundings withthe appropriate language.
And there's some, you know,situations where I, I don't even
wanna self-disclose that I havebipolar disorder.
And so I will just kind of, youknow, lean into someone with a
(16:52):
mental illness as my identity.
Ed (16:54):
It's a really, that's a really interesting, it's a
really interesting topic.
Um, the whole, we could go onabout identity and the how
people identities form and, andhow we're, uh, you know, some
organizations find themselves atthe crossroads of so many
different aspects of how peopleidentify and how they think of
themselves and see themselves.
And, you know, I think justtrying to be as inclusive as
possible and give of peoplepermission to find their own way
(17:17):
in that space is, is really,really important and something
that, um, I think allorganizations, uh, that, that do
the kind of work yours does, ormind does, are really kind of
all, all kind of navigating thatand striving to provide that
kind of space for people, um,regardless of what their
background is or, or how theyidentify.
So let's talk about, um, yourorganization a little bit more
(17:39):
and go into some more detail.
Like I said, I spent a fairamount of time, um, on your
website, which I really enjoyed.
It's very informative.
It's also very, uh, colorfuland, and I, I, I felt good
about, you know, about visitingthere.
It didn't feel like it was, uh,you know, like I was going to
school or reading thedictionary.
It was, it's a really super welldesigned website.
(17:59):
So I think, I mean, you, theannual conference is kind of,
uh, where a lot of your time andenergy is going.
So, you know, maybe, maybe you'drather not talk about it, uh,
yet one more time, but I'minterested in hearing about it
and I'm sure our listeners are.
Um, so I'm just gonna, I'll readyou a little bit about, uh, what
I found on the website and youcan kind of respond to that, if
that works for you.
(18:20):
Um, just to kind of give thebasics, it says, um, that the
event will bring togetherhundreds of MHA, affiliates,
peers, providers, governmentofficials, media, and key
stakeholders from across thecountry to explore the
intersecting equity issues thatexist in mental health.
Um, and obviously we'll, we'llmake sure people know where they
can go to, to find more and, andmake sure that they have your,
(18:41):
you know, information, um, butkind of can, what, from your
perspective, what are the sortof the highlights that you're
most looking forward to about,uh, being part of this
conference?
Catherine (18:50):
Uh, I'm really looking forward to MHA's 22
annual conference.
Uh, more so maybe in past yearsfor a number of reasons, as we
all know, the past two yearshave been incredibly hard on
people.
And, you know, something thatI've think is really fascinating
as someone who's been in themental health space for a long
time, as we know mental healthreally catapulted to the front
(19:13):
of people's minds.
And you had people who maybe hadnever experienced mental health
conditions before maybe theywere experiencing things to a
new degree, maybe, you know,people had never really had a
lot of stress or anxiety, but inthe past two years, they really
did.
And we really tried to this yearwhen we were organizing our
(19:35):
agenda and our topics, we wantedit to be more than just an event
for professionals, which is whya lot of our sessions are a
little bit about self-care andstorytelling.
And we wanted to make sure thatpeople saw their stories
represented as well as a lot ofeducational information.
So our conference is a, um,great resource for people who
(19:55):
are looking for continuingeducation credits for their
professions, but also we reallywanted to make sure that people
felt like it was a nourishingevent for their personal lives
too this year.
Um, and I'm also very excitedbecause I have been advocating
for us to have close captioning.
And so we will be having closecaptioning in English and in
Spanish that is gonna help openup our audience, um, and help us
(20:19):
reach a lot more people withthat information.
But I'm really looking forwardto the event, um, for those
reasons.
Ed (20:26):
And I, I love the storytelling piece too, because
so many times it's important totell our story the, but in doing
so, we also recognize sometimesor learn, and I, this is from
educational events that I'vedone that just being in the same
room with people who share evena part of your story can be so
powerful and important andsomething that you think people
come for the information, butit's the connections that they
(20:48):
make that are so, so important.
So talk a little bit about someof the other parts of your
website and that MHA reallyfocuses on.
So I'll just like, I'll, I'llwork my way across the, the top
of the screen on your website,uh, in my head, as I remember
it.
And, and from my notes here,you've shared a little bit about
some of the, these, um, theseitems before, but you have the
(21:09):
find help tab, so that clearlythat's inviting people in and,
and you've got some screeningtools and toolkit, um, on there.
Talk a little bit about theimportance of that aspect of, of
the work that MHA does.
Catherine (21:22):
Yes.
Uh, thank you for that question.
So MHA actually just releasedour 2022 mental health month
toolkit today and mental healthmonth was started back in the
1960s, I believe by MentalHealth America and is
nationally.
And I oh, maybe is also, um,worldwide recognized May is the
awareness month for mentalhealth.
(21:42):
So a big piece of what MentalHealth America does is public
education.
And so we, uh, two to threetoolkits every single year, we
do a mental health month, um,bipo mental health month, and
back to school toolkits that arefree, uh, to download on our
website.
This year's theme is Back toBasics.
So kind of going along thoselines of, you know, the past two
(22:04):
years have been a lot for folks.
So if they're new to mentalhealth or they haven't really
had to explore more about it, wecreated a toolkit, um,
especially for those people tolearn the basics of mental
health, the basics of whatmental health conditions are and
the basics of what you can do tosupport yourself.
So, uh, public education andresources are a huge part of
(22:25):
what Mental Health America does.
Our website MHAnational.org isjust overflowing with webpages,
uh, and resources.
We do have some Spanish languageresources.
We have, uh, resources inwebpages about different, um,
race and ethnicities.
We have a whole hub on LGBTQmental health.
(22:46):
So public education is a reallybig part of our work.
And a second thing that we do asyou mentioned, Ed, is our online
screening program.
And like I was saying, MentalHealth America is really, uh,
advocates for early interventionin prevention and mental health
screening is important to me inmy story because my own mental
(23:06):
illness was in part, uh,diagnosed through a mental
health screen.
Mental health screens are not adiagnosis, but they are just an
assessment tool.
So people might be familiar withthe PHQ nine.
So that's a depression, uh,screen and, or the anxiety, I
can't remember the name of that,that screen.
(23:27):
So it's all the same screensthat your clinicians and
providers would be using, butthey're on a free web version.
So you can take a screen on ourwebsite.
It will tell you, uh, thelikelihood that you are dealing
with a certain mental healthcondition, and then it will
suggest resources for you andmental health screening is
really important because as faras, you know, self advocacy and
(23:50):
self-direction, it's somethingthat an individual can do if
they're concerned about that,the way that they're feeling,
and it can kind of give them theconfidence, maybe to take that
information to a provider, youknow, so if you take a screen
and it, and it, you know, likeit did, for me, it said it was
likely that I had bipolardisorder.
I was like, oh, wow.
So maybe this is something thatI really could talk to my doctor
(24:12):
about.
Maybe this is something that'smore real than I thought it was.
So MHAscreening.org has nine or10 mental health screens on it
that you can take, and it's allanonymous and it's free.
And since the pandemic hasreally, you know, kind of
exploded mental health concerns,uh, mental health screening has
(24:34):
gone up to 10 million screens.
We started this program in 2014and our daily screens, I think
went up from like 3,700 to10,000 a day.
And we are seeing a lot ofindividuals with high rates of
anxiety and high rates ofdepression and suicidal ideation
, uh, which is consistent withthe trends that we're seeing
(24:57):
nationally over the past twoyears.
Ed (25:01):
And you spoke about advocacy and self-direction obviously as
a center for independent living,that's really basic to our
philosophies.
So it, I mean, that's somethingthat, um, I think is fantastic.
Um, and that obviously we as acenter for an independent living
believe in and, and try aspireto, uh, to, you know, promote as
well.
And also another thing I likedabout that, um, toolkit was you
(25:22):
had a friends and familysection, which I think is
fantastic.
It, you know, so you're reallyreaching out beyond the, the
individual who might be, youknow, in need of a screening,
but you're reaching out to thatperson's whole support network.
So can you talk a little bitabout that?
Catherine (25:35):
Absolutely.
So, um, we know that, you know,individuals cannot recover
alone.
There's, there's quotes aboutthat.
Uh, you know, recovery cannotoccur in isolation and that
really big predictors,especially for mental health
conditions of success aremeaningful involvement in a
community.
So we are very conscientious ofthe materials that we create and
(25:58):
how they can be used by otherindividuals in someone's life.
So we also have a caregivertoolkit.
That's really wonderful that,um, also highlights, uh,
people's rights under HIPAA, andwe really advocate for shared
decision making between anindividual and their care team.
So we know that theserelationships between, um,
(26:20):
family members and friends canoften be, you know, hard to, to
navigate.
And we find ourselves as anorganization really run and
emphasizing people with livedexperience that we can provide
information for families andcommunities from the lived
experience perspective.
That's really a piece of thework that we're proud to do and,
(26:40):
and understand the need fordirect lines of communication
between the groups.
Because oftentimes when weGoogle information, we're kind
of getting resources orinformation or articles that
have been prepared by folks whomay not have lived experience.
And so we could have our friendsor families taking advice that
we might not necessarily agreewith as a person with the mental
(27:02):
health condition.
Ed (27:03):
And I think what we're seeing a little bit of a shift
too.
I know at least here inPennsylvania and in some, some
of the surrounding states,there's a, a move toward things
like supported decision making.
So instead of a guardianshipsituation where someone loses
their rights and loses theirability to make their own
decisions, the idea is to, to,uh, to identify a team of people
(27:24):
that can support that person intheir, in their decision making
process.
So I think that, I think we'reseeing that move, hopefully
toward people keeping as many oftheir rights a as possible and
being able to make their owndecisions instead of having
somebody else always steppingin.
Catherine (27:37):
Right.
And I will add, you know, agreat resource that a lot of
people do not, uh, even knowabout out our psychiatric
advanced directives.
I was, uh, doing an intake formy outpatient program.
And I asked no one, it was on myform, but no one, you know, no
one really addressed it.
There was no follow up about it.
And I asked them, I said, oh,psychiatric advanced directive.
(27:59):
And she let me know that I wasthe only person to have come
through I, that program that,that she knew of who had ever
even known to ask aboutpsychiatric advanced directives
and psychiatric advanceddirectives are a legal document
that is made during a time ofwellness or stability that
outlines the things that youwould like to happen to you.
(28:20):
So you can say, here aremedications that I do not want
to take.
Here's what I would like tohappen to my dog or my plants.
Here's, um, where I would liketo be taken, please don't take
me to this place.
And it is a document that can beused as a guide should so,
should you enter a period ofcrisis?
You have your needs and wantsrepresented on paper, but a lot
(28:45):
of people don't know that thatis even within their rights as a
person, uh, to have on file.
So that's another thing thatpeople can do to help them
maintain that self-direction.
And I think, you know, assomeone with a mental illness,
you know, the goal is notalways, you know, I, I know that
I'm going not always gonna, I'mgonna, I'm gonna be dealing with
(29:08):
mood instability for the rest ofmy life, you know, but that
doesn't mean that I can't planfor it.
So I think it's really importantfor people who are dealing with
mental health conditions to takeadvantage of, um, the resources
and, and the things that they dohave when they are experiencing
more times of stability.
Ed (29:26):
And I'll, I'll reiterate the fact that your website is full
of this kind of stuff, you know,great information that people
can, uh, can go and check out.
And obviously you wouldencourage them to do that.
Uh, another piece of what MHAdoes is public policy.
So can you talk a little bitabout, um, you know, your, I saw
your advocacy network mentionedon there, um, talk a little bit
(29:49):
about your, your public policyarm of, of what your
organization does.
Catherine (29:55):
Sure.
So Mental Health America for along time has been a really,
really strong advocacy andpolicy department.
And we're really proud of a lotof the accomplishments that
we've had over the years.
Uh, one of them being the I'mgoing to try to remember, I
think it might be the CommunityMental Health Act in 1964, I
believe.
(30:16):
Um, so this was right after wesaw the closure of asylums and
it was the move to allocatemoney for community care.
And that is something thatMental Health America, uh,
helped advocate for back then inone of our biggest policy wins
to date was actually the, youknow, allocation of money for
(30:36):
community based, um, mentalhealth resources, which I'm sure
is a big intersection, thedisability community, too, about
keeping people in the communityand, um, you know, making sure
that they have the things thatthey need to succeed and recover
while maintaining their positionin the community.
So today we're really, um,excited about the work that
(30:58):
we've been doing.
The President recently actuallyannounced a mental health action
plan of sorts.
And we're really excited becauseone of the things that Mental
Health America advocates for isthe use of peer support
specialists and peer supportspecialists in mental health are
just an individual with a mentalhealth or substance use
(31:18):
condition who has been trainedand says, I have this lived
experience and I am going tohelp other people with lived
experience.
And peer support is reallyphenomenal because it's mutual
and it's non-hierarchical.
So we're really, really happy tosee the US government take peers
(31:38):
into consideration, into futurefunding for what's going to be
happening.
Um, another big policy win forMental Health America and other
mental health advocates is therecent passing of the 988
Suicide Prevention Lifelinenumber.
So people might have heard thatwe are getting a three digit
suicide prevention lifelinenumber, just like we have one
(32:00):
for 911, just like we have onefor 411, but this was a really
good piece of Bipartisanlegislation that is going to
really help folks access, uh,crisis services in a better way.
Ed (32:16):
And, uh, that pure support specialist role is one we're
very familiar with here becausewe actually have that program
that we offer as part of what wedo.
So that's a, that's a greatplace where, where these things
can intersect.
Uh, and I also like the factthat with your, your advocacy
networks, you have actionalerts.
People can, you know, people canrespond and it's always, when
(32:36):
you have a number of peoplecontacting a legislator, it's a
lot more powerful than one ortwo people a day.
It's, it can, if it'scoordinated, it can be much more
effective.
And also I feel like those, thatadvocacy network piece is
another piece where we, whereindividual stories contribute to
systemic change.
And, and you'd see theintersection between, uh,
(32:56):
between that lived experience in, and trying to actually impact,
you know, larger systems, whichis fantastic
Catherine (33:03):
Exactly.
And, uh, Mental Health America.
We do have a advocacy toolkitthat kind of outlines all the
different steps that you cantake.
We even have a toolkit on how tobook and prepare for meetings
with your legislators, how tocompose your story.
You know, we can instruct you onhow to share your story with
your leaders.
(33:24):
And I, I will, I will just noteas we're talking about policy
for all the people listening.
So what we really advocate forin mental health is called
parody, and I'm not a policyperson, so I might not get all
the exact, uh, details of this,correct.
But essentially parody wouldmean that, uh, health insurance,
um, reimburses providers formental health, just like they do
(33:47):
for physical health.
So we do not, we have notachieved parody, meaning that we
are still seeing healthinsurers, not reimburse people
for mental health and, and, uh,substance use services.
So everything that we do isreally along the lines of parody
and hoping that payers willeventually, you know, see the
(34:08):
value in mental health andphysical health on the same
level.
Ed (34:12):
That's fantastic too.
And it sounds like you're thepeople that are putting your
toolkits together are prettybusy, busy group of staff people
there.
Um, and, and I, it's an amazing,because I, you know, when, when
you tell somebody that there's atoolkit, they feel like it's
going to be easy to access.
It's gonna have clear stepsoutlined.
So I think that's a great wayto, to frame the way you share
(34:32):
that information, as opposed tohere's a big block of text.
Read it.
Um, so that's, that's fantastic.
You also have the, the sectionon mapping America's mental
health.
So can you tell us a little bitabout that?
Catherine (34:44):
Yes.
So this is a really exciting newproject from MHA, uh, based on
our screening data.
So we are actually able to mapwhere our screening data comes
from, and there's an interactivemap on our website.
You can actually see down tocounty level, uh, how many
people have this is from ourscreening data.
(35:05):
So this is only individuals havealready taken these screens, but
they are mapped all across thecountry, all the 50 states in
the district of Columbia.
And you can actually see livedata on a county level for
people I think dealing, uh, withsuicidal ideation, with
depression, anxiety, and I think, uh, maybe psychosis at this,
at this point in time, but thisis a really cool new program for
(35:29):
us.
And I think represents a littlebit of the future of what we see
of, you know, making data anddata visualization, accessible
to folks.
So we can actually see what'shappening on the community level
and, and people in thosecommunities can actually see
what their constituents aredoing with.
And I think this, this programreally pairs nicely with one of
(35:50):
our other programs.
Uh, another report that we do is, um, the state of mental health
in America in which we use CDCdata and, uh, rank all the 50
states and the district ofColumbia on different, um,
indicators of mental health careand access.
So through those kinds of tools,we really tried to, you know,
not just empower individuals,but a lot of providers and
(36:13):
people on the community and, uh,state and federal level to take
action based on real life data.
So Mental Health America'sscreening data is the only
really living, breathing dataset of its kind.
So through, um, the pandemicwe've been monitoring this.
So we saw spikes coordinatedwith the dates of the pandemic.
(36:33):
And so we're really excited tobe able to provide the mapping
project to, uh, further continuethat work.
Ed (36:40):
And obviously that's, uh, very empowering for local
community organizations as well,because if you are trying to,
uh, make a case for gettingfunding or starting a program,
or getting help with theprogramming that you wanna
offer, you know, that data is areally powerful way to make an
evidence based case for the workyou're trying to do that.
And then you can bring in theorganizations and the support
(37:01):
hopefully, uh, to help make thathappen.
And I did note I'm here inPennsylvania.
So I did look at the ranking,the states and somewhat to my
surprise, Pennsylvania wasnumber eight, I think, in the
nation for adults and number onefor, for youth.
So I know we could use a lotmore help with mental health
here in Pennsylvania.
I can only imagine the situationin some of those other places
(37:23):
that are, you know, that are notranked so well.
Um, and, and what the situationsmust be for people in, in those
parts of the country.
Unfortunately, what are the,what programs that you think
might be coming down the roadfor MHA or, or in general within
mental health, are you mostexcited about seeing come to
fruition and implemented?
Catherine (37:44):
So I, for one am really excited about the idea of
mental health resources thatserve the individual, but also,
you know, serve the community alittle bit more.
So from my experiences in, inoutpatient therapy, I was really
kind of struck by this idea ofhow isolating it is for
(38:05):
individuals to be attendingthese sessions and then not
really go back home and have alot of community support, right?
So, um, an individual coming inwho might have a mental illness
and is a parent and has a familyof children and, you know, a, a
partner, if they, if they don'thave the resources to actually
(38:25):
discuss what they'reexperiencing, how are they going
to move forward in theirrecovery?
Right.
So I'm really excited about theidea of resource building out
really specific pathways forpeople to receive an access care
and to kind of help refer peopleto care.
(38:46):
I think one of the biggestbarriers to mental health at
this point for, to supportingpeople with mental illness is
everyone and else them in theirlives.
I think, you know, I, a lot ofpeople feel uncomfortable, um,
talking about their mentalillness with other people,
because there is, you know, thefear that they won't understand,
or the fear that they don't knowwhat to say.
(39:07):
And I think a lot of people whoare on the receiving end get
really scared because they don'twanna offend that person, or
they might, um, irrationallythink that person wants them to
help them and fix their problem.
But we know that that'sultimately not what that person
(39:28):
wants.
You know, I think it's importantto understand a lot of people
with mental illness.
They don't need you to fix theirissues.
They just want you to listen to,to them.
So I think what really excitesme is kind of what we were
talking about with these, theidea of toolkits and really
being very specific with theinformation and the instructions
that we give to people.
(39:48):
Because I think as, and, andsimilar to that, I think would
be, um, mental healthinformation.
That's written by people withlived experience.
I was just speaking with some ofsome folks the other day about a
, uh, on the, the subject ofextroversion versus mania.
And I was discussing how I feltit difficult to find information
(40:09):
about myself because when youlook it up online, everything is
very, very generalized.
And I think that it's reallyhard for people to move forward
without really concrete examplesof what they're looking for.
You know, like I thinkindividuals have to do an
enormous amount of work toactually use information that's
(40:29):
out there and make it applicableto them.
So what's exciting to me, Ithink is the idea that more and
more people are having to peoplewith lived experience, you know,
review the things that they do.
You're seeing people, you know,I know a Mental Health America
does a decent amount of, youknow, review work.
We work with Wiki, how, who asksus to co-author and review
(40:51):
articles.
So I think the shift towardsmore and more information and
resources by people, people withlived experience and for people
with lived experience gets mereally excited.
Ed (41:02):
So I'd love to hear how you think a place like AIM center
for independent living can domore to support people with
mental health conditions and,and help them become more
independent.
Catherine (41:11):
Sure.
So I do think when it comes to,uh, a lot of physical disability
organizations and work that'sbeing done, I do see a lot of
gaps in, you know, whatever thegiven topic is.
You should also be talking aboutthe mental health specific
challenges that those people,that community may face, you
know, because the mental healthchallenges associated with, I
(41:34):
don't know, cancer treatment, asopposed to maybe being an
amputee are very different, butthey're also very, you know,
very valid and very specific.
So I think the more so when itcomes to, you know, what can AIM
do, maybe it is having, youknow, people with different
disabilities talk about theirunique mental health struggles
(41:57):
and their unique hacks to, todeal with those struggles.
I think by and large, a lot ofmental health or organizations
who aren't talking about mentalhealth, the easiest thing they
can do to bring on someone tojust break the silence out that,
because I think when peopledon't have an example around
(42:19):
them, it makes it a lot harderfor them to come forward first.
So I think maybe in AIM's case,you know, taking on mental
health really specifically, andlooking as it, looking at it as
a building block in a tool to,to broader health literacy and
health outcomes could be, uh,potentially really helpful.
Ed (42:41):
Thank you.
I really, I appreciate that.
And I actually wrote down, tooksome notes while you were, uh,
sharing that.
So I really appreciate that.
Um, and I'm sure that will takethat to heart and do some, have
some discussion around that.
So appreciate that.
Just kind of, as we move towardsort of wrapping up here,
looking back to your time incollege, and when you sort of
(43:04):
first said, Hey, maybe this issomething I want to do, you
know, for a career.
How have you seen things withinmental health change during that
period of time?
Are things better, worse statusquo?
Uh, what, what changes have youseen?
Catherine (43:17):
You know, when I got to Mental Health America five
years ago, it was such adifferent world when it came to
mental health.
And I think there's a fewdifferent ways to take
temperature of that.
I mean, from a corporatestandpoint, the number of
corporations that are wanting totalk about this, or wanting to
partner with organizations likeours from a media standpoint, I
(43:39):
mean, nowadays I'm hearingpeople talking about mental
health on the radio, you know,and I just don't think that we
were doing that five years ago.
Like normally, you know, peopleare actively, you know, talking
about how to manage stress andanxiety people on the, you know,
your news anchors are talkingabout these things in ways that
I just, I think is, isunprecedented and rightly so.
And I just hope that we don't goback at all.
(44:02):
You know, I think that theinterest in mental health is
just catapulted so far, and wehave an enormous opportunity to
say, you know, this, if you're,you're kind of, you know, you're
listening now and you're, it'snever too late to start dealing
with your mental health.
And I think that's one thingthat people, I really wish
(44:23):
understood more.
It's never too late to startgetting curious to see if your
quality of life could changebecause of what you do for your
mental health.
And so, since I was a kid, youknow, in, in college and in high
school, I just never dreamedthat there would be this many
pathways for people outside oftraditional mental health
(44:45):
professions.
When I was younger, I used towanna be a psychologist, because
I thought that was one of theonly options that I had as
someone who was interested inmental health.
But it's, you know, in 2022, Ithink people are building out
way more pathways, whether itis, you know, consulting using
(45:06):
your, uh, life experiences assomeone with a mental illness,
whether it is, you know, yeah.
Getting, um, a career at a, at anonprofit like this, or, you
know, starting to even, youknow, not even paid
opportunities, but there's moreopportunities because there's
such a need for individuals tobe able to go back to the
(45:26):
communities where they came fromand say, Hey, I think we should
talk about this.
Or, Hey, I would be willing toshare my story sometime.
I think it's really remarkablethe direction that we're moving,
but, but like I said, I think wehave a really big opportunity
because as we know, many peoplewith mental illnesses first have
like their break during atraumatic event and the pandemic
(45:48):
has been a traumatic event.
And along the lines of earlyintervention in, if we can help
move more people who might betraumatized now in the moment,
then we're gonna be better offif we kind of let this moment,
you know, go to the wayside.
Ed (46:05):
So kind of looking back at that kid in high school, um, or
college, uh, what would you sayto that kid now, if you could
say something to that kid or tosome other kid that might be in
a similar place?
Catherine (46:17):
I would say to anyone out there listening, it's okay
to get curious with your mentalhealth, because you don't know
what's on the other side.
I think, you know, many peoplehave trouble envisioning their
life to be a different way.
And I do think that starting todo work on your mental health,
(46:38):
it's really difficult.
I mean, it's, it's not easy byany means, and sometimes it it's
easy and then it gets evenharder.
And I think that I would tellpeople that it's okay to get
curious and to, to wonder aboutwhat your life could be like if
it could different, because Ithink the wanting and the
realization and the hope thatyour life could one day your
(47:02):
status of life, your quality oflife could maybe be different,
is a motivator of, of makingchange in your life.
Ed (47:11):
I appreciate you sharing that.
So I guess I'll, I'll sort ofwrap up with asking you how, how
, how do people connect withMHA?
Where, where would they find youlike your, uh, social media
contact info, et cetera, howwould they connect with, uh,
your organization?
Catherine (47:27):
Yeah, sure.
So you can visit our website atwww.MHAnational.org.
You can find us on Twitter@mentalhealtham.
You can find us on Instagram@mentalhealthamerica, Facebook
@MentalHealthAmerica.
You can also, if you have anyquestions about our annual
conference, you can email atevents@mhanational.org.
(47:51):
As I stated, uh, registration isopen for our 2022 event and that
virtual registration is free toall.
So we really hope we can see youthere.
Ed (48:00):
Well, Catherine Reynolds, I really appreciate the time you,
uh, spent answering my questionsand also your willingness to
share, you know, your personalstory with, with our listeners.
I think that was reallypowerful.
And I think connects with thework you're doing, um, you know,
in a really powerful way.
Uh, so again, you are, she,Catherine Reynolds is the
program marketing manager forMental Health America, the
(48:20):
nation's leading community basednonprofit dedicated to
addressing the needs of thoseliving with mental illness and
promoting the overall mentalhealth of all.
And I strongly encourage anyonelistening to definitely check
out their website and theirsocial media.
Catherine (48:32):
Thank you.
Outro (49:20):
Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Disability
Talks.
Want to be a part of the ongoingconversation?
Visit our website atabilitiesinmotion.org or connect
with us on social media.
Welcome to Disability Talks, a podcast produced by
Abilities in Motion.
I'm your host Ed Granger.
Join us to encounter uniqueperspectives on accessibility
and independence, and to hearstories from everyday people
living their most independent,everyday lives; where essential
conversations find their place.
Let's talk.
Ed (00:25):
Today's guest on the podcast is Catherine Reynolds, the
program marketing manager forMental Health America.
The nation's leading communitybased nonprofit dedicated to
addressing the needs of thoseliving with mental illness and
promoting the overall mentalhealth of all.
MHA's programs and initiativesfulfill its mission, promoting
mental health and preventingmental illness through advocacy,
education, research andservices.
(00:47):
MHA's national office and its200 plus affiliates and
associates around the countrywork every day to protect the
rights and dignity ofindividuals with lived
experience and ensure that peersof their voices are integrated
into all areas of theorganization.
So at following that mouthful,uh, from the MHA website, I'm
going to welcome Catherine tothe podcast.
Catherine (01:07):
Hi Ed.
Thank you so much for having meI'm excited to be here.
Ed (01:10):
So I I'm, I'm really excited to have you.
Um, I, I have been spent a lotof time on your website.
It's fantastic.
There's a lot of ground therethat we can cover in this, but I
guess first I'd like to hearkind of in your words about the
mission of MHA National and kindof what it's all about and your
role there.
Catherine (01:26):
Sure.
So Mental Health America wasfounded in 1909 by a man named
Clifford W.
Beers who had lived experience.
He, uh, had what we called backthen manic depression.
So, which is what we now know asbipolar disorder today.
So our organization was reallyfounded to give people with
lived experience a voice, um,after his experiences, um, being
(01:46):
institutionalized.
And, um, ever since then, ourorganization has really
maintained a lot of leadershipand programming run by people
with lived experience.
Um, so what we really, reallyadvocate for is early
intervention and prevention forall.
Uh, a lot of our programming,um, really tries to help people
when they're kind of early onthat spectrum kind of getting
(02:09):
help with mental illness.
Um, and what I do there is Iwork on our annual conference.
So every year we have M Maha'sannual conference this year, it
is June 9th through 11th, andwe're really excited because the
pandemic actually brought usopportunities to go, um, hybrid.
So we are really thankful to beoffering, uh, free virtual
access for all of our attendeesthis year.
(02:29):
It will have closed captioningin English and Spanish.
So definitely check that out.
And, um, I work in the eventsmarketing department and it's
one of my favorite things I getto do because, uh, it's really
about kind of, um, tellingpeople what MHA is about and
welcoming them to our space forjust about four days outta the
year.
And, um, it's really, reallyfun, fun job to do.
Ed (02:50):
That's fantastic.
Um, let, we'll talk more aboutthat.
Uh, later, that was anotherpiece of your website that I
found really, reallyfascinating.
So I'm, I'm interested to hearmore about it.
Can you share, cuz we talkedabout, you know, the importance
of lived experience and, and itsvalue to the organization.
Can you share a little bit aboutyour own lived experience and
kind of what led you, uh, tothe, the place you are now?
Catherine (03:10):
Sure.
So it's been about 10 yearssince I was formally diagnosed
with bipolar two disorder.
And, um, something that I thinkis a little bit unique about my
story and hence, um, theorganization's, uh, emphasis and
my own personal emphasis onearly intervention on average,
about 10 years go by between thetime that someone starts showing
symptoms of a condition and whenthey get an accurate diagnosis
(03:34):
and for me, it only took aboutthree years.
And, um, so from the time whereI was about 14, when I started
to have suicidal thoughts andstarted to self-harm for the
first time, it wasn't too muchlong after that, that I was able
to get a formal diagnosis ofbipolar two.
And, um, over the past 10 years,I've come a long way.
(03:54):
Um, in my I, I identitydevelopment as someone with a
mental illness and as far as,um, my own advocacy in this
space as well.
So when I was in college is whenI really got involved in formal
mental health advocacy and wasgiven the opportunity to share
my story and having a newspaperarticle published in the
(04:15):
university of Alabama newspaper,detailing my experiences with
self harm arm and beinghospitalized.
Um, it really gave me theopportunity to publicly come
forward.
I think in my own skin for thefirst time, because I was able
to kind of live authentically asthis person with a mental
illness, you know, and, and, uh,prior to that, I really felt
(04:36):
alone and I felt isolated in the, uh, many experiences that I've
had, but the more I learn aboutthe mental health community and
more recently the disabilitycommunity, our differences are,
are not nearly, um, as many asthe things that we have in
common and something that I'vereally enjoyed, uh, since
(04:57):
learning more about thedisability community is kind of
all the various shared feelingsof exclusion that some of us
feel, and it doesn't necessarilydepend on what type of
disability that you have.
Um, it's more so just the broad,you know, the shared experiences
that we all have with theconditions that we do deal with.
Ed (05:18):
So you went from college to the organization you're with now
, and I believe that was kind ofa, a straight line into, uh,
into the work that you're doingcurrently.
Can you tell, tell a little bitabout how that all unfolded for
you?
Catherine (05:31):
Sure.
So as I kind of mentioned, I wasfortunate enough, uh, to get
involved in, uh, campus mentalhealth advocacy.
And it really began with thatarticle that was shared about me
and that there's a really greatquote that I've, I've heard over
the years, that is be who youare, so that other people
looking for, you can find you.
And it seemed like, you know, Iwas out there and I got my story
(05:53):
out there and then thatconnected other people on my
campus to say, Hey, you know,we're starting this organization
and, and we think you might beinterested.
And so it was there that Ihelped kind of start a campus
mental health advocacyorganization, and got really
interested in advocacy and insupporting other people, um, who
were in situations like my own.
(06:13):
So my senior year of college, Iwas thinking, you know, it'd be
really great to go intern forone of these really big, uh,
mental health advocacyorganizations.
And I fortunately, um, got aposition as the public education
intern.
Um, and five days after Igraduated school, moved to
Washington DC for that position.
And even more fortunately, um, ajob opening kind of just
(06:35):
happened to open right, as I, uh, joined the organization.
And it was a huge privilege tostart working at Mental Health
America because for the firsttime, and, and really this
experience was unmatched comingto Mental Health America and
(06:56):
realizing that there were spacesthat my mental illness brought
me strength and that myexperiences, you know, in the
hospital or taking medicationor, you know, going to the
doctor actually made mequalified for different
opportunities at theorganization.
And it made me qualified fordifferent pieces of, um, you
(07:16):
know, content creation and beinga part of a team that
prioritized and placed a valueon my lived experience was
really life changing to me.
And I think, you know, eversince those days, I've really
been, um, concerned with inseeking out opportunities that
allow me to share some of thoseexperiences in a, in a positive
(07:36):
light.
Ed (07:37):
So storytelling sounds like it's an important, uh, it's
important to you.
It's important to yourorganization.
You know, I, I noticed thatthere is a, a section on
storytelling in your conferencethis year.
So it does seem to be sort ofthere's that theme that runs
through your work and your lifeabout the, you know, the
importance of being able to tellyour story.
I, I know you've, you kind ofhinted at this a little bit, but
(07:57):
within the, the sort of mentalhealth community, not everybody
identifies as living with adisability.
So can you share a little bitabout that?
Um, and, and how you kind ofpositioned yourself within that
space?
Catherine (08:09):
Yeah, sure.
So I, myself do identify asdisabled and I do identify my
mental illness as a disability,and it wasn't until I was in an
outpatient center in the summerof 2020, and that I really
understood that the ADA wasthere to protect me.
It was then, uh, coming out ofthis outpatient program that I
(08:32):
really started to fullyunderstand what my rights were
under the ADA.
And I realized, oh, wow, mentalillness is covered under the ADA
and a lot of people I think inthe mental health community, One
do not understand that, or don'teven realize that their mental
illness is actually coveredunder the ADA.
So for example, people don'tknow that their employers have
(08:56):
to give them time off to go totherapy.
And of course, you know, we doknow that with the ADA, there
are some more technical thingsto consider.
Like, you know, your employer, Ibelieve is not able to offer you
those things unless you first,you know, come forward with that
disability.
But I think all throughout mytime in mental health advocacy,
(09:18):
it took me a long time torealize the intersections of
mental health and, and ofdisability.
And, you know, many people inthe mental health community are,
I think really scared of theterm disability.
And they're scared of the termdisabled.
And, um, I think for many peoplemyself in included a piece of
that is not knowing that webelong to that community.
(09:40):
I think a lot of people, and Idon't think this is specific to
mental illnesses.
I think a lot of people feellike they're not quote unquote
disabled enough, or you know,that they don't get to claim
that word because they perceivethat what they're going through
might not be as bad or, youknow, as, as critical as what
(10:03):
other people are going through.
But to me, I think that thedisability community really
offers a lot of, um, communityand inclusion for people with
mental illnesses.
And it was, um, you know, seeingthe great movie Crip Camp and
learning about the 504 riots andthem wanting to fight for people
(10:23):
with mental illness andsubstance use conditions to make
sure that we were included aspart of the ADA.
And so I think knowing thathistory made me feel like, oh,
wow, like they were thinkingabout us.
You know, our, our community hasbeen a part of and welcomed as a
piece of the disabilitycommunity for a very long time.
(10:43):
And I don't think a lot ofpeople really fully know that.
I do think that there are a fewreasons for that.
And I think learning more aboutthe disability community, a
really good example of thedifferences between mental
health and disabilitycommunities is when it comes to
person first versus identity,first language.
So in the mental healthcommunity, we're pretty, pretty
(11:06):
big advocates of person firstlanguage.
Now, I, myself like many otherpeople, I think with mental
illnesses and maybe with othertypes of disabilities, went
through my own kind ofgymnastics on language.
And on early age, a clinicianhad said, you know, I keep
saying, I am bipolar.
I am bipolar.
And she suggested that I changethose words and to,"I have", you
(11:29):
know, to take an ownership andit, and it really did.
I was, I was in, you know, about20 years old at that time.
And that cognitive switch reallydid a lot for me.
And, you know, kind of come backnow, um, you know, six or seven
years later, and I've kind ofshifted my ideas on that.
And, and that was once a copingskill for me.
(11:49):
And I was really uncomfortablewith saying I am bipolar because
I was, you know, so focused ondistancing myself from bipolar
disorder.
It wasn't until I believe, youknow, 2020 towards the end of
that year.
Once I really started to learn alot about disability, that I,
that I was comfortable callingmyself bipolar.
(12:10):
So whereas the mental healthcommunity is very much person
first language.
And honestly, when I started tolearn about the disability
community and I was reading, Iwas like, no, no, like it should
be person first.
And then I started to understandthat no people in the disability
community, some people have apreference for identity first
language.
And, um, there's a really greatbook called Disability
(12:32):
Visibility by Alice Wong.
And it's an anthology of allthese different disabled authors
writing about variousexperiences that they had.
And for me, it was reallybeautiful to see all these
different people with differentlife experiences who belonged to
different communities that allkind of under this umbrella of
(12:53):
disability.
And I really started understandand learning about how, you
know, people in the, the littleperson community, you know,
that's a, that's a communityidentity, you know, it's a point
of strength.
It's not something that, um, I,you know, that is necessarily as
stigmatized.
And so I think when I got intothe disability community, it was
(13:16):
almost like I was givenpermission to actually
self-identify as bipolar.
And it be a positive thing, youknow, like that there were other
people out there with thatcertain set of life experiences
that could relate to me who arealso proud to have had those
life experiences.
Ed (13:33):
Right.
And I, and I guess it'sobviously it's a very personal
kind of decision and there'salso, you know, it's, it's up to
anybody, uh, with a disabilityto decide when to disclose to
whom to disclose, you know, and,and everybody has to kind of
navigate that for themselves.
I think sometimes working herein employment services, people
don't realize that it's notnecess, it's not even, uh, a
(13:56):
disadvantage to say you'resomeone with a disability.
It can be an advantage becausecompanies are looking for good
workers because they have tomeet certain criteria for hiring
and promoting people.
Um, so it can actually be astrength, but it's obviously
that's something everybody kindof has to decide.
And I'm wondering, you know, ifsometimes it isn't kind of sit
(14:18):
situational, like you don't haveto have one, it's not one choice
and you have to, you know, keepthat choice forever.
Within one context you could,you could, you know, you can
adopt one way of thinking in adifferent context, you could
adopt a very different way ofthinking.
And I think we think ofidentities as being these solid
core things that we puttogether, but they're actually,
I think maybe more flexible or,you know, or more multifaceted
(14:39):
than we realize sometimes.
Catherine (14:41):
Oh, for sure.
I think you stated that reallynicely.
Um, and I think context doesmatter.
So me personally, you know, Iwill never use, um, identity
first language, especially whenit comes to mental illness,
because I think, you know, thereis a lot of stigma attached with
being called bipolar.
You know, people use that wordas an adjective, sometimes same
(15:02):
thing with schizophrenia.
Um, so I am very, you know, Iwill never assign, I will never
use identity first should talkabout another person unless they
first self-identified that way.
And even myself, I'm verycautious of how I speak because
I do think it's important again,I, for people to be able to
(15:23):
choose.
So a lot of times, depending on,you know, the, the context or
the audience that I'm workingwith, I will still just identify
as a person with a mentalillness or person with bipolar
disorder.
Today, you know, we're on anAbilities in Motion podcast,
talking about disability talks,don't dis my ability.
So heck yeah, I'm out here, I'mbipolar, I'm disabled.
(15:43):
And I, um, am, you know,sympathetic to the fact that
most of our listeners might beworking along those lines.
And I also, um, reasonablyassume that, you know, listeners
of this podcast are going to be,um, intentional when they use
that language as well.
Whereas if I were, you know,speaking to a group who wasn't
as, um, knowledgeable and mentalhealth, because if I were to
(16:08):
call myself bipolar, they mightthink that that gives them
permission to call some one elsebipolar.
Right.
So I do think, um, it is veryfluid and I think that's some of
the great, uh, freedom andluxuries, I guess, that you
could, if you could call it aluxury, um, of being
knowledgeable about, uh,disability and all the different
(16:29):
communities is because you dohave freedom of expression and
you do have freedom of, of wordchoice, um, that you can fit,
you know, your surroundings withthe appropriate language.
And there's some, you know,situations where I, I don't even
wanna self-disclose that I havebipolar disorder.
And so I will just kind of, youknow, lean into someone with a
(16:52):
mental illness as my identity.
Ed (16:54):
It's a really, that's a really interesting, it's a
really interesting topic.
Um, the whole, we could go onabout identity and the how
people identities form and, andhow we're, uh, you know, some
organizations find themselves atthe crossroads of so many
different aspects of how peopleidentify and how they think of
themselves and see themselves.
And, you know, I think justtrying to be as inclusive as
possible and give of peoplepermission to find their own way
(17:17):
in that space is, is really,really important and something
that, um, I think allorganizations, uh, that, that do
the kind of work yours does, ormind does, are really kind of
all, all kind of navigating thatand striving to provide that
kind of space for people, um,regardless of what their
background is or, or how theyidentify.
So let's talk about, um, yourorganization a little bit more
(17:39):
and go into some more detail.
Like I said, I spent a fairamount of time, um, on your
website, which I really enjoyed.
It's very informative.
It's also very, uh, colorfuland, and I, I, I felt good
about, you know, about visitingthere.
It didn't feel like it was, uh,you know, like I was going to
school or reading thedictionary.
It was, it's a really super welldesigned website.
(17:59):
So I think, I mean, you, theannual conference is kind of,
uh, where a lot of your time andenergy is going.
So, you know, maybe, maybe you'drather not talk about it, uh,
yet one more time, but I'minterested in hearing about it
and I'm sure our listeners are.
Um, so I'm just gonna, I'll readyou a little bit about, uh, what
I found on the website and youcan kind of respond to that, if
that works for you.
(18:20):
Um, just to kind of give thebasics, it says, um, that the
event will bring togetherhundreds of MHA, affiliates,
peers, providers, governmentofficials, media, and key
stakeholders from across thecountry to explore the
intersecting equity issues thatexist in mental health.
Um, and obviously we'll, we'llmake sure people know where they
can go to, to find more and, andmake sure that they have your,
(18:41):
you know, information, um, butkind of can, what, from your
perspective, what are the sortof the highlights that you're
most looking forward to about,uh, being part of this
conference?
Catherine (18:50):
Uh, I'm really looking forward to MHA's 22
annual conference.
Uh, more so maybe in past yearsfor a number of reasons, as we
all know, the past two yearshave been incredibly hard on
people.
And, you know, something thatI've think is really fascinating
as someone who's been in themental health space for a long
time, as we know mental healthreally catapulted to the front
(19:13):
of people's minds.
And you had people who maybe hadnever experienced mental health
conditions before maybe theywere experiencing things to a
new degree, maybe, you know,people had never really had a
lot of stress or anxiety, but inthe past two years, they really
did.
And we really tried to this yearwhen we were organizing our
(19:35):
agenda and our topics, we wantedit to be more than just an event
for professionals, which is whya lot of our sessions are a
little bit about self-care andstorytelling.
And we wanted to make sure thatpeople saw their stories
represented as well as a lot ofeducational information.
So our conference is a, um,great resource for people who
(19:55):
are looking for continuingeducation credits for their
professions, but also we reallywanted to make sure that people
felt like it was a nourishingevent for their personal lives
too this year.
Um, and I'm also very excitedbecause I have been advocating
for us to have close captioning.
And so we will be having closecaptioning in English and in
Spanish that is gonna help openup our audience, um, and help us
(20:19):
reach a lot more people withthat information.
But I'm really looking forwardto the event, um, for those
reasons.
Ed (20:26):
And I, I love the storytelling piece too, because
so many times it's important totell our story the, but in doing
so, we also recognize sometimesor learn, and I, this is from
educational events that I'vedone that just being in the same
room with people who share evena part of your story can be so
powerful and important andsomething that you think people
come for the information, butit's the connections that they
(20:48):
make that are so, so important.
So talk a little bit about someof the other parts of your
website and that MHA reallyfocuses on.
So I'll just like, I'll, I'llwork my way across the, the top
of the screen on your website,uh, in my head, as I remember
it.
And, and from my notes here,you've shared a little bit about
some of the, these, um, theseitems before, but you have the
(21:09):
find help tab, so that clearlythat's inviting people in and,
and you've got some screeningtools and toolkit, um, on there.
Talk a little bit about theimportance of that aspect of, of
the work that MHA does.
Catherine (21:22):
Yes.
Uh, thank you for that question.
So MHA actually just releasedour 2022 mental health month
toolkit today and mental healthmonth was started back in the
1960s, I believe by MentalHealth America and is
nationally.
And I oh, maybe is also, um,worldwide recognized May is the
awareness month for mentalhealth.
(21:42):
So a big piece of what MentalHealth America does is public
education.
And so we, uh, two to threetoolkits every single year, we
do a mental health month, um,bipo mental health month, and
back to school toolkits that arefree, uh, to download on our
website.
This year's theme is Back toBasics.
So kind of going along thoselines of, you know, the past two
(22:04):
years have been a lot for folks.
So if they're new to mentalhealth or they haven't really
had to explore more about it, wecreated a toolkit, um,
especially for those people tolearn the basics of mental
health, the basics of whatmental health conditions are and
the basics of what you can do tosupport yourself.
So, uh, public education andresources are a huge part of
(22:25):
what Mental Health America does.
Our website MHAnational.org isjust overflowing with webpages,
uh, and resources.
We do have some Spanish languageresources.
We have, uh, resources inwebpages about different, um,
race and ethnicities.
We have a whole hub on LGBTQmental health.
(22:46):
So public education is a reallybig part of our work.
And a second thing that we do asyou mentioned, Ed, is our online
screening program.
And like I was saying, MentalHealth America is really, uh,
advocates for early interventionin prevention and mental health
screening is important to me inmy story because my own mental
(23:06):
illness was in part, uh,diagnosed through a mental
health screen.
Mental health screens are not adiagnosis, but they are just an
assessment tool.
So people might be familiar withthe PHQ nine.
So that's a depression, uh,screen and, or the anxiety, I
can't remember the name of that,that screen.
(23:27):
So it's all the same screensthat your clinicians and
providers would be using, butthey're on a free web version.
So you can take a screen on ourwebsite.
It will tell you, uh, thelikelihood that you are dealing
with a certain mental healthcondition, and then it will
suggest resources for you andmental health screening is
really important because as faras, you know, self advocacy and
(23:50):
self-direction, it's somethingthat an individual can do if
they're concerned about that,the way that they're feeling,
and it can kind of give them theconfidence, maybe to take that
information to a provider, youknow, so if you take a screen
and it, and it, you know, likeit did, for me, it said it was
likely that I had bipolardisorder.
I was like, oh, wow.
So maybe this is something thatI really could talk to my doctor
(24:12):
about.
Maybe this is something that'smore real than I thought it was.
So MHAscreening.org has nine or10 mental health screens on it
that you can take, and it's allanonymous and it's free.
And since the pandemic hasreally, you know, kind of
exploded mental health concerns,uh, mental health screening has
(24:34):
gone up to 10 million screens.
We started this program in 2014and our daily screens, I think
went up from like 3,700 to10,000 a day.
And we are seeing a lot ofindividuals with high rates of
anxiety and high rates ofdepression and suicidal ideation
, uh, which is consistent withthe trends that we're seeing
(24:57):
nationally over the past twoyears.
Ed (25:01):
And you spoke about advocacy and self-direction obviously as
a center for independent living,that's really basic to our
philosophies.
So it, I mean, that's somethingthat, um, I think is fantastic.
Um, and that obviously we as acenter for an independent living
believe in and, and try aspireto, uh, to, you know, promote as
well.
And also another thing I likedabout that, um, toolkit was you
(25:22):
had a friends and familysection, which I think is
fantastic.
It, you know, so you're reallyreaching out beyond the, the
individual who might be, youknow, in need of a screening,
but you're reaching out to thatperson's whole support network.
So can you talk a little bitabout that?
Catherine (25:35):
Absolutely.
So, um, we know that, you know,individuals cannot recover
alone.
There's, there's quotes aboutthat.
Uh, you know, recovery cannotoccur in isolation and that
really big predictors,especially for mental health
conditions of success aremeaningful involvement in a
community.
So we are very conscientious ofthe materials that we create and
(25:58):
how they can be used by otherindividuals in someone's life.
So we also have a caregivertoolkit.
That's really wonderful that,um, also highlights, uh,
people's rights under HIPAA, andwe really advocate for shared
decision making between anindividual and their care team.
So we know that theserelationships between, um,
(26:20):
family members and friends canoften be, you know, hard to, to
navigate.
And we find ourselves as anorganization really run and
emphasizing people with livedexperience that we can provide
information for families andcommunities from the lived
experience perspective.
That's really a piece of thework that we're proud to do and,
(26:40):
and understand the need fordirect lines of communication
between the groups.
Because oftentimes when weGoogle information, we're kind
of getting resources orinformation or articles that
have been prepared by folks whomay not have lived experience.
And so we could have our friendsor families taking advice that
we might not necessarily agreewith as a person with the mental
(27:02):
health condition.
Ed (27:03):
And I think what we're seeing a little bit of a shift
too.
I know at least here inPennsylvania and in some, some
of the surrounding states,there's a, a move toward things
like supported decision making.
So instead of a guardianshipsituation where someone loses
their rights and loses theirability to make their own
decisions, the idea is to, to,uh, to identify a team of people
(27:24):
that can support that person intheir, in their decision making
process.
So I think that, I think we'reseeing that move, hopefully
toward people keeping as many oftheir rights a as possible and
being able to make their owndecisions instead of having
somebody else always steppingin.
Catherine (27:37):
Right.
And I will add, you know, agreat resource that a lot of
people do not, uh, even knowabout out our psychiatric
advanced directives.
I was, uh, doing an intake formy outpatient program.
And I asked no one, it was on myform, but no one, you know, no
one really addressed it.
There was no follow up about it.
And I asked them, I said, oh,psychiatric advanced directive.
(27:59):
And she let me know that I wasthe only person to have come
through I, that program that,that she knew of who had ever
even known to ask aboutpsychiatric advanced directives
and psychiatric advanceddirectives are a legal document
that is made during a time ofwellness or stability that
outlines the things that youwould like to happen to you.
(28:20):
So you can say, here aremedications that I do not want
to take.
Here's what I would like tohappen to my dog or my plants.
Here's, um, where I would liketo be taken, please don't take
me to this place.
And it is a document that can beused as a guide should so,
should you enter a period ofcrisis?
You have your needs and wantsrepresented on paper, but a lot
(28:45):
of people don't know that thatis even within their rights as a
person, uh, to have on file.
So that's another thing thatpeople can do to help them
maintain that self-direction.
And I think, you know, assomeone with a mental illness,
you know, the goal is notalways, you know, I, I know that
I'm going not always gonna, I'mgonna, I'm gonna be dealing with
(29:08):
mood instability for the rest ofmy life, you know, but that
doesn't mean that I can't planfor it.
So I think it's really importantfor people who are dealing with
mental health conditions to takeadvantage of, um, the resources
and, and the things that they dohave when they are experiencing
more times of stability.
Ed (29:26):
And I'll, I'll reiterate the fact that your website is full
of this kind of stuff, you know,great information that people
can, uh, can go and check out.
And obviously you wouldencourage them to do that.
Uh, another piece of what MHAdoes is public policy.
So can you talk a little bitabout, um, you know, your, I saw
your advocacy network mentionedon there, um, talk a little bit
(29:49):
about your, your public policyarm of, of what your
organization does.
Catherine (29:55):
Sure.
So Mental Health America for along time has been a really,
really strong advocacy andpolicy department.
And we're really proud of a lotof the accomplishments that
we've had over the years.
Uh, one of them being the I'mgoing to try to remember, I
think it might be the CommunityMental Health Act in 1964, I
believe.
(30:16):
Um, so this was right after wesaw the closure of asylums and
it was the move to allocatemoney for community care.
And that is something thatMental Health America, uh,
helped advocate for back then inone of our biggest policy wins
to date was actually the, youknow, allocation of money for
(30:36):
community based, um, mentalhealth resources, which I'm sure
is a big intersection, thedisability community, too, about
keeping people in the communityand, um, you know, making sure
that they have the things thatthey need to succeed and recover
while maintaining their positionin the community.
So today we're really, um,excited about the work that
(30:58):
we've been doing.
The President recently actuallyannounced a mental health action
plan of sorts.
And we're really excited becauseone of the things that Mental
Health America advocates for isthe use of peer support
specialists and peer supportspecialists in mental health are
just an individual with a mentalhealth or substance use
(31:18):
condition who has been trainedand says, I have this lived
experience and I am going tohelp other people with lived
experience.
And peer support is reallyphenomenal because it's mutual
and it's non-hierarchical.
So we're really, really happy tosee the US government take peers
(31:38):
into consideration, into futurefunding for what's going to be
happening.
Um, another big policy win forMental Health America and other
mental health advocates is therecent passing of the 988
Suicide Prevention Lifelinenumber.
So people might have heard thatwe are getting a three digit
suicide prevention lifelinenumber, just like we have one
(32:00):
for 911, just like we have onefor 411, but this was a really
good piece of Bipartisanlegislation that is going to
really help folks access, uh,crisis services in a better way.
Ed (32:16):
And, uh, that pure support specialist role is one we're
very familiar with here becausewe actually have that program
that we offer as part of what wedo.
So that's a, that's a greatplace where, where these things
can intersect.
Uh, and I also like the factthat with your, your advocacy
networks, you have actionalerts.
People can, you know, people canrespond and it's always, when
(32:36):
you have a number of peoplecontacting a legislator, it's a
lot more powerful than one ortwo people a day.
It's, it can, if it'scoordinated, it can be much more
effective.
And also I feel like those, thatadvocacy network piece is
another piece where we, whereindividual stories contribute to
systemic change.
And, and you'd see theintersection between, uh,
(32:56):
between that lived experience in, and trying to actually impact,
you know, larger systems, whichis fantastic
Catherine (33:03):
Exactly.
And, uh, Mental Health America.
We do have a advocacy toolkitthat kind of outlines all the
different steps that you cantake.
We even have a toolkit on how tobook and prepare for meetings
with your legislators, how tocompose your story.
You know, we can instruct you onhow to share your story with
your leaders.
(33:24):
And I, I will, I will just noteas we're talking about policy
for all the people listening.
So what we really advocate forin mental health is called
parody, and I'm not a policyperson, so I might not get all
the exact, uh, details of this,correct.
But essentially parody wouldmean that, uh, health insurance,
um, reimburses providers formental health, just like they do
(33:47):
for physical health.
So we do not, we have notachieved parody, meaning that we
are still seeing healthinsurers, not reimburse people
for mental health and, and, uh,substance use services.
So everything that we do isreally along the lines of parody
and hoping that payers willeventually, you know, see the
(34:08):
value in mental health andphysical health on the same
level.
Ed (34:12):
That's fantastic too.
And it sounds like you're thepeople that are putting your
toolkits together are prettybusy, busy group of staff people
there.
Um, and, and I, it's an amazing,because I, you know, when, when
you tell somebody that there's atoolkit, they feel like it's
going to be easy to access.
It's gonna have clear stepsoutlined.
So I think that's a great wayto, to frame the way you share
(34:32):
that information, as opposed tohere's a big block of text.
Read it.
Um, so that's, that's fantastic.
You also have the, the sectionon mapping America's mental
health.
So can you tell us a little bitabout that?
Catherine (34:44):
Yes.
So this is a really exciting newproject from MHA, uh, based on
our screening data.
So we are actually able to mapwhere our screening data comes
from, and there's an interactivemap on our website.
You can actually see down tocounty level, uh, how many
people have this is from ourscreening data.
(35:05):
So this is only individuals havealready taken these screens, but
they are mapped all across thecountry, all the 50 states in
the district of Columbia.
And you can actually see livedata on a county level for
people I think dealing, uh, withsuicidal ideation, with
depression, anxiety, and I think, uh, maybe psychosis at this,
at this point in time, but thisis a really cool new program for
(35:29):
us.
And I think represents a littlebit of the future of what we see
of, you know, making data anddata visualization, accessible
to folks.
So we can actually see what'shappening on the community level
and, and people in thosecommunities can actually see
what their constituents aredoing with.
And I think this, this programreally pairs nicely with one of
(35:50):
our other programs.
Uh, another report that we do is, um, the state of mental health
in America in which we use CDCdata and, uh, rank all the 50
states and the district ofColumbia on different, um,
indicators of mental health careand access.
So through those kinds of tools,we really tried to, you know,
not just empower individuals,but a lot of providers and
(36:13):
people on the community and, uh,state and federal level to take
action based on real life data.
So Mental Health America'sscreening data is the only
really living, breathing dataset of its kind.
So through, um, the pandemicwe've been monitoring this.
So we saw spikes coordinatedwith the dates of the pandemic.
(36:33):
And so we're really excited tobe able to provide the mapping
project to, uh, further continuethat work.
Ed (36:40):
And obviously that's, uh, very empowering for local
community organizations as well,because if you are trying to,
uh, make a case for gettingfunding or starting a program,
or getting help with theprogramming that you wanna
offer, you know, that data is areally powerful way to make an
evidence based case for the workyou're trying to do that.
And then you can bring in theorganizations and the support
(37:01):
hopefully, uh, to help make thathappen.
And I did note I'm here inPennsylvania.
So I did look at the ranking,the states and somewhat to my
surprise, Pennsylvania wasnumber eight, I think, in the
nation for adults and number onefor, for youth.
So I know we could use a lotmore help with mental health
here in Pennsylvania.
I can only imagine the situationin some of those other places
(37:23):
that are, you know, that are notranked so well.
Um, and, and what the situationsmust be for people in, in those
parts of the country.
Unfortunately, what are the,what programs that you think
might be coming down the roadfor MHA or, or in general within
mental health, are you mostexcited about seeing come to
fruition and implemented?
Catherine (37:44):
So I, for one am really excited about the idea of
mental health resources thatserve the individual, but also,
you know, serve the community alittle bit more.
So from my experiences in, inoutpatient therapy, I was really
kind of struck by this idea ofhow isolating it is for
(38:05):
individuals to be attendingthese sessions and then not
really go back home and have alot of community support, right?
So, um, an individual coming inwho might have a mental illness
and is a parent and has a familyof children and, you know, a, a
partner, if they, if they don'thave the resources to actually
(38:25):
discuss what they'reexperiencing, how are they going
to move forward in theirrecovery?
Right.
So I'm really excited about theidea of resource building out
really specific pathways forpeople to receive an access care
and to kind of help refer peopleto care.
(38:46):
I think one of the biggestbarriers to mental health at
this point for, to supportingpeople with mental illness is
everyone and else them in theirlives.
I think, you know, I, a lot ofpeople feel uncomfortable, um,
talking about their mentalillness with other people,
because there is, you know, thefear that they won't understand,
or the fear that they don't knowwhat to say.
(39:07):
And I think a lot of people whoare on the receiving end get
really scared because they don'twanna offend that person, or
they might, um, irrationallythink that person wants them to
help them and fix their problem.
But we know that that'sultimately not what that person
(39:28):
wants.
You know, I think it's importantto understand a lot of people
with mental illness.
They don't need you to fix theirissues.
They just want you to listen to,to them.
So I think what really excitesme is kind of what we were
talking about with these, theidea of toolkits and really
being very specific with theinformation and the instructions
that we give to people.
(39:48):
Because I think as, and, andsimilar to that, I think would
be, um, mental healthinformation.
That's written by people withlived experience.
I was just speaking with some ofsome folks the other day about a
, uh, on the, the subject ofextroversion versus mania.
And I was discussing how I feltit difficult to find information
(40:09):
about myself because when youlook it up online, everything is
very, very generalized.
And I think that it's reallyhard for people to move forward
without really concrete examplesof what they're looking for.
You know, like I thinkindividuals have to do an
enormous amount of work toactually use information that's
(40:29):
out there and make it applicableto them.
So what's exciting to me, Ithink is the idea that more and
more people are having to peoplewith lived experience, you know,
review the things that they do.
You're seeing people, you know,I know a Mental Health America
does a decent amount of, youknow, review work.
We work with Wiki, how, who asksus to co-author and review
(40:51):
articles.
So I think the shift towardsmore and more information and
resources by people, people withlived experience and for people
with lived experience gets mereally excited.
Ed (41:02):
So I'd love to hear how you think a place like AIM center
for independent living can domore to support people with
mental health conditions and,and help them become more
independent.
Catherine (41:11):
Sure.
So I do think when it comes to,uh, a lot of physical disability
organizations and work that'sbeing done, I do see a lot of
gaps in, you know, whatever thegiven topic is.
You should also be talking aboutthe mental health specific
challenges that those people,that community may face, you
know, because the mental healthchallenges associated with, I
(41:34):
don't know, cancer treatment, asopposed to maybe being an
amputee are very different, butthey're also very, you know,
very valid and very specific.
So I think the more so when itcomes to, you know, what can AIM
do, maybe it is having, youknow, people with different
disabilities talk about theirunique mental health struggles
(41:57):
and their unique hacks to, todeal with those struggles.
I think by and large, a lot ofmental health or organizations
who aren't talking about mentalhealth, the easiest thing they
can do to bring on someone tojust break the silence out that,
because I think when peopledon't have an example around
(42:19):
them, it makes it a lot harderfor them to come forward first.
So I think maybe in AIM's case,you know, taking on mental
health really specifically, andlooking as it, looking at it as
a building block in a tool to,to broader health literacy and
health outcomes could be, uh,potentially really helpful.
Ed (42:41):
Thank you.
I really, I appreciate that.
And I actually wrote down, tooksome notes while you were, uh,
sharing that.
So I really appreciate that.
Um, and I'm sure that will takethat to heart and do some, have
some discussion around that.
So appreciate that.
Just kind of, as we move towardsort of wrapping up here,
looking back to your time incollege, and when you sort of
(43:04):
first said, Hey, maybe this issomething I want to do, you
know, for a career.
How have you seen things withinmental health change during that
period of time?
Are things better, worse statusquo?
Uh, what, what changes have youseen?
Catherine (43:17):
You know, when I got to Mental Health America five
years ago, it was such adifferent world when it came to
mental health.
And I think there's a fewdifferent ways to take
temperature of that.
I mean, from a corporatestandpoint, the number of
corporations that are wanting totalk about this, or wanting to
partner with organizations likeours from a media standpoint, I
(43:39):
mean, nowadays I'm hearingpeople talking about mental
health on the radio, you know,and I just don't think that we
were doing that five years ago.
Like normally, you know, peopleare actively, you know, talking
about how to manage stress andanxiety people on the, you know,
your news anchors are talkingabout these things in ways that
I just, I think is, isunprecedented and rightly so.
And I just hope that we don't goback at all.
(44:02):
You know, I think that theinterest in mental health is
just catapulted so far, and wehave an enormous opportunity to
say, you know, this, if you're,you're kind of, you know, you're
listening now and you're, it'snever too late to start dealing
with your mental health.
And I think that's one thingthat people, I really wish
(44:23):
understood more.
It's never too late to startgetting curious to see if your
quality of life could changebecause of what you do for your
mental health.
And so, since I was a kid, youknow, in, in college and in high
school, I just never dreamedthat there would be this many
pathways for people outside oftraditional mental health
(44:45):
professions.
When I was younger, I used towanna be a psychologist, because
I thought that was one of theonly options that I had as
someone who was interested inmental health.
But it's, you know, in 2022, Ithink people are building out
way more pathways, whether itis, you know, consulting using
(45:06):
your, uh, life experiences assomeone with a mental illness,
whether it is, you know, yeah.
Getting, um, a career at a, at anonprofit like this, or, you
know, starting to even, youknow, not even paid
opportunities, but there's moreopportunities because there's
such a need for individuals tobe able to go back to the
(45:26):
communities where they came fromand say, Hey, I think we should
talk about this.
Or, Hey, I would be willing toshare my story sometime.
I think it's really remarkablethe direction that we're moving,
but, but like I said, I think wehave a really big opportunity
because as we know, many peoplewith mental illnesses first have
like their break during atraumatic event and the pandemic
(45:48):
has been a traumatic event.
And along the lines of earlyintervention in, if we can help
move more people who might betraumatized now in the moment,
then we're gonna be better offif we kind of let this moment,
you know, go to the wayside.
Ed (46:05):
So kind of looking back at that kid in high school, um, or
college, uh, what would you sayto that kid now, if you could
say something to that kid or tosome other kid that might be in
a similar place?
Catherine (46:17):
I would say to anyone out there listening, it's okay
to get curious with your mentalhealth, because you don't know
what's on the other side.
I think, you know, many peoplehave trouble envisioning their
life to be a different way.
And I do think that starting todo work on your mental health,
(46:38):
it's really difficult.
I mean, it's, it's not easy byany means, and sometimes it it's
easy and then it gets evenharder.
And I think that I would tellpeople that it's okay to get
curious and to, to wonder aboutwhat your life could be like if
it could different, because Ithink the wanting and the
realization and the hope thatyour life could one day your
(47:02):
status of life, your quality oflife could maybe be different,
is a motivator of, of makingchange in your life.
Ed (47:11):
I appreciate you sharing that.
So I guess I'll, I'll sort ofwrap up with asking you how, how
, how do people connect withMHA?
Where, where would they find youlike your, uh, social media
contact info, et cetera, howwould they connect with, uh,
your organization?
Catherine (47:27):
Yeah, sure.
So you can visit our website atwww.MHAnational.org.
You can find us on Twitter@mentalhealtham.
You can find us on Instagram@mentalhealthamerica, Facebook
@MentalHealthAmerica.
You can also, if you have anyquestions about our annual
conference, you can email atevents@mhanational.org.
(47:51):
As I stated, uh, registration isopen for our 2022 event and that
virtual registration is free toall.
So we really hope we can see youthere.
Ed (48:00):
Well, Catherine Reynolds, I really appreciate the time you,
uh, spent answering my questionsand also your willingness to
share, you know, your personalstory with, with our listeners.
I think that was reallypowerful.
And I think connects with thework you're doing, um, you know,
in a really powerful way.
Uh, so again, you are, she,Catherine Reynolds is the
program marketing manager forMental Health America, the
(48:20):
nation's leading community basednonprofit dedicated to
addressing the needs of thoseliving with mental illness and
promoting the overall mentalhealth of all.
And I strongly encourage anyonelistening to definitely check
out their website and theirsocial media.
Catherine (48:32):
Thank you.
Outro (49:20):
Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Disability
Talks.
Want to be a part of the ongoingconversation?
Visit our website atabilitiesinmotion.org or connect
with us on social media.
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