Hallett, Maitri, and Brown: panel discussion on Mental Health Counseling

Elevating Mental Health Practices

Welcome back to "The Patients Speak," where we bridge healthcare innovation with the patient voice. In this episode, our diverse panel dives deep into the complexities of mental health. Mark introduces Maggie Hallett, Senior Director at Mental Health America of Ohio; Jess Maitri, of YoThera Method in Boise; and Wayne Brown, a licensed clinical social worker in Buffalo.

Key Topics:

Mental Health in the Workplace

• Maggie sheds light on Mental Health America's role, emphasizing creating healthy work cultures and peer recovery support programs.

Holistic Therapeutic Approaches

• Jess discusses her Yothera method, incorporating body, mind, and spirit into therapy, addressing the need for non-traditional approaches.

Challenges of Community Mental Health

• Wayne highlights issues in community mental health, including burnout, lack of continuity, and the struggle to serve overwhelming caseloads.

Importance of Joy in Therapy

• The panel stresses the need for joy in therapy, shifting the focus from problems to joy and emphasizing the emotional investment therapists bring.

Elevating Mental Health Practices

• The discussion touches on the necessity of valuing mental health professionals, ensuring fair pay, supportive work environments, and empowering therapists to choose fulfilling specialties.

Quotes:

1. Maggie Hallett: "When you create an environment in which people can actually take care of themselves, that they're paid enough... you are not leaving your stresses at the door when you walk in."
2. Jess Maitri: "What's lacking in the therapeutic process is joy. It's more joy. It's actually bringing joy... helping them realize that they can still access joy."
3. Wayne Brown: "They have the right, they have the obligation to find the therapist who's going to most meet their needs... we have to be true to ourselves and really do our best practice."

This insightful conversation calls for a shift in mental health practices, emphasizing the need for joy, individualized care, fair compensation, and supportive work environments.

Join us in our next episode of "The Patients Speak" as we continue to explore and advocate for the patient's voice in healthcare. Thank you for listening.

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