I Need To Ask You Something

In this bonus episode, supervising producer and mom Chrystal Genesis sits down with another mom, Linda Henderson-Smith, to discuss mental healthcare systems for young people, and why they need to change. Linda is a licensed professional counselor, educational psychologist and senior product director at Carelon Behavioral Health over children in crisis programs.

This episode was created in partnership with Carelon Behavioral Health.

In this bonus episode, we meet 17-year-old Caroline. She was hospitalized multiple times for self harm and attempting suicide. Now, she is doing a lot better, in therapy, and taking medication. Caroline wants to ask her mom Kellie: after everything we have been through, has your view of me changed?

Looking for resources? Visit ineedtoaskyousomething.org for info on how to strengthen relationships, deal with traumatic events, and ...

Alyx and Brandon have been together for five years and are deeply in love - but they’ve also had to grow a lot. Both have struggled with anxiety and feeling like they’re not good enough. This week, Alyx asks Brandon how they can take care of themselves while caring for each other. 

Looking for resources? Visit ineedtoaskyousomething.org for info on how to strengthen relationships, deal with traumatic events, and get help. 

Dr....

Robert and Kiri are an interracial couple living in Alabama, where some members of their community are openly hostile to people of color. Robert is Black and Kiri is white, and the constant threat of racism and violence has put strain on their relationship and Robert’s mental health. Today, Kiri is asking Robert: if we can’t find safety here, can we find it somewhere new?

Looking for resources? Visit ineedtoaskyousomething.org...

Since kindergarten, Athena and her parents have known about her learning differences, and those were treated early on. But her severe anxiety wasn’t. Today, she’s asking her mom Cassie: why was it so hard for you to get me the help I needed, and what took you so long?

Looking for resources? Visit ineedtoaskyousomething.org for info on how to strengthen relationships, deal with traumatic events, and get help. 

Dr. Monica Band i...

19-year-old Chanté has been forced to leave her home twice because of climate disasters: first when her family fled New Orleans because of Hurricane Katrina, then again when Hurricane Harvey hit her new home in Texas. This left her processing a lot of trauma and questioning where she really belongs, while her mom, Stasia, struggled to take care of her family and start over. Today, Chanté wants to ask Stasia: what does home mean aft...

Days before her 10th birthday, Temera left her home in Guyana for a brand new start in the United States. Now, she and her best friend Rose are first-generation college students, feeling the pressure to honor their families’ sacrifices and excel in everything they do. Today, they’re asking: what does it mean to build a life of my own, without feeling like I owe it to my family to succeed? 

Looking for resources? Visit ineedtoa...

16-year-old Alex lost his dad, Ted, to suicide when he was 11. While grieving and dealing with his own mental health struggles, Alex felt like he had to step up and help his mom, Tricia. Today, he’s asking her: how am I supposed to be a kid when you put the weight of adult responsibilities on me?

Looking for resources? Visit ineedtoaskyousomething.org for info on how to strengthen relationships, deal with traumatic events, and...

Greta and Corrine have been best friends for over a decade. They’ve been through a lot together, from leaving their small town, finding their queer identities, to now healing from their recent painful breakups. Today, they’re asking themselves: is it really better to have loved and lost, than to never have loved at all?  

Looking for resources? Visit ineedtoaskyousomething.org for info on how to strengthen relationships, deal ...

When Harley-Anne was 16, she lost her left leg after being hit by a car while crossing a major highway. In the immediate aftermath, Harley-Anne and her mother disagreed about basically everything, and today they’re barely talking. Now, she’s asking her mom: how did my accident affect our relationship, and how can we each heal our mental health?   

Looking for resources? Visit ineedtoaskyousomething.org for info on how to str...

Seth didn’t get a lot of unconditional love as a child. He spent many difficult years in the foster care system before he was finally adopted by his moms Jeannie and Denise. Now, he sits down with Jeannie to ask: How can you still love me after all the hard times we’ve gone through?

Looking for resources? Visit ineedtoaskyousomething.org for info on how to strengthen relationships, deal with traumatic events, and get help. 

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Series Premiere: Jessica’s parents divorced when she was 18, but the years leading up to it were filled with “contagious unhappiness.” Now she sits down with her father to ask: why did you wait so long, and how do we heal from here?

Looking for resources? Visit ineedtoaskyousomething.org for info on how to strengthen relationships, deal with traumatic events, and get help. 

Dr. Monica Band is the host of this show and consul...

The most important and best conversations in our lives start with a question – often, a question that feels scary to approach, but impossible to ignore. This groundbreaking new series features scary, awkward and life-changing conversations between young people and a parent, friend or partner, alongside therapist Dr. Monica Band. “I Need To Ask You Something,” a new series by Lemonada Media, is created in partnership with The Jed Fo...