Analyze Your Mental Health with Catherine Reynolds

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. 

Connect with Mental Health America:
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
LinkedIn
Website

Want to be a guest on our show?  Connect with us at: https://www.abilitiesinmotion.org/podcast
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AbilitiesinMotionPA
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/abilitiesinmotion/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BerksCountyCIL?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/instaaim/

Transcript

Intro: 0:02

Welcome to Disability Talks, a podcast produced by Abilities in Motion. I'm your host Ed Granger. Join us to encounter unique perspectives on accessibility and independence, and to hear stories from everyday people living their most independent, everyday lives; where essential conversations find their place. Let's talk.

Ed: 0:25

Today's guest on the podcast is Catherine Reynolds, the program marketing manager for Mental Health America. The nation's leading community based nonprofit dedicated to addressing the needs of those living with mental illness and promoting the overall mental health of all. MHA's programs and initiatives fulfill its mission, promoting mental health and preventing mental illness through advocacy, education, research and services. MHA's national office and its 200 plus affiliates and associates around the country work every day to protect the rights and dignity of individuals with lived experience and ensure that peers of their voices are integrated into all areas of the organization. So at following that mouthful, uh, from the MHA website, I'm going to welcome Catherine to the podcast.

Catherine: 1:07

Hi Ed. Thank you so much for having me I'm excited to be here.

Ed: 1:10

So I I'm, I'm really excited to have you. Um, I, I have been spent a lot of time on your website. It's fantastic. There's a lot of ground there that we can cover in this, but I guess first I'd like to hear kind of in your words about the mission of MHA National and kind of what it's all about and your role there.

Catherine: 1:26

Sure. So Mental Health America was founded in 1909 by a man named Clifford W. Beers who had lived experience. He, uh, had what we called back then manic depression. So, which is what we now know as bipolar disorder today. So our organization was really founded to give people with lived experience a voice, um, after his experiences, um, being institutionalized. And, um, ever since then, our organization has really maintained a lot of leadership and programming run by people with lived experience. Um, so what we really, really advocate for is early intervention and prevention for all. Uh, a lot of our programming, um, really tries to help people when they're kind of early on that spectrum kind of getting help with mental illness. Um, and what I do there is I work on our annual conference. So every year we have M Maha's annual conference this year, it is June 9th through 11th, and we're really excited because the pandemic actually brought us opportunities to go, um, hybrid. So we are really thankful to be offering, uh, free virtual access for all of our attendees this year. It will have closed captioning in English and Spanish. So definitely check that out. And, um, I work in the events marketing department and it's one of my favorite things I get to do because, uh, it's really about kind of, um, telling people what MHA is about and welcoming them to our space for just about four days outta the year. And, um, it's really, really fun, fun job to do.

Ed: 2:50

That's fantastic. Um, let, we'll talk more about that. Uh, later, that was another piece of your website that I found really, really fascinating. So I'm, I'm interested to hear more about it. Can you share, cuz we talked about, you know, the importance of lived experience and, and its value to the organization. Can you share a little bit about your own lived experience and kind of what led you, uh, to the, the place you are now?

Catherine: 3:10

Sure. So it's been about 10 years since I was formally diagnosed with bipolar two disorder. And, um, something that I think is a little bit unique about my story and hence, um, the organization's, uh, emphasis and my own personal emphasis on early intervention on average, about 10 years go by between the time that someone starts showing symptoms of a condition and when they get an accurate diagnosis and for me, it only took about three years. And, um, so from the time where I was about 14, when I started to have suicidal thoughts and started to self-harm for the first time, it wasn't too much long after that, that I was able to get a formal diagnosis of bipolar two. And, um, over the past 10 years, I've come a long way. Um, in my I, I identity development 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 when I really got involved in formal mental health advocacy and was given the opportunity to share my story and having a newspaper article published in the university of Alabama newspaper, detailing my experiences with self harm arm and being hospitalized. Um, it really gave me the opportunity to publicly come forward. I think in my own skin for the first time, because I was able to kind of live authentically as this person with a mental illness, you know, and, and, uh, prior to that, I really felt alone and I felt isolated in the, uh, many experiences that I've had, but the more I learn about the mental health community and more recently the disability community, our differences are, are not nearly, um, as many as the things that we have in common and something that I've really enjoyed, uh, since learning more about the disability community is kind of all the various shared feelings of exclusion that some of us feel, and it doesn't necessarily depend 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 the conditions that we do deal with.

Ed: 5:18

So you went from college to the organization you're with now, and I believe that was kind of a, a straight line into, uh, into the work that you're doing currently. Can you tell, tell a little bit about how that all unfolded for you?

Catherine: 5:31

Sure. So as I kind of mentioned, I was fortunate enough, uh, to get involved in, uh, campus mental health advocacy. And it really began with that article that was shared about me and that there's a really great quote that I've, I've heard over the years, that is be who you are, so that other people looking for, you can find you. And it seemed like, you know, I was out there and I got my story out there and then that connected other people on my campus to say, Hey, you know, we're starting this organization and, and we think you might be interested. And so it was there that I helped kind of start a campus mental health advocacy organization, and got really interested in advocacy and in supporting other people, um, who were in situations like my own. So my senior year of college, I was thinking, you know, it'd be really great to go intern for one of these really big, uh, mental health advocacy organizations. And I fortunately, um, got a position as the public education intern. Um, and five days after I graduated school, moved to Washington DC for that position. And even more fortunately, um, a job opening kind of just happened to open right, as I, uh, joined the organization. And it was a huge privilege to start working at Mental Health America because for the first time, and, and really this experience was unmatched coming to Mental Health America and realizing that there were spaces that my mental illness brought me strength and that my experiences, you know, in the hospital or taking medication or, you know, going to the doctor actually made me qualified for different opportunities at the organization. And it made me qualified for different pieces of, um, you know, content creation and being a part of a team that prioritized and placed a value on my lived experience was really life changing to me. And I think, you know, ever since those days, I've really been, um, concerned with in seeking out opportunities that allow me to share some of those experiences in a, in a positive light.

Ed: 7:37

So storytelling sounds like it's an important, uh, it's important to you. It's important to your organization. You know, I, I noticed that there is a, a section on storytelling in your conference this year. So it does seem to be sort of there's that theme that runs through your work and your life about the, you know, the importance of being able to tell your story. I, I know you've, you kind of hinted at this a little bit, but within the, the sort of mental health community, not everybody identifies as living with a disability. So can you share a little bit about that? Um, and, and how you kind of positioned yourself within that space?

Catherine: 8:09

Yeah, sure. So I, myself do identify as disabled and I do identify my mental illness as a disability, and it wasn't until I was in an outpatient center in the summer of 2020, and that I really understood that the ADA was there to protect me. It was then, uh, coming out of this outpatient program that I really started to fully understand what my rights were under the ADA. And I realized, oh, wow, mental illness is covered under the ADA and a lot of people I think in the mental health community, One do not understand that, or don't even realize that their mental illness is actually covered under the ADA. So for example, people don't know that their employers have to give them time off to go to therapy. And of course, you know, we do know that with the ADA, there are some more technical things to consider. Like, you know, your employer, I believe is not able to offer you those things unless you first, you know, come forward with that disability. But I think all throughout my time in mental health advocacy, it took me a long time to realize the intersections of mental health and, and of disability. And, you know, many people in the mental health community are, I think really scared of the term disability. And they're scared of the term disabled. And, um, I think for many people myself in included a piece of that is not knowing that we belong to that community. I think a lot of people, and I don't think this is specific to mental illnesses. I think a lot of people feel like they're not quote unquote disabled enough, or you know, that they don't get to claim that word because they perceive that what they're going through might not be as bad or, you know, as, as critical as what other people are going through. But to me, I think that the disability community really offers a lot of, um, community and inclusion for people with mental illnesses. And it was, um, you know, seeing the great movie Crip Camp and learning about the 504 riots and them wanting to fight for people with mental illness and substance use conditions to make sure that we were included as part of the ADA. And so I think knowing that history made me feel like, oh, wow, like they were thinking about us. You know, our, our community has been a part of and welcomed as a piece of the disability community for a very long time. And I don't think a lot of people really fully know that. I do think that there are a few reasons for that. And I think learning more about the disability community, a really good example of the differences between mental health and disability communities is when it comes to person first versus identity, first language. So in the mental health community, we're pretty, pretty big advocates of person first language. Now, I, myself like many other people, I think with mental illnesses and maybe with other types of disabilities, went through my own kind of gymnastics on language. And on early age, a clinician had said, you know, I keep saying, I am bipolar. I am bipolar. And she suggested that I change those words and to,"I have", you know, to take an ownership and it, and it really did. I was, I was in, you know, about 20 years old at that time. And that cognitive switch really did a lot for me. And, you know, kind of come back now, um, you know, six or seven years later, and I've kind of shifted my ideas on that. And, and that was once a coping skill for me. And I was really uncomfortable with saying I am bipolar because I was, you know, so focused on distancing myself from bipolar disorder. It wasn't until I believe, you know, 2020 towards the end of that year. Once I really started to learn a lot about disability, that I, that I was comfortable calling myself bipolar. So whereas the mental health community is very much person first language. And honestly, when I started to learn about the disability community and I was reading, I was like, no, no, like it should be person first. And then I started to understand that no people in the disability community, some people have a preference for identity first language. And, um, there's a really great book called Disability Visibility by Alice Wong. And it's an anthology of all these different disabled authors writing about various experiences that they had. And for me, it was really beautiful to see all these different people with different life experiences who belonged to different communities that all kind of under this umbrella of disability. And I really started understand and learning about how, you know, people in the, the little person community, you know, that's a, that's a community identity, 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 into the disability community, it was almost like I was given permission to actually self-identify as bipolar. And it be a positive thing, you know, like that there were other people out there with that certain set of life experiences that could relate to me who are also proud to have had those life experiences.

Ed: 13:33

Right. And I, and I guess it's obviously it's a very personal kind of decision and there's also, you know, it's, it's up to anybody, uh, with a disability to 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 here in employment services, people don't realize that it's not necess, it's not even, uh, a disadvantage to say you're someone with a disability. It can be an advantage because companies are looking for good workers because they have to meet certain criteria for hiring and promoting people. Um, so it can actually be a strength, but it's obviously that's something everybody kind of has to decide. And I'm wondering, you know, if sometimes it isn't kind of sit situational, like you don't have to have one, it's not one choice and you have to, you know, keep that choice forever. Within one context you could, you could, you know, you can adopt one way of thinking in a different context, you could adopt a very different way of thinking. And I think we think of identities as being these solid core things that we put together, but they're actually, I think maybe more flexible or, you know, or more multifaceted than we realize sometimes.

Catherine: 14:41

Oh, for sure. I think you stated that really nicely. Um, and I think context does matter. So me personally, you know, I will never use, um, identity first language, especially when it comes to mental illness, because I think, you know, there is a lot of stigma attached with being called bipolar. You know, people use that word as an adjective, sometimes same thing with schizophrenia. Um, so I am very, you know, I will never assign, I will never use identity first should talk about another person unless they first self-identified that way. And even myself, I'm very cautious of how I speak because I do think it's important again, I, for people to be able to choose. So a lot of times, depending on, you know, the, the context or the audience that I'm working with, I will still just identify as a person with a mental illness or person with bipolar disorder. Today, you know, we're on an Abilities in Motion podcast, talking about disability talks, don't dis my ability. So heck yeah, I'm out here, I'm bipolar, I'm disabled. And I, um, am, you know, sympathetic to the fact that most of our listeners might be working along those lines. And I also, um, reasonably assume 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 mental health, because if I were to call myself bipolar, they might think that that gives them permission to call some one else bipolar. Right. So I do think, um, it is very fluid and I think that's some of the great, uh, freedom and luxuries, I guess, that you could, if you could call it a luxury, um, of being knowledgeable about, uh, disability and all the different communities is because you do have freedom of expression and you do have freedom of, of word choice, um, that you can fit, you know, your surroundings with the appropriate language. And there's some, you know, situations where I, I don't even wanna self-disclose that I have bipolar disorder. And so I will just kind of, you know, lean into someone with a 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 on about identity and the how people identities form and, and how we're, uh, you know, some organizations find themselves at the crossroads of so many different aspects of how people identify and how they think of themselves and see themselves. And, you know, I think just trying to be as inclusive as possible and give of people permission to find their own way in that space is, is really, really important and something that, um, I think all organizations, uh, that, that do the kind of work yours does, or mind does, are really kind of all, all kind of navigating that and striving to provide that kind of space for people, um, regardless of what their background is or, or how they identify. So let's talk about, um, your organization a little bit more and go into some more detail. Like I said, I spent a fair amount of time, um, on your website, which I really enjoyed. It's very informative. It's also very, uh, colorful and, and I, I, I felt good about, you know, about visiting there. It didn't feel like it was, uh, you know, like I was going to school or reading the dictionary. It was, it's a really super well designed website. So I think, I mean, you, the annual conference is kind of, uh, where a lot of your time and energy is going. So, you know, maybe, maybe you'd rather not talk about it, uh, yet one more time, but I'm interested in hearing about it and I'm sure our listeners are. Um, so I'm just gonna, I'll read you a little bit about, uh, what I found on the website and you can kind of respond to that, if that works for you. Um, just to kind of give the basics, it says, um, that the event will bring together hundreds of MHA, affiliates, peers, providers, government officials, media, and key stakeholders from across the country to explore the intersecting equity issues that exist in mental health. Um, and obviously we'll, we'll make sure people know where they can go to, to find more and, and make sure that they have your, you know, information, um, but kind of can, what, from your perspective, what are the sort of 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 years for a number of reasons, as we all know, the past two years have been incredibly hard on people. And, you know, something that I've think is really fascinating as someone who's been in the mental health space for a long time, as we know mental health really catapulted to the front of people's minds. And you had people who maybe had never experienced mental health conditions before maybe they were experiencing things to a new degree, maybe, you know, people had never really had a lot of stress or anxiety, but in the past two years, they really did. And we really tried to this year when we were organizing our agenda and our topics, we wanted it to be more than just an event for professionals, which is why a lot of our sessions are a little bit about self-care and storytelling. And we wanted to make sure that people saw their stories represented as well as a lot of educational information. So our conference is a, um, great resource for people who are looking for continuing education credits for their professions, but also we really wanted to make sure that people felt like it was a nourishing event for their personal lives too this year. Um, and I'm also very excited because I have been advocating for us to have close captioning. And so we will be having close captioning in English and in Spanish that is gonna help open up our audience, um, and help us reach a lot more people with that information. But I'm really looking forward to the event, um, for those reasons.

Ed: 20:26

And I, I love the storytelling piece too, because so many times it's important to tell our story the, but in doing so, we also recognize sometimes or learn, and I, this is from educational events that I've done that just being in the same room with people who share even a part of your story can be so powerful and important and something that you think people come for the information, but it's the connections that they make that are so, so important. So talk a little bit about some of the other parts of your website and that MHA really focuses on. So I'll just like, I'll, I'll work 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, these items before, but you have the find help tab, so that clearly that's inviting people in and, and you've got some screening tools and toolkit, um, on there. Talk a little bit about the importance of that aspect of, of the work that MHA does.

Catherine: 21:22

Yes. Uh, thank you for that question. So MHA actually just released our 2022 mental health month toolkit today and mental health month was started back in the 1960s, I believe by Mental Health America and is nationally. And I oh, maybe is also, um, worldwide recognized May is the awareness month for mental health. So a big piece of what Mental Health America does is public education. And so we, uh, two to three toolkits every single year, we do a mental health month, um, bipo mental health month, and back to school toolkits that are free, uh, to download on our website. This year's theme is Back to Basics. So kind of going along those lines of, you know, the past two years have been a lot for folks. So if they're new to mental health or they haven't really had to explore more about it, we created a toolkit, um, especially for those people to learn the basics of mental health, the basics of what mental health conditions are and the basics of what you can do to support yourself. So, uh, public education and resources are a huge part of what Mental Health America does. Our website MHAnational.org is just overflowing with webpages, uh, and resources. We do have some Spanish language resources. We have, uh, resources in webpages about different, um, race and ethnicities. We have a whole hub on LGBTQ mental health. So public education is a really big part of our work. And a second thing that we do as you mentioned, Ed, is our online screening program. And like I was saying, Mental Health America is really, uh, advocates for early intervention in prevention and mental health screening is important to me in my story because my own mental illness was in part, uh, diagnosed through a mental health screen. Mental health screens are not a diagnosis, but they are just an assessment tool. So people might be familiar with the PHQ nine. So that's a depression, uh, screen and, or the anxiety, I can't remember the name of that, that screen. So it's all the same screens that your clinicians and providers would be using, but they're on a free web version. So you can take a screen on our website. It will tell you, uh, the likelihood that you are dealing with a certain mental health condition, and then it will suggest resources for you and mental health screening is really important because as far as, you know, self advocacy and self-direction, it's something that an individual can do if they're concerned about that, the way that they're feeling, and it can kind of give them the confidence, maybe to take that information to a provider, you know, so if you take a screen and it, and it, you know, like it did, for me, it said it was likely that I had bipolar disorder. I was like, oh, wow. So maybe this is something that I really could talk to my doctor about. Maybe this is something that's more real than I thought it was. So MHAscreening.org has nine or 10 mental health screens on it that you can take, and it's all anonymous and it's free. And since the pandemic has really, you know, kind of exploded mental health concerns, uh, mental health screening has gone up to 10 million screens. We started this program in 2014 and our daily screens, I think went up from like 3,700 to 10,000 a day. And we are seeing a lot of individuals with high rates of anxiety and high rates of depression and suicidal ideation, uh, which is consistent with the trends that we're seeing nationally over the past two years.

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 something that, um, I think is fantastic. Um, and that obviously we as a center for an independent living believe in and, and try aspire to, uh, to, you know, promote as well. And also another thing I liked about that, um, toolkit was you had a friends and family section, which I think is fantastic. It, you know, so you're really reaching out beyond the, the individual who might be, you know, in need of a screening, but you're reaching out to that person's whole support network. So can you talk a little bit about that?

Catherine: 25:35

Absolutely. So, um, we know that, you know, individuals cannot recover alone. There's, there's quotes about that. Uh, you know, recovery cannot occur in isolation and that really big predictors, especially for mental health conditions of success are meaningful involvement in a community. So we are very conscientious of the materials that we create and how they can be used by other individuals in someone's life. So we also have a caregiver toolkit. That's really wonderful that, um, also highlights, uh, people's rights under HIPAA, and we really advocate for shared decision making between an individual and their care team. So we know that these relationships between, um, family members and friends can often be, you know, hard to, to navigate. And we find ourselves as an organization really run and emphasizing people with lived experience that we can provide information for families and communities from the lived experience perspective. That's really a piece of the work that we're proud to do and, and understand the need for direct lines of communication between the groups. Because oftentimes when we Google information, we're kind of getting resources or information or articles that have been prepared by folks who may not have lived experience. And so we could have our friends or families taking advice that we might not necessarily agree with as a person with the mental health condition.

Ed: 27:03

And I think what we're seeing a little bit of a shift too. I know at least here in Pennsylvania and in some, some of the surrounding states, there's a, a move toward things like supported decision making. So instead of a guardianship situation where someone loses their rights and loses their ability to make their own decisions, the idea is to, to, uh, to identify a team of people that can support that person in their, in their decision making process. So I think that, I think we're seeing that move, hopefully toward people keeping as many of their rights a as possible and being able to make their own decisions instead of having somebody else always stepping in.

Catherine: 27:37

Right. And I will add, you know, a great resource that a lot of people do not, uh, even know about out our psychiatric advanced directives. I was, uh, doing an intake for my outpatient program. And I asked no one, it was on my form, 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. And she let me know that I was the only person to have come through I, that program that, that she knew of who had ever even known to ask about psychiatric advanced directives and psychiatric advanced directives are a legal document that is made during a time of wellness or stability that outlines the things that you would like to happen to you. So you can say, here are medications that I do not want to take. Here's what I would like to happen to my dog or my plants. Here's, um, where I would like to be taken, please don't take me to this place. And it is a document that can be used as a guide should so, should you enter a period of crisis? You have your needs and wants represented on paper, but a lot of people don't know that that is even within their rights as a person, uh, to have on file. So that's another thing that people can do to help them maintain that self-direction. And I think, you know, as someone with a mental illness, you know, the goal is not always, you know, I, I know that I'm going not always gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna be dealing with mood instability for the rest of my life, you know, but that doesn't mean that I can't plan for it. So I think it's really important for people who are dealing with mental health conditions to take advantage of, um, the resources and, and the things that they do have 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 would encourage them to do that. Uh, another piece of what MHA does is public policy. So can you talk a little bit about, um, you know, your, I saw your advocacy network mentioned on there, um, talk a little bit about your, your public policy arm of, of what your organization does.

Catherine: 29:55

Sure. So Mental Health America for a long time has been a really, really strong advocacy and policy department. And we're really proud of a lot of the accomplishments that we've had over the years. Uh, one of them being the I'm going to try to remember, I think it might be the Community Mental Health Act in 1964, I believe. Um, so this was right after we saw the closure of asylums and it was the move to allocate money for community care. And that is something that Mental Health America, uh, helped advocate for back then in one of our biggest policy wins to date was actually the, you know, allocation of money for community based, um, mental health resources, which I'm sure is a big intersection, the disability community, too, about keeping people in the community and, um, you know, making sure that they have the things that they need to succeed and recover while maintaining their position in the community. So today we're really, um, excited about the work that we've been doing. The President recently actually announced a mental health action plan of sorts. And we're really excited because one of the things that Mental Health America advocates for is the use of peer support specialists and peer support specialists in mental health are just an individual with a mental health or substance use condition who has been trained and says, I have this lived experience and I am going to help other people with lived experience. And peer support is really phenomenal because it's mutual and it's non-hierarchical. So we're really, really happy to see the US government take peers into consideration, into future funding for what's going to be happening. Um, another big policy win for Mental Health America and other mental health advocates is the recent passing of the 988 Suicide Prevention Lifeline number. So people might have heard that we are getting a three digit suicide prevention lifeline number, just like we have one for 911, just like we have one for 411, but this was a really good piece of Bipartisan legislation 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 because we actually have that program that we offer as part of what we do. So that's a, that's a great place where, where these things can intersect. Uh, and I also like the fact that with your, your advocacy networks, you have action alerts. People can, you know, people can respond and it's always, when you have a number of people contacting a legislator, it's a lot more powerful than one or two people a day. It's, it can, if it's coordinated, it can be much more effective. And also I feel like those, that advocacy network piece is another piece where we, where individual stories contribute to systemic change. And, and you'd see the intersection between, uh, between that lived experience in, and trying to actually impact, you know, larger systems, which is fantastic

Catherine: 33:03

Exactly. And, uh, Mental Health America. We do have a advocacy toolkit that kind of outlines all the different steps that you can take. We even have a toolkit on how to book and prepare for meetings with your legislators, how to compose your story. You know, we can instruct you on how to share your story with your leaders. And I, I will, I will just note as we're talking about policy for all the people listening. So what we really advocate for in mental health is called parody, and I'm not a policy person, so I might not get all the exact, uh, details of this, correct. But essentially parody would mean that, uh, health insurance, um, reimburses providers for mental health, just like they do for physical health. So we do not, we have not achieved parody, meaning that we are still seeing health insurers, not reimburse people for mental health and, and, uh, substance use services. So everything that we do is really along the lines of parody and hoping that payers will eventually, you know, see the value in mental health and physical health on the same level.

Ed: 34:12

That's fantastic too. And it sounds like you're the people that are putting your toolkits together are pretty busy, 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 a toolkit, they feel like it's going to be easy to access. It's gonna have clear steps outlined. So I think that's a great way to, to frame the way you share that information, as opposed to here's a big block of text. Read it. Um, so that's, that's fantastic. You also have the, the section on mapping America's mental health. So can you tell us a little bit about that?

Catherine: 34:44

Yes. So this is a really exciting new project from MHA, uh, based on our screening data. So we are actually able to map where our screening data comes from, and there's an interactive map on our website. You can actually see down to county level, uh, how many people have this is from our screening data. So this is only individuals have already taken these screens, but they are mapped all across the country, all the 50 states in the district of Columbia. And you can actually see live data on a county level for people I think dealing, uh, with suicidal ideation, with depression, anxiety, and I think, uh, maybe psychosis at this, at this point in time, but this is a really cool new program for us. And I think represents a little bit of the future of what we see of, you know, making data and data visualization, accessible to folks. So we can actually see what's happening on the community level and, and people in those communities can actually see what their constituents are doing with. And I think this, this program really pairs nicely with one of our other programs. Uh, another report that we do is, um, the state of mental health in America in which we use CDC data and, uh, rank all the 50 states and the district of Columbia on different, um, indicators of mental health care and access. So through those kinds of tools, we really tried to, you know, not just empower individuals, but a lot of providers and people on the community and, uh, state and federal level to take action based on real life data. So Mental Health America's screening data is the only really living, breathing data set of its kind. So through, um, the pandemic we've been monitoring this. So we saw spikes coordinated with the dates of the pandemic. And so we're really excited to be able to provide the mapping project to, uh, further continue that 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 getting funding or starting a program, or getting help with the programming that you wanna offer, you know, that data is a really powerful way to make an evidence based case for the work you're trying to do that. And then you can bring in the organizations and the support hopefully, uh, to help make that happen. And I did note I'm here in Pennsylvania. So I did look at the ranking, the states and somewhat to my surprise, Pennsylvania was number eight, I think, in the nation for adults and number one for, for youth. So I know we could use a lot more help with mental health here in Pennsylvania. I can only imagine the situation in some of those other places that are, you know, that are not ranked so well. Um, and, and what the situations must be for people in, in those parts of the country. Unfortunately, what are the, what programs that you think might be coming down the road for MHA or, or in general within mental health, are you most excited about seeing come to fruition and implemented?

Catherine: 37:44

So I, for one am really excited about the idea of mental health resources that serve the individual, but also, you know, serve the community a little bit more. So from my experiences in, in outpatient therapy, I was really kind of struck by this idea of how isolating it is for individuals to be attending these sessions and then not really go back home and have a lot of community support, right? So, um, an individual coming in who might have a mental illness and is a parent and has a family of children and, you know, a, a partner, if they, if they don't have the resources to actually discuss what they're experiencing, how are they going to move forward in their recovery? Right. So I'm really excited about the idea of resource building out really specific pathways for people to receive an access care and to kind of help refer people to care. I think one of the biggest barriers to mental health at this point for, to supporting people with mental illness is everyone and else them in their lives. I think, you know, I, a lot of people feel uncomfortable, um, talking about their mental illness with other people, because there is, you know, the fear that they won't understand, or the fear that they don't know what to say. And I think a lot of people who are on the receiving end get really scared because they don't wanna offend that person, or they might, um, irrationally think that person wants them to help them and fix their problem. But we know that that's ultimately not what that person wants. You know, I think it's important to understand a lot of people with mental illness. They don't need you to fix their issues. They just want you to listen to, to them. So I think what really excites me is kind of what we were talking about with these, the idea of toolkits and really being very specific with the information and the instructions that we give to people. Because I think as, and, and similar to that, I think would be, um, mental health information. That's written by people with lived experience. I was just speaking with some of some folks the other day about a, uh, on the, the subject of extroversion versus mania. And I was discussing how I felt it difficult to find information about myself because when you look it up online, everything is very, very generalized. And I think that it's really hard for people to move forward without really concrete examples of what they're looking for. You know, like I think individuals have to do an enormous amount of work to actually use information that's out there and make it applicable to them. So what's exciting to me, I think is the idea that more and more people are having to people with 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, you know, review work. We work with Wiki, how, who asks us to co-author and review articles. So I think the shift towards more and more information and resources by people, people with lived experience and for people with lived experience gets me really excited.

Ed: 41:02

So I'd love to hear how you think a place like AIM center for independent living can do more 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's being done, I do see a lot of gaps in, you know, whatever the given topic is. You should also be talking about the mental health specific challenges that those people, that community may face, you know, because the mental health challenges associated with, I don't know, cancer treatment, as opposed to maybe being an amputee are very different, but they're also very, you know, very valid and very specific. So I think the more so when it comes to, you know, what can AIM do, maybe it is having, you know, people with different disabilities talk about their unique mental health struggles and their unique hacks to, to deal with those struggles. I think by and large, a lot of mental health or organizations who aren't talking about mental health, the easiest thing they can do to bring on someone to just break the silence out that, because I think when people don't have an example around them, it makes it a lot harder for them to come forward first. So I think maybe in AIM's case, you know, taking on mental health really specifically, and looking 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, took some notes while you were, uh, sharing that. So I really appreciate that. Um, and I'm sure that will take that to heart and do some, have some discussion around that. So appreciate that. Just kind of, as we move toward sort of wrapping up here, looking back to your time in college, and when you sort of first said, Hey, maybe this is something I want to do, you know, for a career. How have you seen things within mental health change during that period of time? Are things better, worse status quo? Uh, what, what changes have you seen?

Catherine: 43:17

You know, when I got to Mental Health America five years ago, it was such a different world when it came to mental health. And I think there's a few different ways to take temperature of that. I mean, from a corporate standpoint, the number of corporations that are wanting to talk about this, or wanting to partner with organizations like ours from a media standpoint, I mean, nowadays I'm hearing people 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, people are actively, you know, talking about how to manage stress and anxiety people on the, you know, your news anchors are talking about these things in ways that I just, I think is, is unprecedented and rightly so. And I just hope that we don't go back at all. You know, I think that the interest in mental health is just catapulted so far, and we have 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's never too late to start dealing with your mental health. And I think that's one thing that people, I really wish understood more. It's never too late to start getting curious to see if your quality of life could change because of what you do for your mental health. And so, since I was a kid, you know, in, in college and in high school, I just never dreamed that there would be this many pathways for people outside of traditional mental health professions. When I was younger, I used to wanna be a psychologist, because I thought that was one of the only options that I had as someone who was interested in mental health. But it's, you know, in 2022, I think people are building out way more pathways, whether it is, you know, consulting using your, uh, life experiences as someone with a mental illness, whether it is, you know, yeah. Getting, um, a career at a, at a nonprofit like this, or, you know, starting to even, you know, not even paid opportunities, but there's more opportunities because there's such a need for individuals to be able to go back to the communities where they came from and say, Hey, I think we should talk about this. Or, Hey, I would be willing to share my story sometime. I think it's really remarkable the direction that we're moving, but, but like I said, I think we have a really big opportunity because as we know, many people with mental illnesses first have like their break during a traumatic event and the pandemic has been a traumatic event. And along the lines of early intervention in, if we can help move more people who might be traumatized now in the moment, then we're gonna be better off if 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 say to that kid now, if you could say something to that kid or to some 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 mental health, because you don't know what's on the other side. I think, you know, many people have trouble envisioning their life to be a different way. And I do think that starting to do work on your mental health, it's really difficult. I mean, it's, it's not easy by any means, and sometimes it it's easy and then it gets even harder. And I think that I would tell people that it's okay to get curious and to, to wonder about what your life could be like if it could different, because I think the wanting and the realization and the hope that your life could one day your status of life, your quality of life could maybe be different, is a motivator of, of making change in your life.

Ed: 47:11

I appreciate you sharing that. So I guess I'll, I'll sort of wrap up with asking you how, how, how do people connect with MHA? Where, where would they find you like your, uh, social media contact info, et cetera, how would they connect with, uh, your organization?

Catherine: 47:27

Yeah, sure. So you can visit our website at www.MHAnational.org. You can find us on Twitter@mentalhealtham. You can find us on Instagram@mentalhealthamerica, Facebook@MentalHealthAmerica. You can also, if you have any questions about our annual conference, you can email at events@mhanational.org. As I stated, uh, registration is open for our 2022 event and that virtual registration is free to all. So we really hope we can see you there.

Ed: 48:00

Well, Catherine Reynolds, I really appreciate the time you, uh, spent answering my questions and also your willingness to share, you know, your personal story with, with our listeners. I think that was really powerful. And I think connects with the work you're doing, um, you know, in a really powerful way. Uh, so again, you are, she, Catherine Reynolds is the program marketing manager for Mental Health America, the nation's leading community based nonprofit dedicated to addressing the needs of those living with mental illness and promoting the overall mental health of all. And I strongly encourage anyone listening to definitely check out their website and their social 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 ongoing conversation? Visit our website at abilitiesinmotion.org or connect with us on social media.