The heartbreak of losing a loved one to drug addiction, even if they are still alive. The terror of a cancer diagnosis. The challenges faced by adolescents who identify as LGBTQ+ and their families.
All of these topics are topics on the Mind on Mental Health podcast, which just finished its fall 2023 season. Produced by Penn Medicine Princeton Health (PMPH), the series features host Andrew Dean, LCSWsenior community relations specialist at Princeton House Behavioral Health, interviewing colleagues on topics as wide-ranging as mental health self-care for medical professionals, helping children cope with frightening media coverage, and what Star Wars can teach viewers about the post-war era. traumatic stress disorder.
Fill a need
Mind on Mental Health launched in the summer of 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic was directly affecting everyone’s mental health. Early episodes covered anxiety, parenting amid pandemic challenges, eating disorders, and more.
Available on major podcast platforms and The Mind on Mental Health website, the series quickly responded to a need. Dean noted that in just over three years, Mind on Mental Health has accumulated more than 12,000 plays and reached listeners as far away as Saudi Arabia and Zimbabwe. “It’s cool to see that we have a global reach, that people can use their phones anywhere and they just search for ‘mental health podcasts’ and we pop up,” Dean said.
Over time, the podcast has produced more than five dozen episodes (around 15 to 20 minutes each) and earned recognition from the Healthcare Marketing Society of New Jersey and the eHealthcare Leadership Awards.
Expressing a Range of Behavioral Health
To produce the show, Dean asks his colleagues at Princeton House to suggest topics they’d like to talk about, and after a brief check-in, they record a freewheeling session that he edits for length and clarity. This season, each of the participants chose a subject that is close to their hearts personally but also professionally.
For example, Danielle Bellina, LCSW, Senior Primary Therapist at Princeton House, recently emerged from a battle with breast cancer. As a new survivor of the disease, she looked back on her journey and realized how important her training in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) – which focuses on mindfulness, tolerance to stressors, strengthening relationships and emotional regulation – helped her cope.
Bellina recounted her experience in a four-episode arc on Mind on Mental Health. “At the time of my diagnosis, I had been teaching DBT for almost 4 years and found the skills to be effective” in overcoming cancer, Bellina said. “In the episodes, I focused on explaining the skills by telling my story.”
This personal angle also informed episodes on addiction and grief, featuring Sarah DeVries, LCSW, LCADC, adult programs team coordinator at Princeton House (who appeared alongside Sarah Carstens, LCSW, LCADC , Addiction Clinical Director for Outpatient Services). In addition to his professional work in this field, DeVries also lost his brother to an overdose. “So, we thought approaching the issue from both perspectives might be helpful for family members struggling with addiction and various types of grief,” she said.
Let’s talk about mental health with a human touch
Part of what made the program’s appearance so meaningful to DeVries was Dean’s approach. She listens to several different podcasts and gravitates toward those “where there’s a human element to the story,” especially when the subject is clinical. Mind on Mental Health takes exactly this type of approach, DeVries explained: “Andy gives us the platform to be authentic and authentic. Rather than a one-sided educational approach, he made it warm and conversational.
The final batch of episodes of the season featured Nina Narang, MSW, LSW, a primary therapist at Princeton House. As someone from the LGBTQ+ community, she shared what it means for young people to discover and embrace this identity, and how they and their families can deal with the struggles this brings. It’s a hot topic these days, when gender identity and sexual orientation are hot topics in the media and on many people’s minds. That’s intentional, Dean said: “Based on what’s going on in the world at large, we try to keep the episodes timely and relevant.”
In addition to giving listeners real-world tools and skills they can use to address their own mental health challenges, Dean believes Mind on Mental Health helps destigmatize mental illness and substance use. “I hope that we normalize mental health issues and that a listener walks away thinking, hey, you know, I’m not alone in this,” he said.
The series also serves as a resource for professionals working in the field of behavioral health and a way for PMPH to share its work in the field. Dean said: “We’re trying to position ourselves as a thought leader, and the podcast is one way to do that. »
