On Sunday, October 10, World Mental Health Day, the American Psychiatric Association Foundation (APAF) will launch a monthly podcast to engage the public in conversations about the current mental health crisis. Each episode of “Mentally Healthy Nation” will focus on an aspect of mental health that affects people in their communities, where they live, learn, work, and worship.
“One of the most important things we can do to help ease the stigma of mental illness and to reach a more mentally healthy nation is to turn up the volume on the issue,” said APAF Executive Director Rawle Andrews Jr., Esq. “This is a time in our country when everyone is feeling the impacts of stress, and many are dealing with depression, anxiety, substance use disorders, or other mental health issues. We want to keep the conversation going and meet people where they are, and these podcasts are the logical next step in our education and outreach efforts.”
“APAF stands at the center of many important conversations on mental health, because it’s informed by APA’s psychiatrist members,” said APAF Board Chair and APA CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, M.D., M.P.A. “The ‘Mentally Healthy Nation’ podcast is going to give many of our best and brightest the chance to talk about psychiatric issues in a way that will engage and educate the public.”
The first episode will be “Trauma’s Impact and What Communities Can Do.” It will feature a candid conversation between Anish Dube, M.D., M.P.H., a child and adolescent psychiatrist in the juvenile justice system in Orange County, Calif., and Theresa Dellick, a judge presiding over the Mahoning County Juvenile Court in Ohio. They will discuss ways to keep young people who have experienced trauma from being caught up in the criminal justice system.
On Monday, October 11, National Coming Out Day, the podcast will feature a discussion of “CURED,” an award-winning documentary that tells the story of how homosexuality was removed from the DSM after activists and psychiatrists challenged the classification of homosexuality as a mental disorder. The discussion will include Levin; Deena Gorland, APAF archivist and librarian; Jacki Lyden, writer, journalist, and recipient of APA’s 2021 Patient Advocacy Award; Patrick Sammon, the film’s co-director; and Jack Turban, M.D., M.H.S., medical journalist and psychiatry fellow at Stanford University School of Medicine. (The national PBS broadcast of “CURED” is scheduled for 10 p.m. ET/9 p.m. CT [check local listings] on Monday. More information about the documentary and a preview are posted on the PBS website.)
All episodes of “Mentally Healthy Nation” will be available on the APAF website and on the top podcast platforms. To learn more about the APAF, visit apafdn.org.
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