Practically Mental: Recent Episodes
Jessica Hasson, PhD
We all experience mental and emotional struggles, but we do not all experience the same struggles. We all have different experiences and therefore cope in different ways. This means that there is no "one size fits all" approach for coping and being mentally and emotionally healthy. We will be talking about this, and practical and realistic ways to address our mental health needs on this podcast. Expect some snark, a lot of sarcasm, and real talk about life.
Christa Tichy is running for District 6
Website christatichyforcouncil.com
Facebook ChristaTichyforcouncil.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/christa_tichy
Andrew Einsmann is running for the District 7 Seat for Montgomery County Council
Email drewster711@yahoo.com
Website: https://andreweinsmann.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/drewster711
Laurie-Anne Sayles is running for one of the at-large positions for the County Council
Website www.laurieannesayles.org
Facebook facebook.com/SaylesforMoCo
Twitter @LaurieASayles
Other instagram.com/councilmember_lasayles
Maricé Morales is running for County Council District
Website www.maricemorales.com
Facebook facebook.com/MariceMorales
Other instagram.com/delegatemorales
Karla Silvestre is running for reelection for the Board Of Education (At-Large)
Website www.karlasilvestre.com
Facebook facebook.com/karlasilvestre4BOE
Twitter @KarlaSilves_BOE
Scott Goldberg is running for the At-Large Position for the Montgomery County Council
Website www.VoteScott.org
Facebook facebook.com/GoldbergInMD
Twitter @GoldbergInMD
Other instagram.com/GoldbergInMD
Dawn Luedtke is running for the District 7 position.
Website www.dawnluedtke.com
Twitter @PennDawn96
In this episode, Jess talks with Ashley P. Evans, who is a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. Jess & Ashley discuss working with a prescriber as part of mental health treatment.
Ashley is the owner of PsychLife Tee Co, which is an amazing company that sells t shirts, mugs, and notebooks that reduce the stigma around mental health. Check them out at https://psychlifeteeco.com/
You can follow Ashley on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-p-evans-mha-msn-pmhnp-bc-82868ab/
Tom DeGonia is a Democrat running for State's Attorney
Email tom@tomdegonia2022.com
Website www.tomdegonia2022.com
Facebook facebook.com/TomDeGoniaforMontgomeryCountyState'sAttorney
Twitter @TomforMoCo2022
Other instagram.com/TomforMoCo2022
Dana Gassway is a Democrat running for the at-large position with the Montgomery County Council
email: gassawayforcouncil@gmail.com
Len Lieber is a Republican running for the Montgomery County Council at Large Position.
Website lenardlieber.com
Twitter @purplepursuer
The pandemic has been filled with platitudes and sayings. Unfortunately, platitudes don’t do anything. It became a way to feign concern without actually changing anything. Over the past two years we heard a string of platitudes, starting with “We’re all in this together.”
In this rant, Dr. Hasson talks about 9 pandemic platitudes including:
2:01 We are all in this together
3:12 Follow the Science
5:56 My Mask Protects You, Your Mask Protects Me
8:22 The New Normal.
10:45 Only When It’s Safe
17:13 I did everything right.
20:37 Remain Vigilant
21:37 Show Grace/Give Grace
24:00 The Children are Resilient
Remember, #ActionsNotPlatitudes & #Policy&Change not #Thoughts&Prayers
Content warning: suicide, personal injury
Ben Wikner is running for Montgomery County Council District 7
Website www.benwikner.com
Facebook @benwiknerforcountycouncil
501(c)3 discussed during the podcast: https://cross-community.org/equity-center/
The mask donations I discussed were from Lighting Wear https://www.lightningwear.com/
John Zittrauer is running for the District 4 seat for Montgomery County Council
Website: friendsofjohnzittrauer.com
Facebook: facebook.com/friendsofjohnzittrauer
Twitter: twitter.com/johnzittrauer
Instagram: instagram.com/johnzittrauer
Never assume someone is coping well because they are not asking for help. In this mini-rant, I discuss a few of the reasons people may be reluctant to ask for help and give an idea on what we, as a society, can do to help.
Cary Lamari is running for the County Council District 5 seat.
Website http://carylamari.net
content warning: violence, school shootings
Jay Guan is running for the BOE District 1 position.
Website jayguan4boe.com
Facebook facebook.com/JG4boe
Steve Solomon is a democrat running for the Montgomery County Council District 7 Seat.
Website votestevesolomon.com
Facebook Facebook.com/votestevesolomon
Twitter @SteveSolomon
Harold Maldonado is a republican running for the District 7 seat for Montgomery County.
Website: https://haroldmaldonado.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HaroldM4Council
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HaroldM4Council
It's time to adjust how we think about mental health. In this mini-rant, I discuss how the traditional individual treatment for mental health does not work with a large scale crisis and discuss ways we can all help.
Paul Schwartz is a Democratic Candidate for County Council's new District 7 seat
website: https://www.paulkschwartz.com/
Facebook facebook.com/paul.schwartz.79025
Twitter @PKSpaul
Content Warning: School Shootings & Natural Disasters
Domenic Giandomenico is running for the At-Large seat for the Montgomery County Board of Education.
Website www.domformoco.com
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/DomforMoCo/
Twitter https://mobile.twitter.com/domformoco
Scott Joftus is an incumbent running for the Board Of Education District 3
Website: https://joftus4boe.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ScottJoftus
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joftusforboe
Christopher Bolton is a Democratic Candidate running for Montgomery County Council District 5
https://bolton4you.com/
https://www.facebook.com/bolton4you/
In this episode I speak with Troy Murtha, who is running for the Montgomery County Council District 4 seat.
Find our more about Troy at www.troymurtha.com
Like many fields, there is a great deal of bureaucracy in mental health. But that red tape sometimes prohibits competent professionals from doing their jobs, due to a lack of consistency between states in how our field is regulated. There are other barriers to becoming a mental health provider too, including cost and earning potential after school. Dr. Kelli Dunlap and I talk about how these systemic issues have decreased the number of psychologists entering (and remaining!) in the field, furthering the provider crisis.
The mental health crisis is real. In this episode, Dr. Hasson discusses some of the contributing factors to the crisis. It's not just covid, but the pandemic, and its response, is definitely adding fuel to the fire. At the end, Dr. Hasson suggests a few paths going forward, including the need to societal level interventions.
I speak with Peter James, democratic candidate for county executive.
Website: pjames.us
Twitter: twitter.com/moco4james
Facebook: facebook.com/pj4moco
Esther Wells is running for the Board of Education position for District 1. She is part of the A New Dawn slate.
The slate information is here: https://www.anewdawn4boe.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anewdawn4boe/
And you can read more about Esther here: https://www.anewdawn4boe.com/about-esther
Dawn Iannaco-Hahn is a licensed counselor who is running for the District 5 position for the Board of education. She is part of the A New Dawn Slate.
Slate information here: https://www.anewdawn4boe.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anewdawn4boe/
Learn more about Dawn here: https://www.anewdawn4boe.com/about-dawn
Chronic Pain is experienced by many but continues to remain misunderstood. In this episode I speak with Sandra Alami, a graduate student with Fibromyalgia. In this episode we discuss the difficulties getting diagnosed and treated, including systemic issues that make it more difficult to receive help.
Michael Fryar is running for the Montgomery County Board of Education.
He is part of the A New Dawn Slate. Their site is here: https://www.anewdawn4boe.com/
Learn more about Michael here (and listen to this episode, of course!): https://www.anewdawn4boe.com/about-michael
During this episode, I speak with Evan Auguste, who is completing the last few months of his doctoral training. Evan's area of interest include racial health and justice disparities. Evan was the chair for the student circle board of the Association of Black Psychologists and with the Association of Haitian Physicians Abroad. He is the future of forensic psychology and his insights are invaluable.
Check out his work here:
https://scholars.org/scholar/evan-auguste
Psychology's Contributions to Anti-Blackness in the United States within Psychological Research, Criminal Justice, and Mental Health: https://psyarxiv.com/f5yk6
Why the APA's apology for promoting white supremacy falls short: https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/why-apa-s-apology-promoting-white-supremacy-falls-short-ncna1284229
An Intersectional-Contextual Approach to Racial Trauma Exposure Risk and Coping Among Black Youth: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jora.12757
Decarcerating Care: Community-Based Healing Alternatives and How to Build Them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxdHhYcCEc4
April is Autism Acceptance Month. There's a lot of misconceptions about autism, and I reached out to an #ActuallyAutistic mental health provider, Dr. Kris, to talk about their experiences (and difficulty) getting their diagnosis as an adult. We also talk about the mind body connection, the importance of inclusion, and the double empathy problem.
Boundaries have blurred during the pandemic. Many work from home (or work at home), and we are more connected than ever. Boundaries are a vital part of mental health and wellness. There are many types of boundaries: physical, emotional, mental, etc. They can be too loose and they also can be too rigid. In other words, they are complicated!
In this episode, I talk with Dr. Annie Levin, a psychologist with Alicia's Place in Chesapeake, VA. She specializes in working with individuals who have experienced trauma and is an expert in helping people set appropriate and healthy boundaries.
Find out more about Alicia's Place at https://alicias.place/
Navigating the special education system is complicated! In this episode I talk with Kim Glassman, a local education attorney, about what an IEP is, how that differs from a 504 plan, and what parents can do to advocate for their children's educational needs.
Exercise is am important part of self care but it's hard! Dr. Jacki Darby and I chat about why it can be so hard to start an exercise program and give some advice on how to get yourself started on a program.
Remember, every body can move!
Video games have always been a hot topic, but how dangerous are they really? I break this down with video game psychologist, Dr. Kelli Dunlap.
Prior to the pandemic, there was a push to get kids (and adults!) off screens. Then the pandemic hit and screens became a lifeline for many. Still, this technology is not without its downsides. In this episode, I speak with safe-screen advocate, Lisa Cline, about screens, tracking, and the impact on our kids.
Forgiveness is hard and takes work. It is not as simple as saying the words; to truly forgive, we have to work through the emotions we are experiencing that are associated with it. In this episode, I speak with Dom Skinner about her journey with forgiveness.
Be sure to check out Dom's book,
Let's Talk: Changing the Narrative and Seeing My Mother as Human
Youth sports have so many benefits, in addition to the physical health benefits. Children who play sports tend to have high levels of self esteem, as less likely to smoke, and in general feel less isolated. They have a greater sense of connectedness and community.
On this episode, I speak with Coach Ali, the SVHS Varsity Girls' Basketball Coach and the Youth Program Director for the Germantown Lady Panthers. Check out more about the Lady Panthers' program here: https://sites.google.com/view/glpbasketball
The past two years have been full of traumatic events. There have been natural disasters, terrorist attacks, a refugee crisis, protests, and an attack on the US Capitol, just to name a few. And let's not forget about the pandemic. In this episode, I speak to two trauma therapists, Dr. Sarah Farnaby and Jennifer Fuentes, about the past few years and what we can do to cope with constant stress.
In January 2022, a group of mothers gathered together in Boston to let out a primal scream. Many working parents could relate to that. In this extended episode, I talk with two working mothers about their experiences parenting young children during the pandemic.