Mental Health News Radio

Counselors Melissa Richards and Melanie Vann with host Kristin Sunanta Walker on our weekly Empowered Empath show. Today's episode is about being a highly sensitive/highly empathic person and trying to figure out where you end and another person begins. Monitering who we surround ourselves with and how their emotional temperature is affecting yours. A lot of laughter on this show!   www.mentalhealthnewsradio.com

Ruth Backstrom, Marketing and Outreach Director of Trusted Sharing, joins us to discuss a not-only-for-profit social venture with important mission and visions for social impact, including:  Helping individuals, groups, organizations, and communities increase their coherence and effectiveness.Enabling Whole Society Conversations – that use and increase the wisdom of the whole. Spreading positive experiences and understanding of collaborative methods to wider populations. Trusted sharing is currently a lean start-up that has been focusing primarily on product design, development and testing with user groups for the last 2+ years.  They now have a fully functioning and valuable product which they are continuing to build upon as they begin to grow. Located in Asheville, NC, which is an ideal location for our company, not only because of the beauty of the surrounding mountains, but also because Asheville is the home of a large community of professional group facilitators, and many community groups and organizations that understand, train, or practice collaborative methods.  The Asheville community also reflects many diverse perspectives – an ideal place for practicing and innovating better methods for dialogue and “whole-society” collaboration. Our most important resources are our team members and our advisors. www.trustedsharing.com

Jean Campbell joins Beck Gee-Cohen and host Kristin Sunanta Walker to discuss how psychodrama therapy is utilized in treating trauma. Jean Campbell, LCSW, TEP is a Board Certified Trainer and Practitioner of Psychodrama and Sociometry, a Trainer and Practitioner of Psychodramatic Bodywork®, a Reiki Master and a nationally known expert in psychodrama, trauma resolution, addiction/codependency recovery and Somatic Psychotherapy.  Her extensive clinical, teaching and training experience has included as Family Program Director at Inter-Care in New York City, as Clinical Director at Clearview Treatment Programs in Los Angeles, as Program Faculty at MD Anderson Cancer Center’s I*CARE Program, as Instructor at UCLA Extension’s Addiction Studies Program, as Faculty at San Diego University for Integrative Studies, as Founder and Director of Action Institute of California and Moonlight Workshops, and as Co-Creator and Trainer of Action Intervention Training™.  As Co-Founder & Executive Director of Xhale Retreats, Jean provides personal growth workshops for families, couples and individuals, and facilitates training and personal growth workshops for professionals. Jean brings her own 28-year journey of recovery to every workshop she facilitates, and believes that what we can’t do alone, we can do together. Jean Campbell and Beck Gee-Cohen were presenters at the 2016 NCAD National Conference on Addiction Disorders.  www.xhaleretreats.com www.theactioninstitute.com

Welcome back author, certified life coach, and certified mindfulness meditation teacher Ora Nadrich to Mental Health News Radio. We check in with Ora on how her book Says Who? has been doing since our last show in March (wonderfully). Ora is one of those people that spreads so much well-being to everyone around her, we didn't want the show to end! Sit back and enjoy more of her wisdom around mindful thinking and how your thoughts can change your life! www.oranadrich.com Read her full blog article here.

Join author, speaker, and expert, Dan Griffin, on what it means to be a man in the 21st century. Dan delves into the subject around men and body image. Men suffer from their own trauma around body image but this is not a subject widely discussed in our society. It's an issue many men don't even realize they have but affects them heavily in their personal relationships. Listen in as Dan shares from his personal experience and those of other brave men who have shared their histor. Host Kristin Walker dives in with Dan for a candid, open, and authentic discussion. For more information about Dan, please visit his website at www.dangriffin.com.

Sam Webb is in the house speaking with counselor Melanie Vann and host Kristin Sunanta Walker! He's was on Mental Health News Radio in March of 2016 talking about mental health awareness and suicide prevention. We heard about Sam from The National Council for Behavioral Health. Sam and his good friend and co-founder Casey Lyons were inspired to create Livin after the suicide of their friend Dwayne in September of 2013.  As it happens we catch up with Sam on the anniversary of Dwayne's passing. Livin has grown so fast and become a global outreach organizaton helping spread the word about mental health. Sam let's us in on what they've been up to and we discuss his being one of the contestants on the Australian Version of Survivor. He's also working with documentary film maker Kevin Hines of The Ripple Effect. We leave a surprise for you at the end of the show. It's one that tells the story of how great people can be positive forces for good in this world!  Enjoy the show. www.livin.org.au #itaintweaktospeak  

Join counselors Melanie Vann and Melissa Richards with host Kristin Sunanta Walker as they talk about boundaries. An important word on the journey towards self-care. As usual we offer personal examples of where we've traveled on the road to healthy boundaries with clinical and spiritual talk mixed in!   As always, let us know if you have any questions or thoughts from this much needed discussion. www.mentalhealthnewsradio.com

Join Kristin Walker and Dan Griffin as they discuss spiritual abuse with Dr. Jamie Marich. This is a misunderstood topic that deserves more of a voice in behavioral health.  We get into it on Mental Health News Radio. Jamie Marich, Ph.D., LPCC-S, LICDC-CS, REAT, RMT travels internationally speaking on topics related to EMDR, trauma, addiction, and mindfulness while maintaining a private practice in her home base of Warren, OH. She is the developer of the Dancing Mindfulness practice (www.dancingmindfulness.com). Jamie is the author of EMDR Made Simple: 4 Approaches for Using EMDR with Every Client (2011), Trauma and the Twelve Steps: A Complete Guide for Recovery Enhancement (2012), and Trauma Made Simple: Competencies in Assessment, Treatment, and Working with Survivors. Her newest book, Dancing Mindfulness: A Creative Path to Healing and Transformation is released in the Fall of 2015. For more information about Dr. Marich visit www.drjamiemarich.com. Read her excellent article on this topic here. For more information about Dan Griffin visit www.dangriffin.com and @authordangriffin on social media.  

Take a walk with Dan Griffin as he turns the tables on our host Kristin Sunanta Walker. The interviewer gets interviewed! No prep work ahead of time. Kristin had no idea the questions he would ask. Candid as usual, they both keep it real which is the hallmark of Mental Health News Radio.   For more information about Dan, please visit www.dangriffin.com. 

Join counselor Melanie Vann and host Kristin Sunanta Walker to discuss the emotional and physical aftermath of implementing no or low contact with a toxic person. Several listeners of the show asked for us to cover this topic and give the "for real" account of what survivors go through once they've disconnected from a narcissist.   For more information go to www.mentalhealthnewsradio.com.

We met up with award winning songwriter Kathy Moser at the National Conference on Addiction Disorders. Kathy stepped into the media room to share the gifts of process of songwriting for people in recovery.   She has given performances and workshops at Gosnold on Cape Cod, Spring Hill Recovery, Daytop NJ and more! https://www.sonicbids.com/band/musicforrecovery/    

Join counselors Melanie Vann and Melissa Richards with host Kristin Sunanta Walker as they discuss trauma, narcissism and sexual dysfunction. We also talk about brain chemistry and how trauma can affect your ability to heal and recover from psychological abuse. 

Bill Connors, MSW, General Manager of Addiction Management and Treatment is responsible for go-to-market strategies and client relationships within Netsmart’s Addiction Community and product development in our Abstinence based and Medication Assisted Treatment providers. Connors joined Netsmart’s executive team from Sequest, following its acquisition by Netsmart in 2011. He had served as the company’s chief executive officer. Prior to working at Sequest, Connors was chief information officer of a large community mental health center in New Jersey. A licensed clinical social worker with experience in addiction treatment, inpatient psychiatric hospitals, public school system and in-home family therapy settings, Connors combines his passions for direct service and systems-based thinking and research in his role. Connors is a nationally-recognized expert on the subject of software implementation within behavioral health and substance use communities and he speaks regularly on the topic. He holds a master’s of social work and a bachelor’s degree in social work from Rutgers University. Connors is a member of the board of the Addiction Technology Transfer Center Network (ATTC), on the subcommittee of the Illinois Health Information Exchange (ILHIE), as well as several committees in New York where he is nationally charged with integrating behavioral healthcare and addiction services within regional health information exchanges. He has held chairman’s position several times for the Software and Technology Vendors Association.  Bill joins our host Kristin Sunanta Walker live from The National Conference on Addiction Disorders to discuss how Netsmart is focusing on serving the technology needs of the Addiction and Recovery market. www.ntst.com

From addiction, homelessness, and estrangement from family to teacher, Buddhist monk, author, and speaker. John Bruna was the one interview done live at The National Conference on Addiction Disorders where our host Kristin Sunanta Walker had to mute the mic and hold back some tears to get through this show. An empowering interview with a man on the path of true recovery.   www.mindfullifeprogram.org

Meaghan Jameson is in Business Development at Active Marketing: the premier firm in the Addiction and Recovery sector of Behavioral Health.  She is a creative, branding-focused marketing professional with a knack for organization and a love of intricate details that make businesses and events unique. After spearheading a Random Acts of Kindness roadtrip circumnavigating the USA, she realized her passion and skill set was best utilized helping others and making meaningful, lasting connections. Meaghan graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor’s in Recreation and Event Management and has been coordinating and executing events and marketing campaigns, both professionally and in her spare time, for the past 5 years. Currently, she is a Business Development Representative at Active Marketing, where she consults perspective partners on how to build their brand, develop their online presence, and improve the messaging through both print and digital collateral. She regularly attends Behavioral Health events and conferences to gain industry insights, build new relationships and foster existing partnerships. Meaghan joins us live from The National Conference on Addiction Disorders in Denver, CO. www.activemarketing.com