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People Need Help, Not Handcuffs: Mental Illness and the Criminal Justice System
People with mental illness are significantly overrepresented in our nation’s jails and prisons. Each year, roughly two million people with serious mental illness are booked into jail. Nearly 2 in 5 individuals in state and federal prisons—and 44% of those in local jails—have a history of mental illness. March is National Criminal Justice Month, a […]
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Bridging the Gap: Why Black Voices Must Shape Mental Health Research
My journey with mental health didn’t just shape my perspective; it led me to this work. As Director of Mental Health Equity Innovation at NAMI, I bring both professional expertise and personal lived experience to the fight for mental health equity. I know firsthand the impact of being overlooked, misdiagnosed, and misunderstood. That’s why I’m […]
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From Anxiety to Advocacy: How Pharmacogenomic Testing Helped My Mental Health Journey
I was diagnosed with general anxiety disorder when I was very young—I think I may have been in elementary school. Those early years in school were tough for me. When I got to Fayetteville, I got really involved in pageantry and was crowned Miss Teen Arkansas. I loved the traditions, camaraderie, and the community work […]
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Four Decades of Resilience: One Family’s Perspective on Our Mental Health System
My daily work keeps me busy with priorities focused on developing strategies and initiatives launching and commercializing holistic therapies that have vast potential to impact lives in the mental health space. Healthcare has always been endlessly fascinating to me, but this work is especially close to my heart. Over the last four decades, my family […] -
From Gang Member to Mental Health Advocate
I grew up in an inner-city community in San Diego, California, called “Southeast.” This area has always been known for crime, drugs and — most notably — gangs. Despite my family’s well-intentioned efforts to keep me away from gangs, the gang culture still pulled me in.
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How EMDR Healed My Trauma
It is through my own experience with loud sound as the most healing salve I have ever known that I recognize how deeply many of us want to feel better. -
How Research Is Advancing Our Understanding of OCD
It is important to emphasize the pivotal role that research occupies in shaping the trajectory of mental health treatment. -
Finding Treatment and Breaking the Cycle of Intergenerational Depression
The important thing is to ask for help and muster up the strength to follow through. -
The Reality of “High Functioning” Depression
I seemingly had my life “in order,” but in reality, I was barely hanging on. -
Building Connections: How Relationships and Time with Peers Can Improve Mental Health
One factor we can control is the quality and quantity of our children's connection to peers.