Penn Medicine Princeton House Behavioral Health is launching the second season of its award-winning podcast Mind on Mental Health.
This season kicks off just in time for Mental Illness Awareness Week, which is Oct. 3-9.
Andrew Dean, senior Community Relations specialist, with over a decade of experience helping various age groups with mental health issues, including substance use, began to reflect on his work at Princeton House Behavioral Health and what he could do moving forward, according to information provided by Penn Medicine. Dean wanted to help those who were stuck at home not feel so isolated and alone.
According to an April 2021 public letter from Joshua A. Gordon, director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), “Several surveys, including those collected by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), have shown substantial increases in self-reported behavioral health symptoms. According to one CDC report, which surveyed adults across the U.S. in late June of 2020, 31% of respondents reported symptoms of anxiety or depression, 13% reported having started or increased substance use, 26% reported stress-related symptoms, and 11% reported having serious thoughts of suicide in the past 30 days. These numbers are nearly double the rates we would have expected before the pandemic. As in prior studies, this survey showed that risk factors for reporting anxiety symptoms or suicidal ideation included food insufficiency, financial concerns, and loneliness.”
Dean found a way to harness that insight to benefit people throughout the community, including behavioral health providers.
“My personal goal has always aligned with Princeton House’s mindset: it’s important to do anything we can for the community at large, especially during times of crisis when anxiety is skyrocketing,” Dean said in the statement. “We chose podcasts for their accessibility; you can listen to them even when washing dishes or going for a walk.”
The Mind on Mental Health Podcast, which received the 2020 Society for Healthcare Planning and Marketing Society of NJ-PeRCy Award, explores a variety of mental health and substance use related topics in under 30 minutes in the format of a casual conversation that is informative and easy to listen to.
Topics such as how to utilize positive coping skills, manage triggers or change your thought process are discussed in the first season.
Each podcast features interviews with therapists and psychiatrists from Penn Medicine Princeton House Behavioral Health.
The original 20 episodes have been downloaded more than 3,211 times in over 30 countries.
The podcast can be accessed for free through Apple and Spotify. Or, visit www.princetonhouse.org/podcast.
The second season will cover self-esteem, children, and the transition back to school after a year of virtual learning, as well as retirement, eating disorders and misnomers of mental health.
“Too often mental health and substance use symptoms and issues grow in the dark,” Dean said in the statement. “We need to normalize these honest conversations and shed some light on them. I hope this podcast continues to provide a starting point for others.”