Mental Health Download: Exploring Mental Illness, Suicide, Homelessness and Incarceration

On today’s episode, we’re in Oklahoma City for part 2 of our interview with three city councilors for an in-depth conversation about the theme of this year’s Zarrow Mental Health Symposium, which is Healing from Historical Trauma. Our jumping-off point is the HBO series Watchmen. It prominently features the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. Read transcript highlights here: mhaok.org/podcasts

On today’s episode, we’re in Oklahoma City to interview three city councilors about the historic Maps 4 vote. The 1-cent sales tax that passed will be used to fund 16 civic projects estimated to cost nearly $978 million. This includes $50 million for affordable housing. $40 million will provide new mental health and substance abuse services designed to relieve pressure on the Oklahoma County jail....

Our guest is the internationally known portraitist Joel Daniel Phillips. His 2018 hardcover book of brilliant art is called “No Regrets in Life.” It includes his larger-than-life drawings of people “living on the margins” in San Francisco. Joel’s drawings have been exhibited at institutions and galleries across the United States as well as abroad, including the Smithsonian National Portrait Galler...

On today’s episode, our guest is Jesse Ulrich, of Podcasts For Good. He helps organizations and nonprofits learn how to produce their own podcasts. Jesse also has a podcast called Pod 4 Good. You can hear it on all your favorite podcast listening apps. The reason we asked Jesse to come on the show is to have a fun conversation about the power of podcasts to share a nonprofit’s work with the commun...

We’ve invited Tahira Taqi back to talk about her work as the Senior Project Manager for Urban Strategies on the Eugene Field choice neighborhood project here in Tulsa. Tahira will give us all the details, but, in short, within 5 years, 25 acres of land will be cleared and rebuilt, as the Tulsa Housing Authority carries out the mandate of the $30 million federal grant to transform the neighborhood...

On this week's Mental Health Download podcast, Eden Nay talks in detail about The Prism Project, a far-reaching, needs-assessment survey that was commissioned to raise awareness about issues related to Tulsa's sexual and gender minority community, also known as the LGBTQ+ community. Read the Prism Report here:  http://www.ou.edu/tulsa/about/diversityandinclusion/lgbtq

This week's guest is Andy Moore, of the Let's Pod This podcast and the nonprofit Let's Fix This advocacy organization based in Oklahoma City. Let's Fix This is a grassroots effort to get regular, everyday people involved in politics. Andy's also a Licensed Professional Counselor who believes that taking the time to listen and build relationships with elected officials and between neighbors will pa...

On this week’s episode, our own resident movie expert, Michael Huber, interviews his former professor, Dr. Victoria Sturtevant, of the University of Oklahoma. Professor Sturtevant teaches courses on film history, theory and criticism. After the Mental Health Download released an episode about how “The Joker” stigmatized mental illness, Michael asked Dr. Sturtevant to discuss the portrayal of menta...

Our guest is Scott Blackburn. Scott is a Mental Health Association Oklahoma Homeless Outreach & Rapid Response team member. Scott worked alongside investigators searching for the 1921 Race Massacre mass graves. One possible site is located in what is now an encampment for people experiencing homelessness.

On this week's episode, we talk with Lucinda Morte. She plays a key role in Mental Health Association Oklahoma's free resource referral line. Lucinda is a mental health professional who is always ready to work with people to help navigate through the complex mental health system. Call the Referral Line Monday-Friday, 8:30 am-5 pm 918.585.1213 or 405.943.3700. You may also send an email to info@mha...

On today’s bonus episode of the Mental Health Download, our CEO, Mike Brose, interviews his longtime friend and collaborator Tricia Mason. Trish is a licensed professional counselor and Chief Operations Officer of 12 & 12 in Tulsa. 12&12 is the largest Comprehensive Community Addiction Recovery Center in the state. Trish has also facilitated several of Mental Health Association Oklahoma’s...

On this week's episode, co-hosts Matt Gleason and Kristy Sturgill talk with Stephanie Cherry and Angie Almond. Stephanie and Angie are two of the most dedicated suicide prevention advocates in Oklahoma. They both live in Piedmont, Oklahoma, which has had an average of five suicide incidents, attempts and deaths by suicide per year for the past four years. One suicide is too many. Together they tal...

On this week's episode, we celebrate the grand opening of Mental Health Association Oklahoma's innovative CoffeeFirst employment program on Giving Tuesday, the global day of giving.  We talk with... Clara Correa, who oversees the CoffeeFirst program for the Association... Tyler Duncan, of Topeca Coffee Roasters Mary Burchett, of Bank of America, and Maria Morris, an inspirational CoffeeFirst...

Ashley Gunnells is hilarious but she's also experienced seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Ashley and our host, Matt, talk about how they cope with both the happy and the SAD. They offer plenty of tips from the National Institute of Mental Health and do a fair bit of giggling. This is one you don't want to miss.

On this week’s episode, our guest is the ever-amazing Dr. Jedediah Bragg, of the Anne and Henry Zarrow School of Social Work. We asked Jedediah to be on the show because he is training his wonder dog, Koa, to be a therapy dog. To be clear, Jedediah is not training Koa to be his personal therapy dog. Rather, he’s training Koa to be a therapy dog for the community. In essence, Koa is a furry social...

On today’s episode, our guest is Theresa Nguyen. Theresa works for Mental Health America (MHA) to help people across the nation have greater access to mental health care through policy and programming. Along with supporting MHA’s federal and state policy agenda, Theresa manages various programs including MHA Screening, The State of Mental Health in America, and Workplace Wellness.  Theresa’s...

On today’s episode we’re going to discuss the ripple effects of more than 450 people having their drug possession and low-level theft sentences commuted. These individuals have already served one year for drug and property theft crimes that are now considered misdemeanors.  The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board staff said 462 people were eligible for such release, totaling about 1,690 years of...

"Joker" is the No. 1 R-rated movie of all-time. It features a gripping performance by Joaquin Phoenix that has everyone talking. On this episode, Mike Brose, CEO of Mental Health Association Oklahoma, gives his perspective on the film and helps answer whether or not "Joker" stigmatizes mental illness.

On today’s episode, we’re going to give you highlights from day 2 of the Zarrow Mental Health Symposium keynote sessions. First up, we'll hear from Dr. Chan Hellman. Dr. Hellman is a professor in the Anne & Henry Zarrow School of Social Work and Founding Director of the Hope Research Center. He defines hope as the belief that the future will be better and you have the power to make it so. Dr....

Listen to the highlights from Day 1 of the Zarrow Mental Health Symposium keynote sessions.  First, Esmé Weijun Wang shares personal stories highlighting her experiencing living with severe mental illness. She challenges to the audience to expand their view of what recovery and resilience really means.  Then, listen to Stephanie Covington discusses women in the "criminal injustice system...

Tahira Taqi is a proud American Muslim, community member and social justice advocate. She works as the Senior Project Manager for Urban Strategies on the Eugene Field choice neighborhood project and continues to be involved in area nonprofits and advocacy efforts. In this episode, Mike Brose, CEO of Mental Health Association Oklahoma, talks with Tahira about racism, inclusion, mental health and wh...

Today our guest is Kristy K. Boone. Kristy is from Oklahoma City but she’s kindly come to Tulsa to record this episode in our studio. Kristy’s primary passion is teaching others how to communicate with empathy and authenticity in a digital age. Her passion also translates into her corporate interactive workshops, adapting improv-based exercises. Kristy is also a professional improviser, actor, wri...

Tim Landes Jr is a storyteller. In this episode, the TulsaPeople magazine writer and editor tells the story of his mom, who has experienced mental illness and homelessness. Now she has a safe place to live and is doing great in her recovery. Wendi Fralick is the Chief Administrative Officer for Mental Health Association Oklahoma. She interviews Tim in this episode because she knows his story so we...

Today our guest is our friend Joe Hight. Joe is a journalism professor, columnist, writer, consultant and a bookstore owner. His newspaper career as an editor, director, managing editor or reporter spanned for 35 years. His new book is “Unnecessary Sorrow: A Journalist Investigates the Life and Death of His Oldest Brother: Ordained, Discarded, Slain by Police.” It took Joe more than a decade to wr...

Welcome to part 2 of our exploration of psychosis. Today I’m so excited that our guest is psychosis expert, Dr. Jessica Bernard, of Texas A&M University. Dr. Bernard’s research supports the theory that problems in a particular brain circuit contribute to the disorganized thinking seen in patients with schizophrenia. She’s here to talk in detail about psychosis and to give us tips for people ex...