Mental Health: Hope and Recovery

Gratitude and celebration are fundamental building blocks of mental health; both practices have figured frequently in previous episodes. This time, Helen and Valerie take their own advice and stop to recognize recent landmarks for the podcast. Mental Health: Hope and Recovery has just reached its five-year anniversary and the completion of its 65th episode. They provide a portrait of their goal to...

This is an indispensable look at why individual and community relationships are the cornerstone for healing and recovery. As old as humankind, the great necessity for human connection is nowhere more critical than in the battle for mental health. The flip side is the dangerous, sometimes lethal, impact of isolation on mental and physical health. The episode examines why human relationships are cri...

Mental Health: Hope and Recovery Episode Title: How Helen and Valerie (Mostly) Outsmart Negativity Episode 63 | Duration 47:45 Hosts: Helen Sneed & Valerie Milburn EPISODE OVERVIEW On the brink of the new year, Valerie and Helen do a deep search into the reasons why new year’s resolutions so often end in failure and negativity. From their exploration, the ways to outsmart negativity and to pursue...

In this in-depth and hope-filled episode of Mental Health: Hope and Recovery, hosts Helen Sneed and Valerie Milburn welcome DBT expert Penny Kruger, LCSW-S, for a powerful conversation about Dialectical Behavior Therapy and why it continues to change lives. Building on their previous DBT episode, Helen and Valerie explore how DBT works in real-world clinical settings, why it is more than just a th...

In this special solo episode, Valerie shares her favorite mindfulness exercises from the past year—practices that support calm, clarity, and emotional balance in recovery. She explores what mindfulness truly is, how to build a simple and successful meditation habit, and four guided exercises drawn from listener-favorite episodes of 2025. You’ll learn how to: Personalize your meditation practice Us...

Mental Health: Hope and Recovery Episode Title: Dialectical Behavior Therapy – The Journey from Pain to Purpose Episode 60 | Duration 45:00 Episode Date: November 26, 2025 Hosts: Helen Sneed and Valerie Milburn EPISODE OVERVIEW Named one of the top 100 scientific inventions, Dialectical Behavior Therapy has successfully guided and supported into recovery hundreds of thousands battling mental illne...

In this enlightening episode of Mental Health: Hope and Recovery, Helen Sneed and Valerie Milburn delve into the transformative practice of mindfulness and its profound impact on mental health. Mindfulness can effectively combat anxiety, depression and many other psychological conditions. Both hosts recount personal stories that highlight the challenges they faced in grasping the essence of mindfu...

    Anxiety disorder is the most prevalent mental illness in the U.S. and worldwide. Twenty percent of Americans, 40 million people, suffer from an anxiety disorder. The disorder can have a devastating impact on society and the individual, and can be particularly damaging to the human brain. Experts caution that an anxiety disorder requires treatment for the person to recover. The good news is tha...

What does a skilled therapist with an exceptional background think of therapy and how to effectively treat people battling mental illnesses? From advice on how to choose the right therapist to attachment issues to Ketamine treatment in conjunction with psychotherapy, Samantha Potthoff delivers priceless information and insights gained though her extensive practice in the field of mental health. He...

Bipolar disorder is one of the toughest of all mental illnesses. Personal stories about the complexity and severity of bipolar symptoms and behaviors represent great challenges for those fighting for recovery, their friends, family, and many professionals in the psychiatric field. Firsthand accounts provide invaluable information and inspiration when an individual recounts battles and triumphs ove...

The subject of happiness is a new area of research and study in the mental health field. In a complete reversal of psychiatric tradition, the emphasis and exploration are not about what makes you weak and sick, but rather, what makes you healthy and happy. In this episode, Valerie and Helen confront this gargantuan subject: happiness and mental health. And they approach it from a new perspective. ...

Setbacks are commonplace in most lives, but for individuals with mental health issues, they can be devastating or even lethal. Helen and Valerie are well-versed in setbacks throughout their long journeys to their lives in recovery today. This episode’s remarkable guest, Phoenix Wang, speaks with great candor and eloquence about their lifelong struggle with borderline personality disorder and chron...

Throughout a decade of making presentations, Helen and Valerie are often asked, “What can I do when my family member with mental health issues refuses treatment?” A tough situation and difficult to answer until they discovered “When a Family Member Refuses Mental Health Treatment.” They explore this groundbreaking book with co-author Gary Mitchell, a seasoned clinician, researcher and innovator in...

The significance and complexities of the family’s role during a loved one’s psychiatric crisis led Valerie and Helen to devote a five-episode series to the topic. This fifth and final episode of the series is filled with invaluable professional advice with guest Lisa Powell-Watts, a seasoned psychotherapist of 40 years.  Please visit the first four episodes of this series for an in-depth explorati...

Family members’ responses to and support of their loved one who lives with a mental health condition often includes a steep learning curve, uncertainty, misunderstanding, and yes, much love. Each family also has its own journey.  In this episode, we hear from Rebecca as she shares her story of how her family has navigated her mental health struggles and now her life in recovery.  Rebecca offers us...

In Part 3 of their in-depth series on the impact of a psychiatric crisis on the family, the topic is the parents’ perspectives and stories of the intricate roles of a parent when dealing with a child with mental health issues. Two guest parents speak with unflinching candor and deep personal knowledge about their family experiences. Over many years, their challenges have evolved into rich insights...

With the holidays all around, this episode is an annual tradition for Helen and Valerie. For some of us, this time of year is emotionally charged due to the pressures and expectations of the holidays. Individuals can become stressed out, depressed, anxious, exhausted. For others, the joys of the season also can create the need for emotional downtime. Valerie and Helen offer a perfect gift for anyo...

In Part Two of the series Family Dynamics in a Psychiatric Crisis, Valerie and Helen have a frank, candid conversation with Valerie’s sister and husband, who were the principal caregivers during her severe mental illnesses and behaviors. The result is Caregivers Talk Turkey to Caregivers, where they explain the knowledge, relationships, coping skills, and self-care that allowed them to persevere t...

When a family member faces a mental health challenge, family relationships can become formidable and problematic, while being loving and supportive, as well. The complicated nature of these relationships has launched Helen and Valerie on a five-episode series – The Family Dynamics of a Psychiatric Crisis. Their goal is to define and demystify the impact of mental illness on the family; and to enli...

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is so vast and perplexing, Valerie and Helen devoted two episodes to OCD. They discovered a complex and harrowing mental illness often trivialized and misunderstood by those who don’t have it. To legitimize the severity of the disorder, they turned to the experts. In Part Two, their searching questions are answered by a seasoned OCD professional, Dr. Ginny Fullerton. ...

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, OCD, is an illness many people trivialize because they don’t understand it. OCD proved to be a condition so vast and complex that Valerie and Helen divided it into two episodes. In this first episode, they explore the components of OCD: diagnosis, causes, symptoms, treatment, and hope for recovery. To fully enlighten listeners, there is the firsthand account from Mel...

Eating disorders are pernicious and powerful, with dangerous symptoms and sometimes lethal consequences. However, researchers and scientists are developing effective methods to treat them. Valerie and Helen share some of the most recent breakthroughs in eating disorders treatment.  Though these disorders are damaging and destructive, a life in recovery with an eating disorder is possible, as we he...

The Healing Power of Animals and Pets is a revelation and celebration for Helen, Valerie and listeners everywhere. The positive impact of animals on people with mental health challenges is as uplifting as it is irrefutable. Science shows that the closeness and touch of a pet can stimulate mood-enhancing hormones in the brain; help with emotional regulation; ward off depression and sadness; promote...

In this important episode, Valerie and Helen explore the subject of work and its critical role in recovery. For people with a mental health condition, work is a weighty challenge that can evoke anxiety and fear, hopes and dreams. Given their extensive backgrounds in the workplace, both successes and the inability to have a job due to acute mental illnesses, Helen and Valerie understand the great b...

 In this episode, Valerie and Helen pursue the holy grail of recovery—thriving in the aftermath of mental illness. For centuries, the ability to thrive would seem almost inconceivable, as traditional treatments focused on the cessation of symptoms and basic survival. But recent studies prove that thriving is possible, even for those who’ve suffered from severe, long-term illness or multiple diagno...