Tony Mantor: Why Not Me ?

(Show Notes) What if addiction isn't the real problem? In this powerful episode of Why Not Me? Embracing Autism and Mental Health Worldwide , Tony Mantor sits down with psychologist, TEDx speaker, and bestselling author Dr. Adi Jaffe to challenge everything we've been taught about addiction, recovery, trauma, and personal transformation. Drawing from both his professional expertise and his own rem...

Show Notes What happens when the diagnosis changes, the struggle feels endless, and hope seems impossible to find? In this episode of Why Not Me? , Tony Mantor sits down with writer and journalist Meg LeDuc to discuss her personal journey through depression, anxiety, psychosis, suicide attempts, self-harm, recovery, and ultimately healing. Meg shares how years of misdiagnosis, hospitalization, and...

Send us Fan Mail Show Notes What happens when the systems designed to help people with serious mental illness become the very barriers preventing care? In Part 2 of this important conversation, Tony Mantor welcomes Dr. Aaron Meyer and Anne Marie Council for a candid discussion about the failures and possibilities within America's mental health system. Together, they explore why so many indivi...

Send us Fan Mail In this important episode of Why Not Me? Embracing Autism and Mental Health Worldwide , Tony Mantor sits down with Dr. Alan Meyer , psychiatrist and Behavioral Health Officer for the City of San Diego Fire-Rescue Department, and Ann Marie Council , retired Senior Deputy City Attorney and mental health policy advisor, for an in-depth discussion about the challenges facing today&apo...

Send us Fan Mail We talk with John Rolls about the Gremlin Club’s Sunday open mic in Camarthen and how it grows from a rehearsal night into a welcoming community where people leave their troubles at the door.  We dig into what real inclusion looks like for autism, mental health, and disability when the room treats everyone as equal and still makes space for what people need.  • how the Gremlin Clu...

Send us Fan Mail We sit with author Jerri Clark as he explains how severe mental illness can create a “gone but not gone” grief that families carry in silence.  We talk about ambiguous loss, why closure often never comes, and how to keep living with love and meaning even when the outcome is out of our control.  • Jerri’s story of losing his son through psychosis, system failures, and suicide  • Wh...

Send us Fan Mail We sit down with former U.S. Representative Patrick Kennedy to get specific about what a real national mental health strategy looks like and why the current system wastes money while people end up isolated, hospitalized, incarcerated, or living on the streets.  We dig into integrated care, schools-based prevention, telehealth, and the rising risks of AI so listeners walk away with...

Send us Fan Mail We talk with former U.S. representative Patrick Kennedy about why mental health parity still fails in practice and what it takes to make insurers and employers cover care that actually works.  We keep coming back to one idea: real change happens when we build power and design a system that rewards early help, long-term outcomes, and community support.  • Barriers to full enforceme...

Send us Fan Mail We sit down with Colorado State Senator Judy Amabile to connect one family’s painful path through serious mental illness to the laws that decide whether people get treatment or get pushed into homelessness and the courts.  We talk honestly about psychosis, stigma, and the hard policy choices behind civil commitment, Medicaid rules, and building enough beds to stop the cycle. • Her...

Send us Fan Mail We sit down with Virginia State Senator Creigh Deeds to talk about how personal loss turns into a long-term push for mental health reform that actually survives the news cycle.  We focus on what legislation can change, what funding really buys, and why the mental health workforce crisis is the wall every good idea hits.  • his path from rural public service to mental health advoca...

Send us Fan Mail We sit down with former Maine State Senator John Nutting to talk about why serious mental illness belongs in the medical system, not the jail system, and how court ordered treatment can keep people alive and communities safer. We walk through Maine’s Progressive Treatment Plan, the fight to fund and implement it, and what families can do to push for mental health legislation that...

Send us Fan Mail We talk with Iowa State Representative Ann Meyer about how mental health legislation gets built and why access to care still fails families in crisis.  We dig into provider shortages, the fight for mandatory follow-up after commitment, and how constituents can move lawmakers with personal stories and local relationships.  • her path from nursing to the Iowa House and why constitue...

Send us Fan Mail We sit down with Connecticut State Senator Christine Cohen and advocate Denise Paley to unpack how mental health legislation gets built, watered down, and sometimes rescued through strategy and coalition work.  We focus on crisis intervention training, prison mental health care, and the hard questions around rights, re-entry, and what real accountability looks like.  • Senator Coh...

Send us Fan Mail We sit down with Massachusetts Senator Cindy Friedman to talk about how mental health laws change real access to care, and why families still hit walls even when “parity” exists. We dig into AOT, crisis diversion, insurance limits, and the practical fixes that keep people out of ERs and jails.  • her personal path into serious mental illness advocacy and why systems matter  • what...

Send us Fan Mail We talk with Washington State Senator Manka Dhingra about why mental health care so often lands in the justice system and what it takes to change that through smart legislation and real implementation.  We dig into funding, workforce, 988 crisis response, diversion programs, and how communities can push practical mental health reform that actually reaches people.  • her path from...

Send us Fan Mail We sit down with former Congressman and psychologist Tim Murphy to show how mental health laws really get made and why “good ideas” often get changed or stripped before they ever help families.  We dig into Medicaid rules, treatment access, psychosis risks, and the hard truth that silence is how broken systems stay in place.  • the real path of a bill from idea to compromise to fi...

Send us Fan Mail We bring together seven voices to face the hardest question families live with: when severe mental illness and psychosis take over, what does “choice” really mean. We share what it looks like when schools, hospitals, and law enforcement treat brain illness like behavior, and we lay out concrete steps that can shorten the gap to real care. • capacity and consent when someone refuse...

Send us Fan Mail We sit with seven voices to name what happens when psychosis and serious mental illness are misunderstood, under-treated, and pushed into jails, courts, and the streets. We challenge the quiet standard of neglect and outline what it takes to turn awareness into policy, funding, and care that actually saves lives.  • failures in jail-based competency restoration and medication cont...

Send us Fan Mail We bring together seven voices to talk honestly about serious mental illness and why families are pushed to wait for crisis before help is allowed. We challenge outdated laws, uneven state systems, and stigma while naming practical fixes that can make outpatient care real and measurable.  • mental health codes built for inpatient care in an outpatient world  • step-up assisted out...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Rachel Moseley on Autistic Suicide Prevention, Masking, Misdiagnosis, and Autistic Menopause Host Tony Mantor in Nashville welcomes returning guest Dr. Rachel Mosley to discuss her UK-based research on autistic suicidality, self-injury, masking/burnout, misdiagnosis, and menopause. Mosley explains that changes in autistic suicide rates are hard to track due to delayed and inco...

Send us Fan Mail Transforming Trauma into Purpose: John King's Journey on Why Not Me In this episode of Why Not Me, embracing Autism and Mental Health Worldwide, host Tony Mantor interviews John King, a trauma recovery advocate, author, speaker, and survivor. John shares his compelling journey from being trafficked and abused as a child to becoming a prominent advocate for trauma recovery, ne...

Send us Fan Mail Steph West on Building Starfish Social Club: Social Skills, Neurodivergent Friendship, and Helpful Social Feedback Host Tony Mantor in Nashville introduces “Why Not Me: Embracing Autism and Mental Health Worldwide” and interviews Steph West, founder and director of Starfish Social Club in San Antonio, Texas, which runs small-group social skills programs for neurodivergent kids and...

Send us Fan Mail Embracing Autism and Mental Health: A Conversation with Anne Grady In this episode of 'Why Not Me,' hosted by Tony Mantor in Nashville, Tennessee, guest Anne Grady shares her profound journey navigating autism and mental health. Anne, an author, speaker, and advocate, discusses her experiences raising her son Evan, who has multiple diagnoses including autism, severe ment...

Send us Fan Mail Danny Combs on Buildable, TACT, and Expanding Trade-Based Careers for Autistic and Neurodivergent People Host Tony Mantor welcomes Danny Combs to discuss progress since their last conversation on creating meaningful employment pathways for autistic and neurodivergent individuals. Combs shares receiving a Congressional Mentor of Honor Society Citizen Honor Award and being appointed...

Send us Fan Mail Late Autism Diagnoses, Music, and Seeing Family Through a New Lens with Liam Edward Golder Host Tony Mantor welcomes listeners to Why Not Me: Embracing Autism and Mental Health Worldwide and interviews Liam Edward Golder, a London-born music PR professional and songwriter now living in New York. Liam shares discovering his own autism later in life after his father was diagnosed ar...