Brain Stories

When you get an infection, you're liable to take a 7 day course of antibiotics. Get a mental health issue and you might take an hour of therapy. But what if instead, you got 7 full days of empathy --  with people who have been there. That's the promise of peer respite. Lindsay Mesa tells us how it works at Rosewood Cottage, a peer respite program in Vermont. In their first year, the results have been astonishing. And at much lower cost than a psychiatric hospital. 

To learn more about Pathways Vermont in general, click here. Our last episode highlighted another of their peer-based programs, Soteria House. Find that here!

To find out more specifically about Rosewood Cottage Peer Respite, click here. See the preliminary findings of their first year evaluation here. 

To read an excellent feature piece by MindSite News on a peer respite program in Georgia, click here.   MindSite is the only national news organization dedicated to covering mental health.  

Oh, and this episode is released on October 10th, World Mental Health Day. We hope you take some extra time today - and every day -  for yourself or your loved ones. 

Subscribe or follow Brain Stories so you never miss an episode. The next episode will be released in two weeks.

This episode was edited and co-produced by Kate Rusk-Kosa. Theme music comes to us from Paul Swartzel. It was executive produced by Frank Kosa and Janet Yang.

Find out more about this episode and the Brain Stories documentary series at www.BrainStoriesProductions.com.

This show is a copyright of Brain Stories Productions and the SamoBé Corporation. The use of this episode or any of its content in any form or way for Artificial Intelligence, its development or training is copyright infringement, and expressly prohibited without prior written agreement. 

California, 1971: A project called Soteria launched to study if people with psychosis fared better in psychiatric hospitals, or an environment that put listening and relationships first, medication and diagnoses second.  The results were astonishing.  In today's episode we talk with Betsy Hoekstra about the only Soteria House currently running in the United States today.     

Betsy works for Pathways Vermont, the agency that runs Soteria House.  She was on-staff at Soteria for three years, and has experienced "psychiatric incarceration" herself.  She lays out what sets Soteria apart from traditional hospitalization, why having a shared understanding of reality actually isn't that important, and how her own experience with state sanctioned violence radically changed the course of her life. 

To learn more about Soteria House, you can check out the Pathways Vermont website here. To see the semi-autobiographical book written about the very first Soteria House, Soteria: Through Madness to Deliverance, click here. 

Find a 10 minute video of Soteria residents in Vermont telling their stories here.

For a webinar on the past, present and future of Soteria, click here. 

Here's more information on some of the resources Betsy mentioned during the interview:

• Mad in America
• International Society for Psychological & Social Approaches to Psychosis (ISPS)
• Hearing Voices Network

Subscribe or follow Brain Stories so you never miss an episode. The next episode will be released in two weeks.

This episode was edited and co-produced by Kate Rusk-Kosa. Theme music comes to us from Paul Swartzel. It was executive produced by Frank Kosa and Janet Yang. 

Find out more about this episode and the Brain Stories documentary series at www.BrainStoriesProductions.com.

This show is a copyright of Brain Stories Productions and the SamoBé Corporation. The use of this episode or any of its content in any form or way for Artificial Intelligence, its development or training is copyright infringement, and expressly prohibited without prior written agreement. 

Expecting little, Judge Jim Bianco took an assignment to the low-prestige mental health court.  But it changed his career, and the lives of more than 16,000 people.  This is how Los Angeles County has crafted an astonishingly successful program to get those who are unhoused and live with serious mental health issues off the streets, out of jails and into permanent homes.  Called The Office of Diversion and Reentry, it may just be the solution this nation has desperately sought for more than 60 years. 

380,000 Jail days saved!  See the numbers at a glance here, and learn more about Los Angeles County's Office of Diversion and Reentry (ODR).  

See the 2022 article James Bianco wrote in the LA times here.

Read this insightful column by Steve Lopez from July, 2026 about another judge in ODR.  The article is also available at this yahoo link.  

Subscribe or follow Brain Stories so you never miss an episode. The next episode will be released in two weeks.

This episode was edited and co-produced by Kate Rusk-Kosa. Theme music comes to us from Paul Swartzel. It was executive produced by Frank Kosa and Janet Yang. 

Find out more about this episode and the Brain Stories documentary series at www.BrainStoriesProductions.com.

This show is a copyright of Brain Stories Productions and the SamoBé Corporation. The use of this episode or any of its content in any form or way for Artificial Intelligence, its development or training is copyright infringement, and expressly prohibited without prior written agreement. 

As a stand-up comedian, hilarious was Aidan Park's profession. But after the death of his partner sent him spiraling, he learned that stand-up and vulnerability were a combination so powerful, they saved lives. It was a secret he planned to widely publicize. So he founded The Yay Foundation to help others tell stories one punch-line at a time, for everyone's mental health.

You can find out more about his organization at its website, theyayfoundation.org.

You can order his book, The Art of Being Yay, at his own website, aidanpark.com.

Subscribe or follow Brain Stories so you never miss an episode. The next episode will be released in two weeks.

This episode was edited and co-produced by Kate Rusk-Kosa. Theme music comes to us from Paul Swartzel. It was executive produced by Frank Kosa and Janet Yang. 

Find out more about this episode and the Brain Stories documentary series at www.BrainStoriesProductions.com.

This show is a copyright of Brain Stories Productions and the SamoBé Corporation. The use of this episode or any of its content in any form or way for Artificial Intelligence, its development or training is copyright infringement, and expressly prohibited without prior written agreement. 

Welcome to Brain Stories Connections! Now available in video format available on our Youtube channel.   

Today, Rachel Star Withers talks about the hallucinations she has had since she was a kid, and how she learned to manage them. It became the basis of a brilliant children's book she has written. Rachel is buoyant, refreshingly open, and has forged a method to deal with hallucinations and depression that could help millions. 

Rachel is a speaker, entertainer, teacher and the host of a terrific podcast called Inside Schizophrenia. Check it out here. You can find out more about her on her webpage.

Her children's book, "The Adventures of _____________, volume 1" is available here. It includes a workbook and ought to be required reading for any child living with depression, ADHD or hallucinations - and anybody who is supporting those children. There are one part each for hallucinations, depression and ADHD - you can buy them individually if you prefer.  

Subscribe or follow Brain Stories so you never miss an episode. The next episode will be released in two weeks.

This episode was edited and co-produced by Kate Rusk-Kosa. Theme music comes to us from Paul Swartzel. It was executive produced by Frank Kosa and Janet Yang. 

Find out more about this episode and the Brain Stories documentary series at www.BrainStoriesProductions.com.

This show is a copyright of Brain Stories Productions and the SamoBé Corporation. The use of this episode or any of its content in any form or way for Artificial Intelligence, its development or training is copyright infringement, and expressly prohibited without prior written agreement. 

Welcome to Brain Stories Connections! Now available in a new video format available on our Youtube channel.   

Is the word "curating" often overused and pretentious? Yes, thanks for asking.  Nevertheless, Brain Stories is curating - sifting through the massive podcast landscape to present the very best of our recs.

In this episode, we recommend Look Again: Mental Illness Re-Examined.

It's the podcast of the British Columbia Schizophrenia Society (BCSS). Led by their CEO, Faydra Aldridge, BCSS has delivered invaluable services, support and education in Canada for years.  

This episode features an interview with Dr. Xavier Amador. We told his compelling chronicle in Episode 1 of Brain Stories; *this* is the perfect companion. 

With interviewer Myles Constable, Dr. Amador delves into why it will never work to tell someone their reality is false, their truth not true. And explains the value of his technique Listening, Empathizing, Agreeing and Partnering (LEAP).  

The episode ends with a short conversation about how important it is to tell stories about serious mental illness - something BCSS has done for years. Spoiler alert:  that interview is with Brain Stories EP, Frank Kosa. 

Go to the BCSS website because there is so much more to see. Or go straight to their podcast, Look Again, and binge.  

Find out more about Dr. Amador's LEAP method, videos and information at his website, leapinstitute.org. Btw, LEAP works with anyone who wants to be heard, seen and validated, that is, basically everyone.

Subscribe or follow Brain Stories so you never miss an episode. The next episode will be released in two weeks.

This episode was edited and co--produced by Kate Rusk-Kosa. Theme music comes to us from Paul Swartzel. It was executive produced by Frank Kosa and Janet Yang. 

Find out more about this episode and the Brain Stories documentary series at www.BrainStoriesProductions.com.

This show is a copyright of Brain Stories Productions and the SamoBé Corporation. The use of this episode or any of its content in any form or way for Artificial Intelligence, its development or training is copyright infringement, and expressly prohibited without prior written agreement. 

Welcome to Brain Stories Connections! And a new video format available on our Youtube channel.   

Gail Freedman's new film is just out. A documentary called "No One Cares About Crazy People," it was inspired by the book written by Pulitzer-prize winning journalist, Ron Powers. The film follows several people with serious mental illness and their families as they seek the most fundamental help against "inconceivable odds."

In her interview, Gail shares surprising insights, and opens up around her own experience of growing up with a mom who lived with borderline personality disorder. She's interviewed by Sarah Haufrect, whose mother also lived with borderline personality disorder.

For the latest information about where to stream "No One Cares About Crazy People" and to watch the trailer, go to https://noonecaresfilm.com/now-streaming/.

Ron Powers' book is deeply moving, and full of wry, hard-won insight. It's available at your local bookstore. Find the NY Times review of the book here.

Subscribe or follow Brain Stories so you never miss an episode. The next episode will be released in two weeks.

Sarah Haufrect was the episode producer. She is a writer and mental health activist. Check out her work at her website.  

This episode was edited and co-produced by Kate Rusk-Kosa. Theme music comes to us from Paul Swartzel. It was executive produced by Frank Kosa and Janet Yang. 

Find out more about this episode and the Brain Stories documentary series at www.BrainStoriesProductions.com.

This show is a copyright of Brain Stories Productions and the SamoBé Corporation. The use of this episode or any of its content in any form or way for Artificial Intelligence, its development or training is copyright infringement, and expressly prohibited without prior written agreement. 

Welcome to the last episode of Season 1 and the first episode of our new direction. This is Brain Stories Phase 2 - Good Ideas about Mental Health.

We kick off this new phase with uncommon lessons learned about mental health from the stories of the first 12 episodes. Then we dive into an interview with Dr. Steven Siegel. He led the creation of a new model for student health care that could radically change mental health care for absolutely everyone. 

What separates it from almost everything else? Instead of being crisis-activated, Dr. Siegel has instituted a system that quickly assesses mental health for incoming students, and provides immediate resources from wellness care to hospitalization. You can find out more about it at sites.usc.edu/counselingandmentalhealth.

You can learn more about Dr. Siegel at his webpage with the Keck School of Medicine.  

The episode producer was Kate Rusk-Kosa. 

We end this episode with a special treat! A soaring composition from our composer Paul Swartzel. For lots more good listening or to just spend a few minutes with creativity unleashed, check out his webpage at paulswartzel.com. 

We want to hear from you! Tell us your reaction to this episode. You can leave a text or regular old confidential voice message at (424) 240-9302. If you have a detailed story, it's even better to email us an audio message to [email protected].

Find out more about this episode and the Brain Stories documentary series at www.BrainStoriesProductions.com.

This show is a copyright of Brain Stories Productions and the SamoBé Corporation. The use of this episode or any of its content in any form or way for Artificial Intelligence, its development or training is copyright infringement, and expressly prohibited without prior written agreement. 

When Payal's brother developed mental illness, he moved back into his old bedroom in his parents' house. Where he stayed for more than 15 years, getting no help, not even seeing a doctor. This is the story of how an entire family can get completely stuck, and what Payal did to break free.

Fill out our first ever SURVEY! We want to hear about your experience with mental health care, good or bad. Find that survey here. You can do it in less than 2 minutes, & we may even use some of your response in our next episode!

Payal has educated hundreds of people through NAMI's Family-to-Family class. Help her continue this work at the Pomona Valley chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), by making a donation of any size. Just go to namipv.org and click on the donate button. 

No one manages mental illness alone. NAMI is a great place to get information, support, and connect with others.  To find an affiliate near you, visit nami.org/find-your-local-nami/. Their support groups and programs are free. 

The Episode Producer was Boen Wang whose other work can be found at boen.cool. 

The final episode of our first season is out on April 16th, so keep your ears out! 

Let us hear from you! Tell us your reaction to this episode. You can leave a text or regular old confidential voice message at (424) 240-9302. If you have a detailed story, it's even better to email us an audio message to [email protected].

Find out more about this episode and the Brain Stories documentary series at www.BrainStoriesProductions.com.

This show is a copyright of Brain Stories Productions and the SamoBé Corporation. The use of this episode or any of its content in any form or way for Artificial Intelligence, its development or training is copyright infringement, and expressly prohibited without prior written agreement. 

This is the second and final episode of Michael Stewart's story. He had beaten his craving for drugs and gotten into one of the very few programs that treat mental illness and drug use. Which meant, the hardest part was about to begin. This is how Michael traveled the long, twisting road of recovery, rebuilding his life to become an outreach specialist - the guy on the giving-back side.

The episode producer was psychiatrist Mark Ragins. He has written an excellent book entitled "Journeys Beyond the Frontier: A Rebellious Guide to Psychosis and Other Extraordinary Experiences." You can order it at your local bookstore or his website, markragins.com.

Michael started his recovery at River Community, the very first residential treatment program for dual diagnosis in the United States. You can find out more about it at rivercommunityazusa.com.  

Michael trained for peer support and then worked at Project Reach Peer Support Network. Learn about them and the unique power of peer support at prpsn.org.  

Both of those organizations are in southern California. If you want to find out about programs near you, go to the Treatment Advocacy Center's helpline at TAC.org/helpline. There, you can fill out a quick confidential form with your request and get an answer in 1-3 days. It's not for a crisis response, but they are a trustworthy resource.  

Let us hear from you! Tell us your reaction to this episode. You can leave a text or regular old confidential voice message at (424) 240-9302. If you have a detailed story, it's even better to email us an audio message to [email protected].

Find out more about this episode and the Brain Stories documentary series at www.BrainStoriesProductions.com.

This show is a copyright of Brain Stories Productions and the SamoBé Corporation. The use of this episode or any of its content in any form or way for Artificial Intelligence, its development or training is copyright infringement, and expressly prohibited without prior written agreement.