IMPACT STIGMA

Join us as we have a fun and interesting conversation with Vonda Wagner, LPC, Director of Rehabilitation Services of Frontier Health’s Victory Center during April’s Counseling Awareness Month! We honor mental health counselors, school counselors, substance abuse counselors, and career counselors. We asked all of our Frontier Health counselors to answer the question, What’s Your Why? Vonda shares her answer to our “why? question along with her passionate views and educated experiences with psycho-social rehabilitation. We absolutely loved our conversation with Vonda and left with a new understanding for what it means to treat the whole person!

We are happy to share that our podcast is quickly approaching over 700 listeners and is listened to by our dedicated fans in over 19 states across the country! We can’t say a big enough thank you to everyone for your continued support! Join us for this very special episode of our award-winning podcast, Impact Stigma. For our fourth episode of season two we are honored to offer a different look at how addiction effects families. This special story is all about a mother’s unyielding love for her son, her battle with his addiction and the victory she celebrates with him today. This is a story of hope in the face of darkness. A story of a mother's battle for her son’s survival that every parent or loved one that loves someone effected by substance abuse disorder needs to hear. Brenda Seals is the author of Son Down, Son Up, a story she wrote to bring hope to others with loved one’s suffering with addiction.

If you would like more information on how to get your business recognized on our podcast as sponsor because mental health matters to you then please email us at [email protected] or call 423-467-3742.

Join us for an enlightening conversation with our special guest, Kenneth Knight, during this episode of Impact Stigma as we discuss his journey to recovery from addiction and Bipolar Disorder. He is a Certified Peer Recovery Specialist with Frontier Health and devotes his time to educating and helping those that are working towards recovery while also contending with a mental illness. His story takes us on a journey that begins with his difficult time growing up in Philadelphia all the way to his successful career as a CPRS for Frontier Health where he is an inspiration for so many of those we serve. We share the most common myths that create the negative stigma so often associated with Bipolar Disorder. We hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did!

Impact Stigma is proud to celebrate Black History Month! This episode we are honored to not only recognize historical Black Pioneers that made an enormous impact in the field of Mental Health but to welcome our very special guest and share her unique story! We truly enjoyed this enlightening conversation with our special guest, Latonia Collie, Director of Adult Housing at Frontier Health. Join us as we share some laughs and dig deep into one of the remaining taboos within the Black Community, the stigma around mental illness. Latonia shares her personal experience growing up with her beloved family member that suffered with mental illness and she answers our questions on the difficult topic of how mental health stigma is felt so differently within the Black Community. Her vulnerability is contagious, and her story is one that we know relates to so many of our listeners. Thank you, Latonia, for being a part of Impact Stigma!

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."

-Nelson Mandella

Happy New Year and welcome back to Season Two of Impact Stigma! We are officially an award-winning podcast heard in over 13 states! Thank you all for helping us change hearts and minds from Tennessee to Florida, Virginia to Massachusetts and as far west as Colorado. On this episode we get real about how COVID-19 has affected the mental health of each and every one of us. Our special guest for this episode is Kristy Tipton, Division Director of Crisis Services at Frontier Health. She has led the charge for our Virtual COVID Crisis Counseling Service for the East TN Region. As we promised in this episode here is the number for the free COVID CRISIS hotline, 833-4FH-COVID.

As always, we strive for candid, open and sometimes even humorous conversations here on Impact Stigma so please remember this podcast is never intended to be a substitute for professional advice, formal diagnosis or treatment for mental and behavioral health issues. If you need further assistance or have questions, please visit the Frontier Health website at www.frontierhealth.org for more information.

This episode of Impact Stigma is very special to both Josh and Jennifer because we have some great news and it’s also the end of Season One for Impact Stigma. Listen as we share this news, present our informative and timely “Surviving the Holidays” toolkit, as well as catch you up on what we’ve been up to the last month. The holidays can create stress and anxiety for all of us and individuals dealing with mental health issues the holidays can be the most challenging time of year. So, please make sure to care for yourself while you care for others, be proactive before stress hits and give yourself lots of grace during the holidays. Take a deep breath and remember this time of year is more about making memories than anything else.

As always, we encourage candid, open and even light-hearted conversations about stigma on this podcast, so please remember what we talk about should never be a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment for a mental and behavioral health issue. If you have a loved one dealing with mental health issues and need guidance, there are many resources online, including the Frontier Health website, that you can utilize. If you need help now or someone you know is having a mental health crisis, please don’t hesitate to call our 24-hr Crisis Line at (877) 928-9062. If you are one of our fantastic listeners from outside of our region, please reach out to your local mental health organization or call 911 if you are dealing with an emergency. Your mental health matters and please remember it is ALWAYS 100% ok to reach out and ask for help!

Thanks everyone for joining us for this special holiday episode of Impact Stigma and the end of Season One. We will be back in January with more stories and special guests with Season Two of Impact Stigma. Until then, we wish you and everyone you love a blessed and happy holiday season and hope you have a very Merry Christmas! Go be an Impact Maker!

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month! During this episode of Impact Stigma, we are joined by our special guest, Tina Johnson as she brings her own personal experience as a survivor of domestic violence along with her expertise and years of dedication as the Program Director for Safe House, Frontier Health’s safe confidential undisclosed shelter program providing any victim of domestic violence as well as their dependent children with a place to stay as well as multiple services to ensure they can get the help they need to start over. Domestic violence is a pattern of behaviors used by one partner to maintain power and control over another partner in an intimate relationship. Listen as we share our stories and dig into the difficult questions about overcoming the storm of domestic violence.

For all our listeners out there, we want you to know that first of all, you are not alone, and it doesn’t matter the circumstances of your relationship or your past, no one deserves to be abused and your partner’s abusive actions are never your fault. Second, if you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence and you are inspired at all during this podcast to reach out for help or feel triggered in any way please don’t hesitate to call our 24/7 Domestic Violence hotline @ 844-578-7233 or the National Domestic Violence Hotline @ 800-799-SAFE. This podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis or treatment for mental and behavioral health issues. If you need further assistance or have questions, please visit the Frontier Health’s website www.frontierhealth.org for more information.

Join us for another special episode of Impact Stigma as we talk with Molly Colley, the Northeast Tennessee Regional Director for the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network. Molly shares her personal experience with us as a person who has lost a loved one to suicide and had someone she cares about survive an attempted suicide and how it felt to be the person on the other end. We discuss myths about suicide as well as how stigma creates a severe disconnect with those in need of help. She also has a very interesting love for opossums that has us all laughing and seeing them in a very different light. She is a well-known face in the world of suicide prevention and prior to becoming part of the TSPN team, she was an adult outpatient therapist for Frontier Health at Watauga Behavioral Health Services in Johnson City, TN, and at Scott County Behavioral Services in Weber City, Virginia. She has also worked as an adjunct professor at East Tennessee State University, teaching undergraduate courses for the Department of Counseling and Human Services. She is a National Certified Counselor (NCC) and holds a Master of Arts degree in Counseling, as well as a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology, both from East Tennessee State University.

TPSN: https://www.tspn.org/

NAMI: https://www.nami.org/Home

Join us for a special episode of Impact Stigma as we visit with our very first guest from outside of Frontier Health, Jason Abernathy, AKA, “The Beard”. We invite you to listen along as he shares his colorful story and takes us on a journey through his life, his recovery from addiction and answers some interesting and unexpected questions. Jason has worked since August 2013 on Insight Alliance’s Lifeline Peer Project of Tennessee here in Johnson City, TN and serves as the Region 1 Lifeline Peer Project Coordinator. Since March of 2014 Jason has served as a Certified Peer Recovery Specialist (CPRS) and provides direct peer-to-peer support services for those who have mental illness, substance abuse, or co-occurring disorders. Jason served 4 years in the United States Marine Corps before transitioning into a 16-year career in law enforcement. He then made a career change which allowed him to give back by assisting others in finding their way to the road to recovery. Jason is a person in long term recovery from co-occurring disorders and desires to work to help others break the chains of addiction. He is a certified Question, Persuade, and Refer (QPR) trainer through the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network, a Trauma Informed Care (TIC) trainer, a Wellness Recovery Action Plan 1 (WRAP) facilitator, and a Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) trainer. He recently graduated from King University in December 2019, where he received his Bachelor of Social Work Degree, and is currently working toward his Master of Social Work degree through the University of Tennessee.

Suicide is certainly a topic that is considered very taboo even today. We are continuing to honor Suicide Prevention Month during September with our special guest as she shares her experience of losing a loved one to suicide and talks all about suicide prevention. Join us on this episode of Impact Stigma as we talk with Cicely Alvis, Director of Specialty Services, as she shares her story that brings such an important aspect to how suicide affects those that are left behind. When we talk about stigma on this podcast, we want to take a stand and be the voice that says it’s ok to ask for help. Cicely has worked very hard and used her voice to speak up about suicide and suicide prevention for years as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and the Director of Specialty Services with Frontier Health.

We would like to make sure that our listeners know that if you have someone in your life that maybe dealing with thoughts of suicide or you are inspired at any time during this podcast to reach out for help or feel triggered by this topic, please don’t hesitate to call Frontier Health’s Crisis 24/7 Hotline (877) 928-9062 or the 24 hour National Suicide Prevention Lifeline number (800) -273-8255 and someone will be there to help you. Also, if you have been a past listener you know we are all about candid and sometimes humorous conversations about the stigma surrounding mental and behavioral health issues, so please know that this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis or treatment for mental and behavioral health issues. If you need assistance, please visit the Frontier Health website www.frontierhealth.org for more information.