Mental Health Matters with Tom Duff

If you recognize her face or name, it could be for a plethora of reasons. The accomplished author, mental-wellness advocate, speaker, podcast host, and yoga instructor is known for normalizing mental health by telling her story. She also acted for 18 years, starting at the age of 4 and bowing out of show-biz altogether at 22. To see Lisa Jakub as Lydia Hillard in Mrs. Doubtfire or Alicia Casse in Independence Day, you would never suspect that she has been dealing with panic attacks, anxiety, and depression since the age of 11. That’s why she stepped away from the Hollywood spotlight and chose to shine light on her own mental health – she wanted to show others who struggle with mental illness that it’s okay to be vulnerable and not feel ashamed of their diagnosis. In other words, it’s okay to be “weird.”

In this episode of “Mental Health Matters,” Lisa Jakub and Executive Director Tom Duff, LCSW talk about why Lisa “wouldn’t be me without the anxiety.” And why, even though mental health and mental illnesses present challenges, they can also create great successes. As someone whose story is familiar to an estimated 16 million people in the U.S. who “struggle with depression – and I include myself in that statistic,” Lisa knows that mental health is “real, and it’s not shameful, and there is help available. You can bring it to the light, you can tell the truth, you can go to a meeting, you can reach out to a friend. None of us are alone.” So go ahead…embrace your “weird.”

Did Covid help us to be more reflective? Our Two Normal Dudes – Jon Franko and Suvir Dhar – along with podcast host Tom Duff, LCSW, think so. They believe that some positives have come out of this past year, including growth opportunities that required us to reflect on how we really look at ourselves in the mirrors that we often use to define ourselves in the world. Tune in to this week’s #MentalHealthMatters #podcast to see that there’s more to one’s reflection than how we look on a Zoom screen.

The “real ‘F’ word”. There’s such power behind it. Just saying it helps you to release all those pent-up emotions that have been bottling up inside you. It frees your mind from all the second-guessing that runs through your thoughts, over and over and over again. Take it from two normal dudes: The “real ‘F’ word” says it all! But why are so many males, so many “dudes” in particular, afraid to include “Feelings” in their conversations?

Two regular guys, Jon Franko, the CEO of Gorilla 76 and past podcast guest, and Suvir Dhar, a lawyer, talk with fellow Leadership St. Louis alumnus, Executive Director Tom Duff, LCSW, about how the men in their lives helped to shape their understanding of mental health. They talk about how talking about their feelings and allowing themselves to be vulnerable have been life-changing. They also talk about the “beauty of therapy.” Yup. Two dudes and a therapist, all talking about their feelings and other beautiful things that make life rejuvenating. There really is power behind the “F” word. Just ask some dudes!

EPISODE #49: Fighting the Special Ops Silent War in Civilian Life

Guest: Tom Satterly, President and CEO, PBP Consulting Group Author, “On Point”

Co-founder/Co-CEO, All Secure Foundation  |  U.S. Command Sergeant Major (Ret.), Delta Force  |  Author, “All Secure”

Battle of Mogadishu, Somalia (Blackhawk Down). Afghanistan. Iraq. His classified missions required stealth-like maneuvers to slip under the enemy’s radar so he could save hostages and halt terrorism in its tracks around the world. For two decades, Command Sergeant Major Tom Satterly (Ret.) removed and fixed problems by taking a threat and eliminating it. He was the elite of the military elite – Delta Force. And his success, as well as the medals he has been awarded – five Bronze Stars, two With Valor – prove it. As a Tier 1 soldier, Tom knew how to take command of the most dangerous situations in the world. It was the everyday operations on the home front, after returning to civilian life, that caught him defenseless.

When Tom retired from the military, he needed more than orders to break the “flight” wiring of his brain that, for 20 years, demanded violence and aggression as the go-to tactics required to rescue and save lives. A post-traumatic stress (PTS) hole started forming around Tom, and thanks to his wife, Jen, and her commitment to his healing and integration into civilian life, he climbed out safely. Now the two are giving other Special Operation active duty and combat veterans and their families a fighting chance to live a “powerful and fulfilling life that inspires others to do the same.” In this week’s Mental Health Matters video podcast, watch Tom Satterly and Executive Director Tom Duff, LCSW talk about the Slatterys’ brainchild, All Secure Foundation. And learn how a John Cougar concert was the impetus for Tom’s military journey of serving “Our Country”.

Sponsorship Opportunity

If you are interested in helping to break down stigma by sponsoring Mental Health Matters, let us know! Send an email to Debbie Dugan at [email protected], and she’ll get back with you about how you can be part of this important endeavor that makes mental health okay to talk about around the dinner table. Because, mental health really does matter.

EPISODE #48: Winning Isn’t Everything in Basketball or Life

Guest: Pam Borton, President and CEO, PBP Consulting Group Author, “On Point”

Former Women’s Basketball Coach, University of Minnesota

Winningest coach in Minnesota women’s basketball history

Failure is okay. In fact, according to Pam Borton, the winningest coach in Minnesota’s women’s basketball history, winning really isn’t everything. It’s the mistakes and missed shots that offer the greatest opportunities for growth and preparation for the next play. Position that with building a team where each member lifts the other up, and the odds grow greater that success both on and off the court will follow. The game plan, it turns out, isn’t so much about the lay-ups or slam dunks. It’s about the people.

With March Madness just around the corner, Executive Director Tom Duff, LCSW talks with Pam Borton, who retired from coaching women’s college basketball and now coaches business executives across the country on this week’s podcast. Pam’s strategy is simple: consider the whole individual, group up, and discover the individuals’ and team’s “why.” All the rest – including the losses and fouls – determine the real winners.

Sponsorship Opportunity

If you are interested in helping to break down stigma by sponsoring Mental Health Matters, let us know! Send an email to Debbie Dugan at [email protected], and she’ll get back with you about how you can be part of this important endeavor that makes mental health okay to talk about around the dinner table. Because, mental health really does matter!

CIT Officers De-escalate Mental-health Crises, 24/7/365

EPISODE #46  |  February 14th, 2020

Guest: Sgt. Gary Robertson, Officer Chris Koester, Lisa Flamion, PLCP St. Louis County Police Crisis Intervention Team (CIT)

Your loved one is in crisis. It’s not a heart attack or stroke. It’s bizarre behavior, maybe a meltdown or aggression or mania or threats of harming themselves that is escalating by the minute. What triggered it? You can’t calm them down. You worry for their safety and even yours. But if you call 911, will it make the situation worse? You are desperate to do something, but you don’t know what to do.

Enter a CIT officer. Launched in St. Louis County in 2003-04, the national CIT – Crisis Intervention Team – training has equipped more than 5,200 St. Louis County officers in handling mental-health crises. And, of the 1,000 commissioned officers working in the department across eight precincts today, 550 of those officers are CIT-trained. And two of those officers specifically, Sgt. Gary Robertson and Officer Chris Koester, are leading the charge. Their role? To arrive on the scene and de-escalate the situation to create a safe space for people in a mental-health crisis. But their intervention doesn’t stop there. They also follow up with clients, both through regular conversations, as well as with the help of crisis counselor, Lisa Flamion, PLCP, by seeing clients face-to-face following a crisis to help them get the mental-health care they may need. In this week’s podcast with Executive Director Tom Duff, LCSW learn how CIT officers are playing a significant role, not only in breaking down stigma in our community but also in the ways that their compassion and understanding are making life better for people who struggle with mental-health issues.

If you or someone you love experiences a mental-health crisis, and you need immediate help, call 911 or the non-emergency line of St. Louis County Police or your municipality’s police department, describe the situation and ask for a CIT officer to assist. They will ensure that the officers who are trained to handle mental-health crises arrive on the scene.

Momming, Working, Guilting, and Self-caring

EPISODE #45  |  February 7th, 2020

Guest: Chelsea Link, LPC and Nicole Ostrowski, LCSW, Supervisors, School Partnership Program (SPP)

Mom guilt. How often do moms beat themselves up for not having spent enough quality time with the kids? For not feeling grateful or joyful when they do spend copious time with them? For feeling exhausted and barely having enough energy to carry on a conversation with their significant other, much less plan – or show up in clothes other than pajamas – for a date night? The guilt is prevalent among moms who work outside the home and those who work in the home full-time. How can moms stave off the guilt and just “be”? Two Saint Louis Counseling therapists, both moms, have some suggestions from their own life experiences.

Work-life balance isn’t always easy, but it can happen! Check out this week’s podcast with therapists Chelsea Link, LPC and Nicole Ostrowski, LCSW, both of whom counsel kids all day through our School Partnership Program and then go home to their own children. Hear what has worked for them and what hasn’t, as they talk with Executive Director Tom Duff, LCSW about “momming,” working, guilting, and self-caring.

Sponsorship Opportunity

If you are interested in helping to break down stigma by sponsoring Mental Health Matters, let us know! Send an email to Debbie Dugan at [email protected], and she’ll get back with you about how you can be part of this important endeavor that makes mental health okay to talk about around the dinner table. Because, mental health really does matter!

EPISODE #42  |  December 20th, 2019

Guest: Angie Peacock, MSW, United States Army Veteran

It was right after 9/11, when Angie Peacock of the United States Army received orders for combat duty in Iraq. But the designated warzone proved to be only one segment of the battle that she was about to endure. Prior to deployment, Angie was sexually assaulted. With the unspoken toll that such trauma was taking mentally and emotionally, and with the call of duty involved in the Middle East, a new war was beginning to wage from within. Angie began to significantly lose weight. Panic attacks blindsided her. She was fighting for survival. Angie had to be medevacked to Germany for essential medical care.

The tour of duty required for her healing has been years in the making. Having been immediately treated with 18 different medications when she arrived in Germany, Angie’s life was halted. She was told she could never go to school again, that she would be on medication for the rest of her life, that the PTSD was getting worse. She wouldn’t leave her house and eventually became homeless. She was a war veteran who had suffered normal reactions to trauma, yet she felt like she had fallen hostage to the treatment that was supposed to help her. After years of significant struggle, she took up her most strategic maneuver yet. See – in our first-ever Mental Health Matters remote video podcast – how Angie has pulled herself up by her bootstraps with copious outside help and support to go the distance with a new documentary that tells her story, in an RV, all across the Southwest.

EPISODE #41  |  December 13th, 2019

Guest: Arica Foster, Community Engagement Manager, Kranzberg Arts Foundation

It was five years ago. The death of Michael Brown and the grand jury verdict were still raw. So was the murder of Arica Foster’s cousin, a young man whose life was stripped from his family and friends far too soon. Arica couldn’t shake the reality that so many young people dying. Nor could she get over how deeply trauma was impacting the St. Louis community at large. That’s when the inspiration to tap into a new life rhythm struck a chord. As a musician and Gospel singer, along with working for the Kranzberg Arts Foundation, Arica knows how music – and the arts in general – can heal. So does bringing people together. Why, then, not blend both arts and people to compose a new movement and rhythm for the entire St. Louis community?

Introducing PACE (Performance Art Creative Expression), Arica’s brainchild that sets up various platforms in the Grand Center District to connect people through and with music. From Wednesday Night Jazz Crawls to the Family Sunday Series, Arica orchestrates free community arts events to foster healing. In this week’s Mental Health Matters with Executive Tom Duff, LCSW, MSW, learn how Arica’s endeavor that debuted in 2015 has scaled back the cacophony of trauma to create a new harmony for healing.

EPISODE #40  |  December 9th, 2019

Guest: Jon Franko, Cofounder, Gorilla76

Hiding in plain sight, under the guise of the marshy thatch of a duck blind, Jon Franko has spent countless hours wading in still waters and standing by for the flocks’ glide pass to reach the landing zone. Not knowing at the onset of the hunt what the day will bring or what the final waterfowl tally will be, but realizing that success depends largely on patience and timing, avid hunters understand the “wait.” And the “catch.” Duck hunting has taught Jon a lot about life.

Just a few years ago, the 30-something industrial marketing entrepreneur and outdoorsman found himself plucking those lessons from experience and wading through a year-long hunt of an altogether different nature. Doctors couldn’t explain why, despite taking good care of himself, Jon “felt like garbage” and was losing weight. Finally, a neurologist caught sight of what was hidden for at least an entire decade. Jon had Multiple Sclerosis. In this week’s Mental Health Matters episode with Executive Director Tom Duff, LCSW, hear how Jon has attacked his diagnosis, rather than let it define him. And learn how, by applying the patience and timing of the duck hunter that he is, Jon has accepted the greatest physical challenge of his life and the mental-health conditions that have accompanied it.