Mental Health Role Models

Board Certified Music Therapists Kathlynn Sell and Brandon Benguaich join the podcast to talk about achieving non-musical goals with music. We also dive into musical theory and discuss why people may be drawn to certain types of music in anxious/depressing times.

My guest on this episode is Tony Astacio. Tony and I discuss the Mental Health stigma for men, the power of therapy/conversation and staying curious about the brain and mental health.

Meghan Landry is a Certified Child Life Specialist at UMass Memorial Medical Center and main handler of Valentina, a full-time animal assistant at UMass Memorial's Children’s Medical Center. We talk with Meghan about the benefits of Animal Assisted Therapy in a hospital setting, how she got paired up with her canine sidekick and how Valentina provides help for her when they're off duty.

Follow Valentina on Instagram: @umass_supaw_stars

Make a donation to help Valentina: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/umassmemorialanimalassistedtherapy

Dina Coughlan received professional help for a mental health crisis at 19 years old. Today, she is a mental health advocate who shares her experience with the goal of being a Mental Health Empowerment Speaker. We dive into her journey, how she became open/honest about her struggles and her future goals.

Sherri Gentile is a mom of three who is running the Chicago Marathon in 2023 to bring attention to Postpartum Depression. We talk about the effects of Postpartum Depression after her first two pregnancies and how being open and honest about her past experience helped her navigate through her third pregnancy. We also discuss what inspired her to take part in the Chicago Marathon for Team NoStigmas.

On this episode, we talk to Jenny Dreizen, Co-Founder of The Fresh Starts Registry. We discuss her supportive soul and her motto "There are no rules" in the pursuit of joy.

FOLLOW JENNY ON TWITTER: @thegenevieved

FOLLOW FRESH STARTS REGISTRY: @FreshStartsHere

After a year away, the Mental Health Role Models Podcast returns. In this quick episode, I reintroduce myself, explain why I started the podcast, why I disappeared in 2022 and why I've decided this is the right time to return.

PR Professional Rachael Durant joins the podcast to talk about burnout, her blog post on Mental Health, medication/therapy and much more!

Olivia Howell joins the podcast this week to talk about her mental health journey, celebrating fresh starts and much more!

Diana Vilic is an author and founder/editor in chief of DORD Magazine. We cover A LOT in this episode, including positivity, vulnerability, my bucket-list goal of writing a children's book. 

Follow Diana on Twitter: @dianavilic