Rabbi Rami M. Shapiro, commonly called "Rabbi Rami", is an award-winning author, teacher, and speaker on the subjects of liberal Judaism and contemporary spirituality. He joins NAMI Tennessee Executive Director Jeff Fladen on the NAMI Radio Hour to explore paths to healing that may be helpful to anyone that is struggling with obtrusive or negative thoughts or is seeking paths toward wellness.

Brianne Burgoon, M.Ed., ATR, RYT-200 President,Tennessee Art Therapy Association (TATA) visits with Jeff Fladen to discuss art therapy and its role in our mental health treatment system.

In this episode of the NAMI Radio Hour, we learn about service animals.

After retiring from a career of teaching and counseling, Brenda Dew, Ph.D., began working with pet therapy and training of service dogs with Retrieving Independence in Tennessee. Learn about service animals, how they are trained, and some of the amazing ways that they can help people that are living with disabilities.

Tom Hunter, CEO of iHope Network, joins NAMI Executive Director, Jeff Fladen, to discuss telemedicine and its use as in psychotherapy over the internet. Is this the future of psychotherapy?

In this episode, NAMI TN Director Jeff Fladen visits with Megan Hart and Cecilia Melo-Romieof Tennessee Disability Pathfinder.

Tennessee Disability Pathfinder is a statewide, comprehensive information and referral for services and resources for all types of disabilities and all ages. Pathfinder is a partnership with the Tennessee Council on Developmental Disabilities.

Kelly Dorsey is an employee of the Volunteer State Health Plan/Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee and a licensed massage therapist. She will be sharing "Her story it's, my story, it's our story" which chronicles her journey toward recovery and her efforts to help others.

For many, it can be confusing to understand what happens behind the doors of a community mental health center. Richard Gillespie, LMFT is a psychotherapist and marriage and family therapist with Mental Health Co-op in Cookeville, Tennessee.

He joined NAMI Tennessee Executive Director, Jeff Fladen, to talk about his work in a community mental health center.

Holly Burrow and Clenetta Perry are two mothers of children with disabilities. Listen as they share how they learned to become grassroots advocates in rural America. Hear two mothers talk about their grassroots advocacy as they learn how to raise children with disabilities. Their volunteer advocacy efforts include teaching NAMI Basics, a six-session program for parents and caregivers of children and adolescents with a mental illness which covers mental illnesses, medication, how to advocate for your child.

Peer support programs provide an opportunity for consumers who have achieved significant recovery to assist others in their recovery journeys. Peer specialists model recovery, teach skills and offer supports to help people experiencing mental health challenges lead meaningful lives in the community. Peer specialists promote recovery; enhance hope and social networking through role modeling and activation; and supplement existing treatment with education, empowerment, and aid in system navigation.

Lisa Ragan, Diretor of Peer Recovery Services for TDMHSAS talks with NAMI ED, Jeff Fladen about the peer movement and it's importance for our mental health and substance abuse recovery system.

Legislators, law enforcement, and mental health advocates including NAMI have been concerned about the number of persons with mental illness who end up in our jails an prisons. On this episode, Jeff Fladen, NAMI Tennessee Executive Director looks at corrections reform and pre-arrest diversion. NAMI Tennessee is also part of a collaboration that successfully advocated for the State of Tennessee to approve $15 million for pre-arrest diversion. Several projects are now underway to begin to address this issue.