The Path Forward: Mental Health with Maps

In this episode, Dr. Gina Pasquale sits down with Mark Bodin, President of Savings Bank of Walpole, to talk about how mental health shapes families, leadership, and the places we work. Mark shares his personal experience of losing his father to suicide, the long shadow that loss cast over his family, and how openness, compassion, and community can help reduce stigma and support healing.

Mark reflects on grief, survivor guilt, and why focusing on how someone died can distract from what families truly need: understanding, care, and presence. He also explores how these experiences have informed his leadership philosophy and helped shape a workplace culture that supports employees as whole human beings — especially during life’s most difficult seasons.

This conversation is a reminder that mental health is not a private issue — it lives in our families, our communities, and our workplaces — and that talking about it is one of the most powerful forms of prevention and care.

Topics in this episode include:

• Living with the loss of a parent to suicide

• Grief, stigma, and survivor guilt

• Why “how they died” isn’t the right question

• Making mental health mentionable — and manageable

• Supporting employees through trauma and life transitions

• Creating trauma-informed, human-centered workplaces

• Mental health across different seasons of life

Content Note:

This episode includes discussion of suicide and grief.

If you or someone you love is struggling, help is available. In the U.S., you can call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

Whether you’re navigating loss, supporting someone who is grieving, or thinking about how to create healthier workplaces and communities, Mark’s story offers perspective, compassion, and hard-earned wisdom.

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🌱 Learn more about Maps Counseling Services: https://mapsnh.org

📧 Contact: [email protected]

🎙️ Hosted by: Dr. Gina Pasquale

🏢 Produced by: Maps Counseling Services

🎥 Filmed | Directed | Edited by: Christopher David

#MentalHealthMatters #ThePathForward #SuicideAwareness #GriefSupport #WorkplaceMentalHealth #CommunityCare #TraumaInformed #KeeneNH #MapsCounselingServices #SavingsBankOfWalpole

In this episode, Dr. Gina Pasquale sits down with Kevin Stevenson, Director of Acute Care Services at Monadnock Family Services, to explore what it really means to grow through life’s hardest moments. Kevin opens up about the friction points that shaped him — childhood challenges, emotional loneliness, mentorship, the expectations placed on boys and men, and the deep responsibility he carries in crisis mental health work.

Through stories of personal struggle, hard-earned insight, and even Spartan obstacle racing, Kevin offers a rare look at resilience, vulnerability, and becoming the person you once needed.

Topics in this episode include:

• How friction and adversity shape emotional development

• Growing up without emotional support

• The importance of healthy male role models

• Why boys and men are facing a mental health crisis

• Masculinity, vulnerability, and the fear of being a burden

• Becoming the person you needed when you were young

• The role of mentorship in healing and growth

• Grit, endurance, and pushing past false summits

• Loneliness, responsibility, and why men rarely ask for help

• Why time alone is essential for men’s mental health

• Rewriting the lens through which we understand our past

• Finding meaning and agency in hardship

• Kevin’s poetry as an emotional outlet

Whether you’re navigating your own journey, supporting a young man in your life, or trying to understand the hidden emotional landscape many men carry, Kevin’s story offers clarity, compassion, and grounded wisdom.

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Learn more about Maps Counseling Services: https://mapsnh.org

Contact: [email protected]

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Hosted by: Dr. Gina Pasquale

Produced by: Maps Counseling Services

Filmed | Directed | Edited by: Christopher David

#MentalHealthMatters #ThePathForward #MensMentalHealth #Resilience #HealthyMasculinity #EmotionalGrowth #CrisisWork #Vulnerability #MapsCounselingServices #KeeneNH

🎙️ Ep. 6 | Becky Beaton on Healing, Housing, and Holding It All Together

The Path Forward: Mental Health with Maps

In this episode, Dr. Gina Pasquale sits down with Becky Beaton, Executive Director of Hundred Nights, to talk about navigating life after early childhood upheaval, family separation, addiction, imposter syndrome, and devastating personal loss — including a house fire that destroyed her home with a 3-month-old infant.

Becky opens up about her lifelong journey of resilience and connection — how she broke generational cycles of alcoholism, learned to build enduring relationships, and now leads one of New Hampshire’s most vital homeless shelters. Her story is a profound reminder that strength doesn’t mean going it alone. It means knowing where — and with whom — you can land when the unexpected comes.

Topics in this episode include:

• Coping with childhood trauma and divorce

• Understanding addiction and intergenerational impact

• Rebuilding after losing a home

• Parenting with compassion and boundaries

• The invisible effects of imposter syndrome

• Loving through imperfection

• Why community support is non-negotiable

Whether you’re struggling with your past, trying to support someone in crisis, or building something new from the ashes, Becky’s story offers clarity, compassion, and hard-won wisdom.

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🌐 Learn more about Maps Counseling Services: https://mapsnh.org

📬 Contact: [email protected]

🎧 Hosted by: Dr. Gina Pasquale

🎥 Produced by: Maps Counseling Services

📸 Filmed | Directed | Edited by: Christopher David

#MentalHealthMatters #ThePathForward #GriefRecovery #GenerationalHealing #ImposterSyndrome #SubstanceUseAwareness #CommunitySupport #KeeneNH #HundredNights #MapsCounselingServices

he Path Forward: Mental Health with MapsIn this episode, Dr. Gina Pasquale sits down with Barbara Weisman to talk about life after the unimaginable — the death of her son, Stratton. Known for her leadership in food insecurity and community support, Barbara shares a deeply personal side of her experience through grief, identity, nervous system healing, and what it means to continue showing up in the world.Together, they explore how loss reshapes us, the difference between trauma and grief, the importance of rituals, and the beautiful coexistence of joy and sorrow. Barbara opens up about facilitating a grief retreat in Costa Rica, navigating “the other side of the door,” and how she’s found meaning in community and service.Topics in this episode include: • The myth of “getting over” grief • Rebuilding a nervous system after trauma • Ego rupture and post-traumatic growth • Holding space for other grieving parents • The healing power of writing and breathwork • Grief and joy coexisting — literally dancing togetherWhether you’re grieving, supporting someone who is, or simply looking to better understand the human experience, Barb’s insights offer profound empathy, wisdom, and light.🌐 Learn more about Maps Counseling Services: https://mapsnh.org📧 Contact: [email protected]🎙️ Hosted by: Dr. Gina Pasquale🎥 Produced by: Maps Counseling Services & Ava Drenkhahn📽️ Filmed | Directed | Edited by: Christopher David#ParentalGrief #MentalHealthMatters #CommunityHealing #ThePathForward #MapsCounselingServices #GriefAndJoy #PostTraumaticGrowth #KeeneNH

Mayor Jay Kahn’s journey—from the son of German Jewish refugees to a lifelong advocate for higher education, mental health, and community belonging—is a masterclass in civic empathy and transformational leadership.In this deeply personal conversation, Dr. Gina Pasquale sits down with Mayor Kahn to explore identity, prejudice, and the power of listening. Together, they trace his family’s escape from Nazi Germany, his formative years in Chicago, his rise through higher education, and his tireless efforts to build a more inclusive Keene, New Hampshire—including for the LGBTQIA2+ community and local youth. Through it all, Kahn shares the mindset that guides him: seek discomfort, listen deeply, and “find the leverage point.”Whether you’re interested in community leadership, mental health policy, or creating spaces of true belonging, this episode offers insight, inspiration, and a profound sense of hope.

The Path Forward: Mental Health with Maps

🎙️ Hosted by Dr. Gina Pasquale

In this episode, Gina sits down with Elijah de Castro, Health Solutions Reporter for the Keene Sentinel, for a wide-ranging conversation on connection, resilience, and the injustice embedded in our health care system.

At just 23, Elijah shares the deeply personal story of his father’s stroke—and the financial and emotional weight it placed on his family. That moment, and the system that failed them, would ultimately shape his mission as a journalist. Together, he and Dr. Gina explore the crisis of disconnection facing young people, the pressures placed on young men, and the healing power of human connection—at home, at work, and in our communities.

From surviving challenging life events to finding purpose in uncertain times, this episode reminds us why storytelling matters—and why our mental health depends on being seen, heard, and believed.

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👍 Like & Subscribe for more stories of healing, purpose, and resilience.

https://youtu.be/kHCCffFlT4k

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Resources & Credits

🌐 Maps Counseling Services: https://mapsnh.org

📧 Contact: [email protected]

🎙️ Hosted by: Dr. Gina Pasquale

Produced by: Maps Counseling Services & Ava Drenkhahn

Filmed | Directed | Edited by: Christopher David

#MentalHealthMatters #YoungMenMentalHealth #HealthcareJustice #Resilience #ThePathForward #MapsCounselingServices #KeeneSentinel #ElijahDeCastro

The Path Forward: Mental Health with Maps

In this moving episode, Dr. Gina Pasquale speaks with Julie Schoelzel, President and CEO of the Greater Monadnock Collaborative, about how we survive—and grow—through trauma, grief, and the challenges of postpartum mental health.

Julie shares her firsthand account of being in New York City during 9/11, the profound experience of losing both of her parents, and the moment she reached out for help after battling postpartum depression. This episode explores trauma-informed care, the power of family connection, and what it means to ask for help in a culture that too often expects perfection.

If you’ve ever struggled with grief or the quiet weight of holding it all together—this conversation is for you.

🛑 Trigger Warning: Includes discussion of 9/11 and medical procedures.

Resources & Credits

🌐 Maps Counseling Services: https://mapsnh.org

📧 Contact: [email protected]

🎙️ Hosted by: Dr. Gina Pasquale

Produced by: Maps Counseling Services & Ava Drenkhahn 

Filmed | Directed | Edited by: Christopher David 

In this episode of The Path Forward, Gina Pasquale, Executive Director of Maps Counseling Services, talks with Ava — our associate producer — about one of life’s most daunting challenges: the transition from college to what comes next.With honesty and vulnerability, Ava shares what it feels like to be standing at the edge of graduation — caught between excitement and fear, hope and uncertainty. She reflects on the pressures of finding a career, the challenges of moving back home, and the deep friendships and family support that have carried her through.Whether you’re graduating soon, supporting someone who is, or simply remembering your own transition into adulthood, this conversation offers connection, compassion, and perspective.🎧 Subscribe and walk with us.Maps Counseling Services: https://mapsnh.org🎙️ Hosted by: Dr. Gina PasqualeProduced by: Maps Counseling Services & AvaFilmed|Directed|Edited by: Christopher David #TransitionAfterCollege #Graduation2025 #MentalHealthPodcast #ThePathForward #MapsCounseling

In this premiere episode of The Path Forward: Mental Health with Maps, hosts Ava (Associate Producer) and Gina Pasquale (Executive Director of Maps Counseling Services) introduce the mission behind the podcast. Discover how our three guiding segments—Compass Check, True North, and Trail Mix—create space for grounding, storytelling, and small moments of hope.Whether you’re navigating stress, uncertainty, or seeking meaningful connection, this is your invitation to slow down and take the first step forward.🎧 Subscribe and walk with us.—🌐 Learn more: https://www.mapsnh.org🎙️ Hosted by: Ava & Dr. Gina PasqualeProduced by: Maps Counseling Services Filmed|Directed|Edited by: Christopher David #MentalHealth #Mindfulness #WellBeing #PodcastLaunch #MapsCounseling #mentalhealthmatters This is Episode 0 of The Path Forward podcast.