Providers often see a foster youth who survived and think they're resilient, strong, and got-it-handled. But surviving doesn't always mean thriving. And having one’s basic needs met doesn't mean all their needs are met.
Angelina Medina, Regional Lead at iFoster, discusses the critical gap between survival and healing for foster youth. Resources exist, but young people often don't learn about them until adulthood when they're struggling. Now, Angelina is working to change that.
What You'll Learn: Why the "basic needs checklist" fails foster youth’s mental health. Concrete practices to build trust: go slow, ask permission, don't assume resilience. How lived experience creates peer connections traditional models miss. Why mental health is a policy issue and what providers can do now.

Guest Bio: Angelina Medina is a Regional Lead at iFoster, where she provides support to current and former foster youth and leads groups of foster youth as they gain employment skills. Having entered the foster care system at age six, Angelina completed iFoster's internship program and is committed to utilizing her lived experience to aid others navigating similar challenges. She graduated from California State University, Northridge with a degree in environmental occupational health and has been advocating for foster youth since joining iFoster at age 21. Her lived experience informs her work connecting foster youth with the resources they need, from mental health and wellness support to education and employment opportunities.

About iFoster: iFoster is a national nonprofit employing former foster youth to bridge the resource gap. Medical professionals, caregivers, and anyone supporting foster youth can access their free resources at iFoster.org
Mental health is a policy issue. Who gets resources and what those resources are shapes whether foster youth can heal or just get by.

Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
0:55 Angelina's Background & iFoster's Mission
3:17 What is iFoster? Services & Resources
5:58 The Gap: When Basic Needs Aren't Enough
7:28 Policy Changes Needed for Mental Health Access
9:34 The Power of Peer Support & Lived Experience
12:29 Technology & Housing Resources for Foster Youth
15:59 iFoster Jobs Program: Training Peer Specialists
19:28 Enhanced Care Management & Social Determinants
22:06 Advocacy & Hope for Current Foster Youth
25:29 Advice for Healthcare Providers: Go Slow & Ask Permission
27:11 Don't Assume Resilience
28:44 The Importance of Consistency in Care
31:19 Mental Health is a Policy Issue
32:26 How to Connect with iFoster

Interview Recorded On: Jan 17, 2026

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YouTube Tags: trauma informed care, peer support, foster youth, mental health policy, social determinants of health, iFoster, behavioral health, youth advocacy, child welfare, pediatric care, health equity, lived experience, community mental health, child psychiatry, social work, case management, transition age youth

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What does it take to perform at your best when the pressure is at its highest? Super Bowl Champion and Performance Coach, Stephen Hauschka, spent his entire career learning how. In this conversation with TNT Open Mind Insights, Stephen breaks down the mental performance framework he built, which goes beyond athletic performance into the heart of what it means to be human under pressure.

From missing a game-winning kick and getting cut, to winning the Super Bowl in Seattle, to a final playoff moment that brought everything full circle — Stephen's journey is a masterclass in fear response management, psychological safety, and the science of self-compassion.

Whether you are a healthcare professional, mental health advocate, or someone navigating high-pressure environments in your own life, this conversation will challenge how you think about fear, identity, and what it really means to perform freely.

Chapters:
00:00 — Introduction
01:35 — Stephen's Background: Neuroscience Meets the NFL
04:44 — His First Experience With Pressure and Fear
08:13 — Pressure Is Real: The Neuroscience Behind Fear
11:20 — Missing the Game-Winning Kick and Getting Cut
15:05 — Arriving in Seattle: How Culture Changes Performance
16:40 — Working With Dr. Michael Gervais
19:30 — The Paradox of High Performance and Worthiness
23:50 — Self-Compassion as a Performance Tool
25:45 — Psychological Safety and the Freedom to Perform
28:00 — The Playoff Moment That Changed Everything
30:21 — Tools and Routines: Breath work, Tapping, and Mindfulness
38:00 — Fear Never Disappears — Here's How to Work With It
41:33 — What Stephen Teaches Others Today

Interview Recorded On: Jan 17, 2026

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Tags:
mental performance, self-compassion, psychological safety, fear response, elite performance, NFL, Stephen Hauschka, mental health, mindfulness, breathwork, performance psychology, neuroscience, high performance, sports psychology, mental wellness, peak performance, Michael Gervais, self-compassion research, Kristin Neff, TNT Open Mind Insights, healthcare, mental health advocacy, fear management, inner game

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Subscribe to TNT Open Mind Insights - Mental Health Interview Series on Soundwise

What does it really mean to know the patient in front of you? In this episode of TNT Open Mind Insights, Dr. Sarah Arshad — triple board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist, pediatrician, and TNT Fellowships PC-CAP Co-Director— makes a compelling case for cultural psychiatry as the foundation of good pediatric care.

From emergency rooms to rural communities where psychiatric services simply don't exist, Dr. Arshad draws a direct line between the gaps in our systems and the children left on the other side of them. She challenges the assumption that culture only belongs to visibly diverse populations, shares what she teaches her trainees about cultural humility, and opens up about what it takes to truly sit with a family and hear what they're telling you.
This is a conversation for anyone who works with children and families — and wants to do it better.

CHAPTERS
00:00 — Introduction
01:00 — Who is Dr. Sarah H. Arshad?
02:30 — What is cultural psychiatry and why does it matter?
05:00 — The Cultural Formulation Interview as a clinical tool
07:00 — Everyone has culture
09:00 — A family who couldn't say the word suicide out loud
12:00 — Stigma, fear, and what families bring into the room
14:00 — Teaching cultural humility to the next generation of providers
17:00 — Sitting with patients
20:00 — Where health systems are falling short for children and families
23:00 — The school-to-dropout pipeline and structural inequity
26:00 — When the prescription is: move counties
29:00 — Bridging the gap — cultural psychiatry in primary care
32:00 — The TNT PC-CAP Fellowship
35:00 — Where Dr. Arshad finds hope and joy


Interview Recorded On: Jan 17, 2026
🎧 LISTEN & SUBSCRIBE for new episodes from TNT Open Mind Insights — connecting personal experiences to solutions within the behavioral healthcare field.
🔗 Learn more about the TNT Fellowship: [tntopenmind.org]


YouTube Tags (under 500 characters):

cultural psychiatry, child psychiatry, pediatric mental health, mental health education, cultural humility, primary care mental health, child and adolescent psychiatry, health equity, pediatrics, mental health advocacy, immigrant mental health, rural mental health, behavioral health, TNT fellowship, psychiatric training, cultural formulation, youth mental health, pediatric primary care, mental health disparities, healthcare gaps

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Over 200 million Americans live in mental health shortage areas with zero access to providers. Meanwhile, patients cycle through ERs, primary care offices, and social workers— spanning multiple months of touchpoints where nobody stops to ask, "Are you okay? What do you need?"

Clinical social worker and epidemiologist Madhuri Jha breaks down the systemic communication breakdowns across the mental health care continuum and why real solutions require continuous dialogue across every level, from patient to policymaker.

In this conversation, Madhuri explores: Why "frequent flyers" signal system failure, not patient failure; the historical roots of mental health stigma; how mobile mental health care can close critical access gaps; cultural curiosity vs. cultural competence and positioning patients as experts; and building dialogue across the micro-macro divide in healthcare.

Whether you're a provider, advocate, or community member working to improve mental health access, this interview offers evidence-based insights on equity, policy, and what it takes to build systems that actually support healing.

CHAPTERS:
0:00 - Introduction
0:58 - Why Mental Health Equity Became Her Life's Work
2:19 - Cultural Upbringing and the Legacy of Silencing
3:35 - Bridging Micro and Macro: Clinical Work Meets Policy
4:50 - The "Frequent Flyer" Issue: System Fractures
6:16 - The Care Continuum: Patient to Policy
10:45 - Mental Health Shortage Areas: The Access Crisis
15:20 - Mobile Mental Health Care as a Solution
22:30 - Historical Trauma: Institutionalization and Stigma
30:15 - The Carceral System and Mental Health
32:33 - Finding Hope in Patient Care
34:28 - Cultural Curiosity vs. Cultural Competence
36:46 - Remembering Your Why

Interview Recorded On: January 16, 2026

💡 ABOUT MADHURI JHA: Founder of Thriving For All, specializing in mental health equity, post-traumatic stress disorder, and serving LGBTQ, immigrant, and trauma survivor populations.

🔗 Learn more: tntopenmind.org

#MentalHealthEquity #CareContinum #CulturalCuriosity #BehavioralHealth #healthcarepolicy

YouTube Tags (under 500 characters):
mental health equity, care continuum, cultural curiosity, healthcare policy, mental health access, behavioral health, primary care mental health, mobile mental health, health disparities, clinical social work, epidemiology, PTSD treatment, healthcare advocacy, mental health shortage, system change, community mental health, immigrant mental health, LGBTQ mental health, trauma informed care, healthcare equity

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Dr. Emily Shipley is seven months out of residency, working at a federally qualified health center in Carson City, Nevada. Her patients drive 45 minutes from towns with populations under 2,000. When they need a psychiatrist, that's an eight-hour drive to Las Vegas—if they have insurance that's accepted.
In this conversation, Emily shares what it's like to be the only mental health resource for patients facing serious psychiatric conditions, why she chose advanced med-peds training to work in under resourced communities, and how she's building skills through Nevada's TNT Primary Care Fellowship to diagnose and treat mental health conditions alongside physical health.
From teenagers experiencing psychosis with no specialist available, to the reality of treating depression and anxiety as routinely as diabetes, Emily's story shows both the crisis and the hope in rural mental healthcare delivery.
🎯 CHAPTERS:
0:00 - Introduction
0:45 - Why Carson City, Nevada?
2:30 - The State of Mental Health Care in Rural Nevada
4:15 - Eight Hours to the Nearest Psychiatrist
6:20 - A Teenager Seeing Shadow People: When There's No Specialist
9:45 - Why Med-Peds Over Family Medicine
12:30 - Training Gaps in Psychiatry During Residency
15:10 - Joining the TNT Primary Care Fellowship
18:25 - How Training Will Change Her Practice
22:40 - Nevada's Investment in Primary Care Mental Health
25:15 - Message of Hope: Mental Health is Treatable
28:00 - Making Primary Care the Solution
Interview Recorded On: January 16, 2026
💡 ABOUT TNT OPEN MIND INSIGHTS: A video interview series from UC Irvine's Train New Trainers Primary Care Fellowship program, featuring candid conversations with healthcare professionals transforming mental health access and delivery.
🔗 Learn more: tntopenmind.org
#RuralHealthcare #MentalHealthAccess #PrimaryCare #Psychiatry #BehavioralHealth

YouTube Tags (under 500 characters):
rural mental health,primary care psychiatry,mental health access,rural healthcare,Nevada healthcare,FQHC,underserved populations,psychiatry training,behavioral health,mental health crisis,primary care fellowship,rural medicine,health equity,mental health treatment,depression anxiety,schizophrenia,medical education,residency training,community health,telehealth alternatives

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Tamara Knox, Director of Ethics and Social Responsibility in Media at Ethical Narrative and Associate Clinical Social Worker (ACSW), joins TNT Open Mind Insights to discuss the power of ethical storytelling and trauma-informed photography in mental health and community healing.

In this conversation, Tamara shares how she merged her photography background with clinical social work to create a new approach to visual storytelling—one that centers collaboration, consent, and healing rather than extracting trauma narratives. She explains the shift from trauma-informed to healing-centered engagement, emphasizing the "3 C's": community, collaboration, and celebration.

Tamara discusses her project "Surviving to Thriving," a book and exhibition featuring community leaders who are survivor-thrivers. Rather than focusing on trauma details, these stories highlight resilience and current contributions—proving that people are "not a mess, but a blessing" navigating life's challenges.

Key insights include:

How photography became part of Tamara's own healing journey
The power dynamics in traditional storytelling and how to shift them
Why language matters: moving from "subject" to "person," from trauma focus to asset-based narratives
Practical advice for healthcare providers working with trauma survivors
The importance of self-care routines for helping professionals
Tamara's work demonstrates that when we change how we tell stories—centering voices, celebrating strengths, and creating collaborative processes—we don't just document healing; we facilitate it.

Learn more: www.tntopenmind.org
Connect with Tamara Knox:
TMKinspiredphotography.com
ethicalnarrative.com

Chapters
0:00 Introduction
1:37 Meeting Through Photography & Photojournalism
3:12 Combining Social Work with Photography
5:32 Tamara's Journey as a Survivor-Thriver
8:59 Reframing Narratives: From Trauma to Assets
10:10 The Healing Power of Shifting Story Focus
11:01 Photography as Personal Healing
12:44 Power Dynamics in Storytelling
14:04 Trauma-Informed to Healing-Centered Engagement
15:17 The 3 C's: Community, Collaboration, Celebration
18:06 "Surviving Thriving" Book Project
22:58 Collaborative Portrait Process
24:30 Therapeutic Purpose of the Book
28:10 Advice for Healthcare Providers
29:20 The Power of Asset-Based Language
30:19 Self-Care and Morning Routines
33:09 Sustaining Self-Care Practices
35:33 Where to Connect with Tamara

Tags
ethical storytelling, trauma informed care, healing centered engagement, narrative therapy, social work, clinical social work, mental health, photography therapy, community healing, asset based narrative, trauma recovery, healthcare providers, photojournalism ethics, survivor stories, resilience, therapeutic storytelling, mental health professionals, community leaders, trauma informed photography, self care practices, patient centered care, collaborative storytelling, visual storytelling, healthcare communication

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In this insightful discussion, Dr. Gagliardi, Associate Director for Train New Trainer Fellowships, shares her unique journey into medicine—from a non-medical family background to becoming a leader in medical education and physician well-being.

Dr. Gagliardi combines her dual training in internal medicine and psychiatry to provide holistic patient car. Learn about her approach to maintaining completeness and thoroughness in clinical practice, and her strategies for staying well while navigating complex healthcare systems. The conversation explores critical topics including the evolution of physician wellness, the role of quality improvement in preventing burnout, moral injury in healthcare, and the thoughtful integration of artificial intelligence in medicine.

Dr. Gagliardi also discusses the mission and impact of the Train New Trainers Fellowships, which has trained more than 1,400 alumni to expand quality behavioral health care to under-resourced communities.

Visit TNT Open Mind Insights: www.tntopenmind.org

CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction
01:01 Dr. Gagliardi's Journey into Medicine
03:48 From Non-Medical Family to Combined Med-Psych Residency
07:07 Finding Medicine Without Traditional Mentorship
09:53 Navigating Healthcare Systems While Staying True to Core Values
12:25 The Art of Being Fully Present with Patients
14:36 Balancing Professional Completeness with Family Life
16:53 Evolution of Physician Wellness and Well-being
21:09 Are We Making Progress in Medical Education?
24:56 The Impact of Technology and AI on Medicine
26:52 Principles for Ethical AI Policy in Healthcare
30:25 The Right to Happiness in Healthcare
31:37 The Future of Train New Trainers Program
35:06 How to Learn More About TNT
37:27 Systems That Support or Undermine Well-being

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Dr. Marcovitz discusses why understanding co-occurring disorders is essential for effective treatment, showing how many patients cycle through residential programs without proper diagnosis of underlying mental health conditions. He emphasizes the importance of motivational interviewing—not just as a clinical technique, but as a powerful tool for reducing provider burnout while improving patient outcomes.

Key topics include:
The relationship between addiction and mental health disorders
Breaking down silos in psychiatric care
Training gaps in addiction medicine education
How to diagnose co-occurring disorders effectively
The role of empathy and nonviolent communication in healthcare
Policy work and expanding access to care for uninsured patients
Whether you're a healthcare practitioner, mental health professional, or community leader interested in improving addiction treatment, this conversation offers practical insights into creating better outcomes for patients with complex needs.

Watch More TNT Open Mind Insights interviews: www.tntopenmind.org

Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
0:50 Personal motivation and family background in psychology
4:18 Connecting psychiatry with policy work
6:09 Education and training gaps in addiction medicine
8:02 The relationship between psychiatry and addiction
10:15 The problem with diagnostic silos
12:27 The importance of clinical skills beyond checklists
14:22 Power dynamics and motivational interviewing techniques
16:53 Training pathways in addiction medicine vs. addiction psychiatry
18:34 What's exciting in addiction medicine today
20:09 Key teaching principles: co-occurring disorders and motivational interviewing
24:23 Reducing burnout through better communication techniques
25:07 Human connection and nonviolent communication
28:31 Self-care for healthcare providers
29:55 Resources and how to connect

Tags
#DrDavidMarcovitz #addictionpsychiatry #VanderbiltMedicalCenter #mentalhealth #substanceusedisorder #cooccurringdisorders #motivationalinterviewing #addictionmedicine #psychiatrytraining #opioidcrisis #behavioralhealth #integratedcare #TNTOpenMind #healthcareeducation #primarycare #psychiatricfellowship #burnoutprevention #patientcommunication #addictiontreatment #dualdiagnosis

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Join Dr. Jane Gagliardi as she sits down with Dr. Matt Gerenz, a psychiatrist at Happier Living in Los Angeles, to explore his unique journey from North Dakota Army National Guard combat medic to addiction medicine specialist. Dr. Gerenz shares how 12 years of military service shaped his patient-centered approach and why he chose to pursue additional training through the TNT (Train New Trainers) Fellowship in Addiction Medicine.
In this compelling conversation, Dr. Gerenz discusses:
The critical gap between substance use disorder prevalence and adequate training
How motivational interviewing and harm reduction approaches transform patient care
The importance of whole-person, integrative psychiatry beyond symptom management
Overcoming stigma in medication-assisted therapy
Why confidence matters in asking patients the right questions
Learn more about TNT Open Mind Insights: www.tntopenmind.org
Interview Recorded on: January 17th, 2025

Timestamped Chapters
0:00 Introduction
0:47 From North Dakota to Medicine: An Unconventional Path
1:32 12 Years as a Combat Medic in the North Dakota Army National Guard
2:27 Bringing Healthcare to 4,000+ National Guard Members
3:19 The Mentor Who Changed Everything
4:15 Training at UCI: Witnessing the Substance Use Crisis
6:23 How Patients Suffer from Substance Use Disorders
7:09 The Barriers to Quality Treatment
8:28 Why a Psychiatry Resident Pursued Addiction Medicine Training
10:29 Learning Motivational Interviewing and Harm Reduction
12:21 Building Patient Trust: "You Can Handle the Truth"
14:26 Gaining Confidence in Substance Use Treatment
15:52 Future Vision: Integrative and Functional Psychiatry
17:46 The Need for Holistic, Whole-Person Care
19:44 When Symptoms Don't Tell the Whole Story
21:48 Reducing Stigma in Mental Health and Addiction Treatment
23:38 The Power of Monthly Mentorship with Dr. Steve Delisi
26:36 Sharing Knowledge: The Educational Component
28:02 Key Takeaways for Psychiatry Residents
30:27 Connect with Dr. Gerenz

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