Heads Up: A Year-long Mental Health Awareness Journey

Our new Heads Up webinar series focuses on important mental health topics that affect us all. We hope this webinar series will help drive the conversation and offer you mental health education and support.

Topics include:

Webinar 1: Mental Health: A look at the past and imagining the future

In this segment, John Broderick and Dr. William Torrey reflect on long-standing challenges around mental health and look ahead to ways in which the tide is turning.

Webinar 2: Youth Mental Health - What are our children saying and are we listening?

Our panelists discuss specific concerns around youth mental health, including:

  • Stress and anxiety brought about by the pandemic
  • Relationships with peers and parents
  • Pressures of school

Panelists:

  • Kay Jankowski, PhD, Director, Psychology Services, Dartmouth Health, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
  • Fern Seiden, MSW, Director of Student Wellness, Merrimack, New Hampshire School District
  • Natalie McLaughlin-Ray, 10th-grade student, Academy of Science and Design, and Girls Inc. Representative

Watch the video below for insights, tips, and resources. Read the related story.

Webinar 3: Social Media and Youth – How do we strike a healthy balance?

Our panelists discuss specific concerns around social media and youth mental health, including:

  • Depression, anxiety and anxiety disorders caused by excess engagement
  • The potential for destructive and constructive behaviors
  • How parents and caregivers can talk about social media with young people

Panelists:

  • Steven Schlozman, MD, Child Psychiatrist, Dartmouth Health Children’s
  • Heather Inyart, Executive Director of Media Power Youth, a youth development organization based in Manchester
  • Kenny Olibrice, an eleventh-grader at Manchester Central High School and a Youth Advisor for Media Power Youth

Watch the video below for insights, tips, and resources. Read the related story.

Webinar 4: Student-Athletes – What are their unique mental health stressors and how can we support them?

Our panelists discuss specific concerns around youth athletics and mental health, including:

  • Depression, stress, grief and identity crises caused by injury or changes in participation
  • How mental health affects physical performance and vice versa
  • The importance of setting milestones in recovery

Panelists:

  • Keith Loud, MD, Physician-in-Chief and a board-certified sports pediatrician, Dartmouth Health Children’s
  • Mark Hiatt, PhD, staff psychologist and Director of the Sport Psychology Program at Dartmouth College Health Services
  • Meghan Cramb of Merrimack, New Hampshire, a graduate student-athlete and member of the Lynn University Women’s Basketball team

Watch the video below for insights, tips, and resources. Read the related story.

Webinar 5: Parents and other adults: How do we support children who are struggling?

Our panelists discuss how to be part of the solution for young people with mental illness, including:

  • How to spot the warning signs of depression and anxiety in kids and teens
  • Modeling healthy behaviors
  • Having conversations with young people about their struggles

Panelists:

  • James Craig, MA, PhD, Child Psychologist, Dartmouth Health Psychiatry
  • Lisa Hayward, PhD, Prevention Coordinator, Office of Social Emotional Wellness at the New Hampshire Department of Education
  • Diane Fitzpatrick, MS, Chief Executive Officer of the Boys & Girls Club of Manchester

Watch the video below for insights, tips, and resources. Read the related story.

Webinar 6: Mental health and the criminal justice system

Our panelists discuss the intersections of mental health and criminal justice and the need for change, including:

  • How stigma around mental illness has led to justice systems prioritizing incarceration over treatment
  • The ways trauma and mental illness contribute to criminal behavior
  • How police and other first responders suffering with mental illness due to work-related stress and exposure to traumatic incidents

Panelists:

  • Samantha Morin, PhD, Dartmouth Health Lead Child Forensic Psychologist, Director of Clinical Services at Sununu Youth Services Center in Manchester and Vice Chair of the NH Juvenile Justice Reform Commission
  • David Goldstein, PhD, Behavioral Scientist and Chief of Police for the City of Franklin
  • Joseph Lascaze, Criminal Justice Reform Advocate and Smart Justice Campaign Manager for the American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire

Watch the video below for insights, tips, and resources. Read the related story.

Webinar 7: Mental health of veterans and active military

Our panelists discuss the many unique and common mental health issues that can arise from military experience or transitioning to civilian life, and how we can support them, including:

  • How military experience can present unique challenges, as well as common mental illnesses
  • The ways stigma around mental health has evolved in the military
  • Tips on how to support veterans and their loved ones, and resources for veterans seeking help

Panelists:

  • Evan Bick, PsyD., an Army veteran and a mental health provider at Dartmouth Health
  • Patrick Jordan III, the Chief Operating Officer of Dartmouth Health and an Army veteran

Watch the video below for insights, tips, and resources. Read the related story.

Webinar 8: Mental health and our older adult population

Our panelists explore the factors that create barriers to mental health for older adults and best practices to help lower those barriers and create healthy opportunities, includng:

  • How accumulating loss can result in unprocessed grief
  • Increased isolation among older adults, particularly during the holiday season
  • Some ways older adults can start healthier habits and loved ones can be more proactive in helping

Panelists:

  • Courtney Stevens, PhD, MA, a licensed clinical psychologist at Dartmouth Health and assistant professor of psychiatry at Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
  • Ed Mahoney, PhD, a licensed psychotherapist with Bedford Counseling, an educator with the Mental Health Center of Greater Manchester, and co-founder of Storytelling: Remembering Together
  • Phyllis Whitney, a patient family advisor for Dartmouth Health who shared her personal experiences as an older adult

Watch the video below for insights, tips, and resources. Read the related story.

Webinar 9: Mental health in the workplace

Our panelists explore the resources available to workers through employee benefits, how they work and how some companies might consider adopting those policies, including:

  • How Employee Assistance Programs work and how to make use of them.
  • Creating a culture of well-being and destigmatizing mental health in the workplace.
  • Spotting common signs of workplace stress and changes in mental health.

Panelists:

  • Luke Archibald, MD, Addiction Psychiatrist and Director of Addiction Services at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC)
  • Steve Cole, PhD, Lead Clinical Psychologist and Manager of the Dartmouth Health Employee Assistance Program
  • Rusty Fowler, Global Benefits Leader at Hypertherm, an employee-owned manufacturer with facilities in Hanover and Lebanon, New Hampshire

Watch the video below for insights, tips, and resources. Read the related story.

Webinar 10: Understanding the Five Signs of emotional suffering and learning how to "REACT"

Our panelists discuss the origins, evolution and impact of two public health initiatives: the Five Signs and REACT, including:

  • How the Five Signs was first conceived.
  • Working through cultural stigma around mental health and building awareness.
  • John Broderick's journey to bring the Five Signs to NH and developing the REACT program.

Panelists:

  • John Broderick, Jr., Sr. Director of External Affairs, Dartmouth Health, and former Chief Justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court.
  • Barbara Van Dahlen, PhD, CEO of WeBe Life, child psychologist, founder of the Campaign to Change Direction and the Five Signs, former Executive Director of PREVENTS, a presidential task force focused on creating a national response to suicide.
  • Julie Balaban, MD, FAPA, DFAACAP, Section Chief, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Dartmouth Health Children's.

Watch the video below for insights, tips, and resources. Read the related story.

Webinar 11: The current state of mental health policy and a path forward

Our panelists discuss the current state of the mental health system in New Hampshire and the country, including:

  • The history of mental health policy and recent progress.
  • Some specific policies Dartmouth Health and policy advocates are eyeing.
  • The importance of community-based modes of treatment delivery.

Panelists:

  • Will Torrey, MD, Department Chair of Psychiatry, Dartmouth Health
  • Holly A. Stevens, Esq., Director of Public Policy, NAMI New Hampshire
  • Matthew Houde, JD, Vice President of Government Relations, Dartmouth Health

Watch the video below for insights, tips, and resources. Read the related story.

Webinar 12: Substance use disorder and co-occurring mental illness

Our panelists discuss the relationship between substance use disorder and mental illness, how they’re treated and how systems can still improve.

  • How substance use disorder (SUD) affects the brain and the relationship it has with trauma and adverse childhood experiences.
  • The current treatment options for both SUD and co-occurring mental illnesses.
  • Areas where mental health and SUD treatment can still improve in New Hampshire.

Panelists:

  • Julia Frew, MD, a psychiatrist certified in addiction medicine at Dartmouth Health and director of the Moms in Recovery program.
  • Laurie Butz-Meyerrose, MS LCMHC, MLADC, ACS, interim director at The Doorway at Cheshire Medical Center.
  • Annette Escalante, MSW, MLADC, senior vice president of Easterseals Farnum Center, a substance use treatment center, which also serves as the extended Doorway for Manchester after hours, and former director of the New Hampshire Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Services.

Watch the video below for insights, tips, and resources. Read the related story.

Webinar 13: Heads Up: A Year-Long Mental Health Awareness Journey: Looking back and looking forward

Our panelists discuss the series and what they learned along the way.

  • Which topics, webinars and articles stood out to the panelists.
  • How the project was first conceived, and the partnership with the state's largest newspapers.
  • How this project will inform future coverage of mental health.

Panelists:

  • John Broderick Jr., Senior Director of External Affairs, Dartmouth Health, former Chief Justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court, and author of Back Roads and Highways: My Journey to Discovery on Mental Health.
  • Will Torrey, MD, Chair of the Psychiatry Department at Dartmouth Health and the Raymond Sobel Professor at Dartmouth College’s Geisel School of Medicine.
  • Brendan McQuaid, president and publisher of the New Hampshire Union Leader.
  • Howard Altschiller, executive editor of Seacoast Media Group, which publishes the Portsmouth Herald and Foster's Daily Democrat.