You’re Not Alone:
Navigating Life with Mental Illness
A three-part series for Mental Illness Awareness Week 2023 (October 1 - 7) that explores mental illness, the barriers that can block your journey to good mental health, and how stigmas, diagnoses, and disclosure are represented on film and TV.
EPISODE ONE: How Stigma Hurts Everyone
RELEASE DATE: Tuesday, October 3, 2023
LISTEN HERE: braaainspodcast.com/episodes/stigma
Amie Archibald-Varley, Nurse, Health Equity Specialist, and co-host of the Gritty Nurse Podcast joins us to talk about stigma, where it comes from, and how it leads to discrimination. This episode will inform you on how to prevent and address stigmas as well as be a good ally.
GUEST BIO
Amie Archibald-Varley is a thought leader, Speaker with the National Speakers Bureau, Health Equity Specialist, and upcoming author of "The Wisdom of Nurses" with Harper Collins (April 2024). She is also a podcaster, mental health & health equity advocate, and quality improvement and change management specialist. She inspires others to speak their truths and brings communities together to engage in “courageous conversations.”
Amie is a medical contributor who has been featured on numerous television, radio, and news outlets nationally and internationally. She is a Freelance Journalist with the Canadian Broadcaster Corporation (CBC) and regularly contributes to conversations on a wide variety of topics such as; Healthcare, politics (local, national, and international), climate change, health equity, racism and antiracism, mental health issues, and popular culture.
She is also featured on the Smart Speakers Series on Newstalk1010’s The Rush with Reshmi Nair. Amie has also written for The Globe and Mail, Chatelaine & Toronto Star and is currently writing a book with Harper Collins for 2024.
As the co-host of the successful “Gritty Nurse Podcast”, Amie discusses hot topics in healthcare. The podcast has hit #2 in Apple Podcasts in Medicine for Canada. She also is starting 2 new podcasts in 2023: DEFIANT and Too Opinionated Podcast—launching in Feb/Mar 2023.
In her role as a Health Equity Specialist, Amie provides leadership, advisory, and strategic consultation related to anti-racism, and equity in the culture, policies, and practices of a large health system, with a specific focus on promoting respect for equity-deserving groups.
EPISODE TWO: The Journey to Diagnosis
RELEASE DATE: Wednesday, October 4, 2023
LISTEN HERE: braaainspodcast.com/episodes/diagnosis
Dr. Lily Le, a registered psychologist and Director of Clinical Innovation at the mental health tech company, DiveThru, discusses how to take the next step when you need help with a mental illness or are looking to improve your mental health. We also get advice on what to do when it’s difficult to see a therapist due to affordability or long wait times and the importance of having a support system in place.
GUEST BIO
Dr. Lily Le is a Registered Psychologist with a Ph.D. in Counselling Psychology from the University of Alberta. Dr. Le has over a decade of experience in mental health and has worked in university, private practice, and public healthcare settings. She is dedicated to de-stigmatizing mental health, making care more accessible, and leveraging innovation and technology to enhance clinical processes and outcomes.
Dr. Le is the Director of Clinical Innovation at DiveThru, a mental health tech company on a mission to ensure no one struggles alone. In her role, Dr. Le oversees the clinical side of the company, employing research and clinical expertise to develop, evaluate, and refine clinical products and processes.
In her spare time, Dr. Le can be found binging the latest hit show, picking up a new activity (currently, it's rowing!), and exploring local events with her family and friends.
EPISODE THREE: When and How to Disclose
RELEASE DATE: Thursday, October 5, 2023
LISTEN HERE: braaainspodcast.com/episodes/disclosure
Steph is a psychologist and host of the Psychocinematic podcast who currently works in Disability Inclusion in schools in Naarm (Melbourne) and has her own mental illness lived experience. Steph joins us to discuss how you approach disclosure, concerns around discrimination about disclosure and how to address it, and why some people incorporate their mental illness or disability into their identity after disclosure.
GUEST BIO
Stephanie (Steph) Fornasier is a psychologist currently working in Disability Inclusion in schools in Naarm (Melbourne), with her own mental illness lived experience. She has a 13-year career so far, including working with kids and adults with disabilities, in private practice, and in the education system. A passionate mental health advocate and disability ally, Steph is also a big film and TV nerd and loves to overthink even the most basic media portrayal of a thing. She's a mum of a toddler human, an adult cat Myf, and also a bit of a music snob with no right to be.
Psychocinematic Podcast - Psychocinematic Podcast was a concept formed back in 2019 when Steph decided she'd like to put her passion for psychology together with her passion for cinema. But as a full-time psychologist working with kids, when was she going to get the time to work on it? Then the pandemic hit... just as she was about to have a baby... suddenly time was limitless! Psychocinematic officially launched in September 2020. But over 2 years later, Psychocinematic is only growing with every episode and has become more than just a passion project. Psychocinematic Podcast is a form of entertainment, education, and a connection point with a community of people who desperately wish to smash mental health and disability stigma and end ableism in media.
