Stories That Matter: My Mother is “Crazy”
And Other Real-Life Stuff That They Don’t Teach About Mental Health Challenges
March 17
12:30-2:30 p.m. ET / 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. CT / 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. MT / 9:30-11:30 a.m. PT
DESCRIPTION
The National Training and Technical Assistance Center for Child, Youth, & Family Mental Health invites you to uplift the stories and wisdom of lived experience to broaden our perspectives, challenge lingering stereotypes, and celebrate our shared humanity. Through storytelling and witnessing the experience of a child through the eyes of an adult, we learn new ways to improve our practices as educators. How might we change our practices to be more trauma-informed? How might we see the strength and softness of others as they navigate the mental health systems of care?
Angee Stevens, LCSW, shares her journey as the daughter, and now guardian, to someone diagnosed with what is considered a “Severe and Persistent Mental Illness.” Through the vulnerability of sharing her lived experiences, Angee provides a safe space to explore individual biases and ask questions, so that we as helping professionals can have a more positive impact in the lives of children and adults struggling with mental health challenges.
Growing up with a mother diagnosed with Schizo-Affective Disorder, witnessing her mother’s erratic and unpredictable behaviors, Angee’s childhood was laced with feelings of isolation and shame. You are invited to hear her story of resilience and strength as she shares how her mother’s mental health challenges impacted the way she learned to navigate systems of support, including education, from early childhood until now. This story emphasizes how mental health affects each and every one of us psychologically, emotionally, and professionally, in order to reframe our perception of mental health and create a renewed awareness of the shared humanity connecting us all. This story is a call to action for us all to move beyond the current disease and welfare model established within existing systems of care.
2 CEUs are available for Mental Health Peer Specialists, Recovery Support Peer Specialists, Certified Family Partners, Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselors.
Sign up for our mailing list to be among the first to learn about new events.
Register for upcoming events below. Do you have a specialized need for support from our team? Submit the Training and TA Request Form and we will be in touch.