Checking In
Landscape
AI & Behavioral Health: The Future is Here - National Council for Mental Wellbeing
Behavioral Health & Veteran’s Health Among Key Priorities in Biden’s Budget - Fierce Healthcare
FDA Grants ‘Breakthrough Therapy’ Status to LSD to Treat Anxiety - Forbes
Lesson
Video & Audio Content in Behavioral Health
This past week I was lucky enough to engage in multiple audio and video events within my behavioral health network. I was a guest on a podcast on Monday, and then attended two webinar events on Monday and Tuesday. It got me thinking about effective methods of content and marketing around behavioral health and business.
The integration of video and audio content into the mental health field represents a dynamic shift towards more accessible, creative, and engaging forms of education and support. This guide highlights how these mediums are transforming mental health awareness and therapy.
Educational Impact: Video content, such as webinars, informational videos, and documentaries, serves as an invaluable tool for destigmatizing mental health issues. These resources can simplify complex concepts, making them understandable for people with varying degrees of knowledge about mental health. Audio content, including podcasts and interviews with mental health professionals, extends this educational reach, allowing for deeper exploration of topics in a format that people can consume on the go.
Creative Expression: The power of storytelling cannot be overstated in the context of mental health education. Creative narratives, whether through animated videos or compelling audio documentaries, can humanize mental health struggles, fostering empathy and understanding. By utilizing creative storytelling techniques, educators and advocates can connect with audiences on an emotional level, encouraging a more profound engagement with the subject matter.
Enhancing Engagement: Interactive elements such as live streams, Q&A sessions, and community forums encourage active participation from the audience. Engagement is further amplified through the use of social media platforms, where video and audio content can be easily shared, commented on, and discussed. This interactive approach not only educates but also builds a supportive community around mental health topics.
For therapists, marketers, and behavioral health companies of all flavors, understanding how to communicate compelling stories effectively is the primary driver of growth and resonation with audiences. Video content is a limitless medium, while audio content has been the increased in popularity drastically over the last 5-10 years with the rise of podcasts. Both mediums, when executed with authenticity and accuracy, add a richness and intimacy to your company’s offerings.
Life
Checking In
The practice of checking in with yourself is a practice in honesty.
What am I actually feeling?
What is the true source of these feelings and inner experiences?
Being honest requires permission. There is often a flood of distracting or critical thoughts and voices that always seem crawl up right when something good is about to take shape. Something actually meaningful, cathartic, or eloquent. It’s our mind’s way of saying ‘This is big’, so don’t fuck it up.
I’ve struggled a lot with comparison - ever since grade school. I remember our teachers having us compete in math games in 3rd grade, and using that as the basis for placing students in the advanced math track. This was the first taste of the education exceptionalism complex - a dramatic name I know - but it captures our society’s obsession with those who stand out and those who stand out early.
Comparison for me is not just around success, but early success. I have this strange belief that my professional arc will involve me reaching my peak in my 20s and 30s, and then having a slower, more modest professional life in my 40s and 50s. But research and reality often tells us the opposite.
Part of my management and healing around this involves gratitude and context switching around what I’ve actually accomplished up to this point. In my career, each experience has built on the momentum of the previous. I materialize what each work experience has given me, what tangible skill or shift in life view, and how I would be different without it. Rapid success and growth comes at the expense of contextual gratitude. I try to remind myself of that.
Success truly is not measure by the comparison to others. If it was, none of us would be classified as a successful. Success is measured by comparison to the self.
Am I better than I was last year? Last month?
What have I learned at this new role?
What things can I do now that I couldn’t before.
These prompts get better answers as time goes on.
Success compounds, like an investment.