Astor Services Spreads Seeds of Growth for Mental Health Month
Welcome Hudson Valley to this week’s edition of IN TOUCH, the public affairs and issues program that runs across Townsquare Media of the Hudson Valley radio stations.
Today’s guest is Jennifer Brody, Director of the APA-Accredited Doctoral Internship at Astor Services. May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Jennifer and I talk about the highly acclaimed internship program she runs at Astor Services, the incredible counseling programs that Astor Services offers its clients, the recent changes to their programs since their rebranding, their special events such as Dine Out for Mental Health happening all of May, and more. It’s a jam-packed episode, but it's filled with a lot of energy and light.
We invite you to join us and listen to a previously recorded conversation between Julia and myself here on In Touch.
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This has been this week’s edition of IN TOUCH, the public affairs and issues program that runs across Townsquare Media of the Hudson Valley radio stations. We want to give a big thank you to Jennifer Brody. For more information on Astor Services, their programs, upcoming events such as their Dine Out for Mental Health Month, and more, visit astorservices.org. Of course, all links and information can be found in the description of this episode.
Seeds of Growth
May being Mental Health Awareness Month reminds Astor Services of the phrase "April showers bring May flowers" to apply to any storm we weather. The new Astor logo now includes "a flower, representing our desire to help our clients blossom and flourish," as our CEO Yvette Bairan wrote in her announcement about the recent agency rebranding. Jennifer Brody along with many of the counselors at Astor love METAPHORS, and as clinicians and supervisors, they often use these with our clients and supervisees. The metaphor of any helping connection being an opportunity for the helper to be gardener to "plant a seed" and be a witness and cultivator of all that can grow (and blossom and flourish) is very inspiring!
Age Expansion for Astor to Cover All Ages and Stages
In addition to the many outpatient clinics, clients at the Poughkeepsie Clinic on Lincoln Avenue can now be from ages 0-26 and their caregivers of any age can have their own counseling services:
Help for the Helpers
Given all that counselors at Astor balance with regard to energy when they work so closely with they clients, they need to make sure they are as healthy as they can be – physically and mentally, as well, so one way to do this is to use creative counseling techniques. Jennifer Brody is training supervisors this month in Expressive Supervision. Here are a few slides that cover the positive aspects of clinical creativity:
Jennifer Brody's Art Envelope
According to Brody, "Having colorful, artistic backgrounds AND foregrounds on my computer and virtual platforms that create an art envelope for me to fold myself into is one key way I take care of my own mental health while providing mental health services and training clinicians to provide mental health services!"
Enrichment Fund Giving Opportunities
One way Astor is celebrating 70 years in providing mental health services is by creating an enrichment fund to help children and families pay for music, art, dance lessons, as well as other enriching activities. Various area restaurants have partnered with us to provide donations to the enrichment fund, so see the calendar on our website for specifics
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I’ve been your host, Conor Walsh. Until next time, stay curious, keep an open mind, and as always, I’m glad we get to Spend Some Time.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month
As we’ve mentioned before, May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Mental Health Awareness Month began in the United States in 1949 and was started by the Mental Health America (MHA) organization. Each year in mid-March Mental Health America releases a toolkit of materials to guide preparation for outreach activities during Mental Health Awareness Month. During the month of May, MHA, its affiliates, and other organizations interested in mental health conduct a number of activities which are based on a different theme each year.
The 2023 Mental Health Month Campaign is focused on how surroundings impact mental health, and we are calling for individuals to look around, look within.
Topics that are being specifically addressed include:
- Safe and Stable Housing
- Healthy Home Environments
- Neighborhoods and Towns
- The Outdoors and Nature
The purpose of Mental Health Awareness Month is to raise awareness and educate the public about: mental illnesses, such as the 18.1% of Americans who suffer from depression, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder;[12] the realities of living with these conditions; and strategies for attaining mental health and wellness. It also aims to draw attention to suicide, which can be precipitated by some mental illnesses. Additionally, Mental Health Awareness Month strives to reduce the stigma that surrounds mental illnesses.
For more information on Mental Health Awareness Month, please visit MHANational.org.