Feature Story: Open Doors, Open Minds

FEATURE STORY

Open Doors,Open Minds

The Future of Behavioral Health

BY MELANIE OTERO

Behavioral health is going through a tectonic shift. Just as the plates that make up Earth’s crust move sometimes away and sometimes toward each other, the events of the past two years have exposed system fractures in some places, yet brought residents, communities, and systems together in new ways. Three Palm Beach County community behavioral health professionals see promising opportunities to bridge the gaps and evolve for the future by addressing inequities, opening honest conversations, and integrating services throughout the community to meet people where they are.

TOWARD GREATER EMPATHY Kenya Madison, senior director of Healthier Delray Beach, sees the future of behavioral health like the menu at The Cheesecake Factory. “The list of options is long, and there is something for everyone, no matter who you are when you come to the table,” she said.

Recognizing “who you are” is critical to behavioral health professionals in how they express empathy—the ability to recognize, understand, and share the thoughts and feelings of another person. Rorri Geller-Mohamed, LCSW, founder

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Everything around a person impacts their mental health

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of U Power Change, a diversity, equity, and inclusion organization, sees how awareness has shifted and empathy gaps have become ever more critical during the last two years following the murder of George Floyd and the COVID pandemic. “Much needed conversations around racism and inequities are finally becoming more commonplace and mainstream,” she said.

Moving conversations from the sidelines to out in the open is a positive shift for the future of both policy and the practice of behavioral health according to Geller-Mohamed. “If we’re not able to feel what others are feeling, or connect with what they’re going through, our actions will not reflect that. White people

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FEATURE STORY

Meet Our Professionals

Kenya Madison EdS, Senior Director Healthier Delray Beach

also need to gain a deeper understanding of how the existence of systemic racism is harmful to everyone and how working to dismantle it will improve outcomes for all of us. Empathy must expand to deeply understanding the root cause and systemic factors of what is causing someone’s behavioral health issues.”

Dr. Vardine K. Simeus, PhD, director of social emotional wellness for Families First of Palm Beach County, agrees that empathy is critical. “Everything around a person impacts their mental health,” said Dr. V. “If the environment doesn’t feel safe, it impacts them. A child living in a high crime area may think he is going to get shot every time he hears a loud bang. Even a teacher yelling can be a trigger.”

HONORING CONTEXT WHILE CHALLENGING PERCEPTIONS One of the considerations for the future of behavioral health—especially with a dire shortage of professionals—is how can practitioners empathize with clients who have different lived experiences? Do practitioner and client need to have the same background? The same color? Yes and no.

“As a clinician, I was taught how to create safe spaces for people, encountering them as humans, regardless of race, ethnicity or faith,” said Madison. “But if someone is going through self-reflection and says she would like a therapist to have the same experiential background, then representation matters. As a Black female, I may want a resonation space where I

Vardine K. Siméus, PhD (aka “Dr. V.”) Director of Social Emotional Wellness for Families First of Palm Beach County

Rorri Geller-Mohamed, LCSW,

Founder of U Power Change and host of Racially Responsible Podcast

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FEATURE STORY

don’t have to tell the whole story. I may need a therapist who connects with me and understands the generational or family challenges embedded in the Black community.”

Dr. V agrees with Madison on a humanistic approach to treating clients. And she persuades her clients to keep an open mind, too. She recalls a white male client who told her he was “a redneck” and asked for a white therapist. Dr. V asked him to give her a chance. He became her best patient. “What would have happened if I were not open?” she questioned. “Would he have had as much success? Sometimes we fail ourselves by focusing on equity without realizing we are already equal. You are a patient. I am a therapist. How can I help you?

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE All three professionals agree that the way to help more people in the future is through innovation, what Madison described as a long list of options with something for everyone.

“We have to look at this from a community perspective,” said Geller-Mohamed. “It can’t be just an individualistic solution where therapy is the only solution. The biggest thing is listening to what people are saying and allowing creativity to be the new norm to create something that never existed before.”

One of the places where Geller-Mohamed and Dr. V see greater potential

for the future—and greater need due to the long-term effects of the pandemic—is schools. “We have to be prepared for the influx of need from children,” said Dr. V “We need to train school clinicians on different therapeutic modalities and challenge perceptions and biases. But we also need more than therapeutic services. We need the arts and different activities for children to participate in groups. Some children do well individually in therapy, but others need to share their experiences with other children.”

Geller-Mohamed believes diversity, equity and inclusion needs to be embedded in the fabric of the community. “By providing education and resources that

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FEATURE STORY

prioritize diversity, equity and inclusion to those in leadership positions and those working with youth, we could create spaces that increase an individual’s sense of belonging and decrease depression, anxiety, and traumatic experiences often caused by racism and inequities.” she said. “Schools are a great place to start although we also need to see this happen in doctors’ offices, local small businesses, faith-based organizations and other institutions and community spaces to truly create a safe, loving, and inclusive community.”

When you don’t know what to do, there is someone who can help you make it to tomorrow. And no matter where you start, there is someone to ask how you are doing and help listen for the answer.

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Madison sees the faith community as another place for building the future of behavioral health. “Faith centers have always been seen as hospitals for the hurting,” she said. “No matter who you are, you are received.” Madison has been on the forefront of a movement that brings mental health into churches in Delray Beach and part of conversations nationally to normalize its presence in faith communities. It is an approach backed by research and universities. “Faith-based initiatives are now seen for their efficacy and given credibility for sustainability and approachability for the masses.”

Madison also sees positive signs of holistic health where behavioral health is part of larger conversations around wellness at physicians’ offices, in the media, and in general conversations. She envisions a day when access to services are as common as urgent care centers on every corner and where, “When you don’t know what to do, there is someone who can help you make it to tomorrow. And no matter where you start, there is someone to ask how you are doing and help listen for the answer.”

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