Mental health care and recovery services have historically prioritized a clinical medical model. Under this model, expertise resided almost exclusively in the hands of professionally trained healthcare providers. Beginning in the 1960s and 70s, however, a recovery model emerged that put greater emphasis on the self-determination of “consumers” of mental health services and the expertise of individuals with lived experience of mental health challenges.

This episode of Into the Fold was recorded onsite at PeerFest 2024 and guest hosted by Anna Gray and Janet Paleo. Anna and Janet are co-founders of Prosumers International, and Anna is also its executive director. Rooted in the belief that purposeful recovery is possible, Prosumers aims to create an empowering environment where people with mental health challenges can achieve recovery on their own terms.

Anna and Janet spoke with Dr. Octavio N. Martinez, Jr., executive director of the Hogg Foundation, to learn more about the Hogg Foundation’s support of a mental health recovery model that prioritizes the voices of individuals with lived experience.

• Into the Fold, Episode 77: Consumer Voice
• Into the Fold, Episode 162: It’s a Texas Thing: Celebrating Recovery at PeerFest
• 3 Things to Know: Recovery
• Texas Recovery Movement
• A Joyful Noise: Peerfest
• Thrauma: From Surviving to Thriving
• Mental Health Policy Fellows and Policy Academy
• $2 Million Awarded to Train Mental Health Policy Fellows in Texas

PeerFest is an educational and celebratory event for Texans who have faced mental health challenges and are on a journey to wellness.

Dr. William DeFoore, author of, among other books, Anger Among Angels: Shedding Light on the Darkness of the Human Soul. His keynote address is titled, "Goodfinding: A Comprehensive Approach to Mental Health Incorporating Emotional Intelligence and Positive Psychology."

Sir Billy Dorsey (yes, an actual knight) will be delivering his keynote address, “In the Right Seat: Finding Purpose at the Intersection of Passion, Proficiency, and Positioning.”

“Texas has a vibrant community of people who are using their personal recovery journeys to advocate for broader change in mental health. PeerFest 2024 is a not-to-be-missed chance for people to tap into this community, to be challenged and inspired, and to infuse that energy into their lives going forward.

By some accounts, young people's relationship to technology is unfolding crisis. It is now commonplace for adults to lament the “screen time” of young people and worry about its effect on their social lives and mental health. In 2023, the American Psychological Association issued a health advisory focusing on adolescent social media use, and the U.S. Surgeon General has said that social media can have “a profound risk of harm to the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents. There is evidence that social media may contribute to issues like depression, anxiety, toxic social comparison, sleep problems, body image issues, and disordered eating.”

But is that the whole story? And if there is real cause for for alarm, what should be done? Dr. Carrie James and Dr. Emily Weinstein are co-founders of the Center for Digital Thriving at Harvard University. In their book Behind Their Screens, Emily and Carrie draw on a survey of more than 3,500 teens with the objective of adding to our understanding of teens’ online lives. In this episode we explore how young people navigate our increasingly networked world and how we balance safety, empathy, and technology in response.

Related Links:

• Improve Your Media Literacy During COVID

• Mental Health and Media: Stop Raising Awareness Already