Creating Communities of Mental Health (with Dr. Susan Swick)

In this episode, Dr. Matt Biel speaks with Dr. Susan Swick, Executive Director of the Ohana Center for Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health on California's Monterey Peninsula. Dr. Swick is building a comprehensive mental health ecosystem for her region.

Rather than simply expanding services that are reactive to crises facing young people, she's creating a model that integrates promotion of emotional wellbeing, prevention of mental health challenges, treatment for those who are struggling, and engagement with the community. Her approach challenges fundamental assumptions about how we deliver mental healthcare to children, adolescents, and families.

The conversation includes insights about creating spaces that spark curiosity rather than stigma, and outlines a powerful intervention model that brings entire family systems together in moments of crisis.