About OUr mental health minute
Goals:
1) Reduce stigma about mental health in the Black community
2) Provide resources in access, utilization, and quality of mental health care
3) Increase mental health literacy (in a fun and relevant way!)
a brief History of ourmhm:
(as told by ri & ct)
The beginning…
Co-founders Drs. Riana Elyse Anderson (Ri) and Shawn “CT” Jones (CT) first met at the Black Graduate Conference in Psychology in 2011. As legend has it, Ri walked past the posters, spied CT’s, and exclaimed, “hey - that’s what I study bruh!” After sharing common research and practice interests, they realized that they were both accepted to the same master’s in health science program at Johns Hopkins University and would’ve been classmates in 2009. Ri took the opportunity to start her doctoral program at the University of Virginia, while CT completed the MHS program at Hopkins and then started his doctorate in 2010 at the University of North Carolina. [This year gap will be important later in the story!] After several research and presentation collaborations (like the one to the right), Ri + CT discussed their dreams of bringing psychology content to the community in a fun and relevant way. Should it be through Vine (we’re dating ourselves here)? A podcast? Snail mail? We finally resolved to give YouTube a shot and focused on refining our goals.
then…
While attending a Ford Foundation Fellowship conference in 2014, we snuck into a library and filmed our first pilot episode. We were able to beta test it in various presentations and classroom settings, and, in 2015, started discussing what it would take to make “The Mental Health Minute” a thing. We realized that with Ri in Philly and CT in LA, it would be challenging than a mug. On a wing and a prayer, CT submitted a National Science Foundation grant to come to Philly to also train with Dr. Howard Stevenson in the Racial Empowerment Collaborative with Ri. And voila! He got it. From 2016-2017, Ri + CT got a chance to share an office and create 20+ episodes of what is now the award winning Our Mental Health Minute video series which includes episodes like “One Minute for Your Mind”: The Development, Implementation, and Application from SAGE Psychology & Psychiatry.
present day…
Although fantastic career opportunities have taken them to Michigan and Virginia respectively, Ri and CT are determined to make their content grow through videos, podcasts, and online engagement. Their work - both in research and through OurMHM - is for, of, and inspired by the people, and they take no greater pride than being servant leaders through this venture.