Olympic Gold Medalists Help SAMHSA Bring Attention to Youth Mental Illness

by Joanne DiGiorgio


Olympic swimmers Michael Phelps and Allison Schmitt have been candid about their respective struggles with behavioral health. Now they are working with SAMHSA to help dispel the prejudice and misconceptions surrounding mental illness by calling public attention to the needs of young people with behavioral health disorders such as depression and addiction.

The two gold medalists headlined SAMHSA's Partnering for Hope and Help panel at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., May 4, in recognition of National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day. When Health and Human Services Secretary Thomas Price presented Phelps and Schmitt with SAMHSA's Special Recognition Award, Schmitt told the Jack Morton Auditorium crowd the award meant more to her than her eight Olympic medals.

Admitting that public speaking usually terrifies her, Schmitt said: "When it comes to mental health, I love it. A whole new me comes out. I think it's because I'm so passionate about it. I can speak from the heart, and I really want to spread the word that it's OK not to be OK. I want to spread the message that it's OK to ask for help."

Phelps, the most decorated athlete in Olympic history, spoke of getting so low that he "didn't want to be alive anymore," adding, "For me, I reached that point where I finally realized I couldn't do it alone."

Phelps and Schmitt have trained together and often lean on each other for emotional support.

"By speaking about treatment and recovery, Michael and Allison are helping youth view behavioral health as an important part of their overall health," said SAMHSA Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary Kana Enomoto, as she opened the event.

Among the panelists were practicing family physicians, social workers, psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, a senior parent professional development trainer, and the founder of a nonprofit organization devoted to helping young people with behavioral problems. Many spoke openly of their own mental health struggles, and of how they have been able to turn their experience into valuable tools to help today's youth struggling with similar problems.

Aaron Gilchrist, a co-anchor of Washington newscast News4 Today, moderated three interactive discussions in which viewers could join the online conversation and pose questions to onstage panelists. The three sessions emphasized understanding the connection between physical and behavioral health; improving communication among primary care providers, behavioral health providers, and youths and families; and supporting the mental health needs of youths who experience chronic illness.

Coordinated Health Models Needed for Families of Struggling Children
In a session titled "Partnering Across Disciplines to Address Whole Health," SAMHSA's Center for Mental Health Services Director Paolo del Vecchio described the need for complete coordinated healthcare models with a centralized contact, so families with sick children do not have to visit multiple specialists to get help. Del Vecchio emphasized the importance of implementing this kind of system because "children are our futures and, with the right treatment, right supports, and right opportunities, there are no limits for children with mental health problems."

Dr. Wanda Rider of Family First Health, a federally qualified health center in York, Pa., said 85 percent of her patient visits involve some discussion on how the families are doing emotionally. If a child is diagnosed with behavioral health problems, she takes care of the child while making sure mom and dad are intact. Rider discussed the benefit of having mental health professionals connected with her agency. "It may take a visitor or two to convince someone to ask for behavioral health assistance, but if I can get that person on site or I can hook them in from telemedicine, I want to have that patient begin the visit as soon as they're receptive to it."

Also speaking in the first session was Alaska Native Teressa Baldwin, who grew up just below the Arctic Circle. Baldwin suffered the grief and fear of losing friends and family members to suicide. Her experience led her to establish a campaign to address the suicide rate in rural Alaska, which is quadruple the national average. She has visited many Alaska high schools to implement peer trainings and workshops and share her experiences with youth.

'Be There for Kids'
The night's second session, "Partnering to Strengthen Communication Between Behavioral Health Providers, Primary Clinicians, Youth, and Families," included Lisa Lambert, executive director of Parent/Professional Advocacy League (PPAL), a statewide family-run organization. PPAL has surveyed hundreds of families to capture their needs, hopes, and questions on various elements of integrated care, such as care coordination and communication of electronic health records.

Panelist Juan Vélez Court recounted his childhood experiences with obesity, isolation, obsessive–compulsive disorder, and suicide attempts. As an adult in recovery, he cofounded NuestraMente, a nonprofit organization that promotes recovery, wellness, and peer support. Court is the community coordinator for a child and adolescent mental health program in Puerto Rico. And he is a member of SAMHSA's Recovery Month Planning Partners Committee to help identify Hispanic support organizations throughout the United States.

Court noted that a family's unconditional acceptance is essential for creating an atmosphere where a young person can feel safe discussing behavioral health problems. He attributed his ability to overcome his problems in adolescence to the steady support of his family. When one audience member asked, "How do you become a youth leader?" Court replied that it is "to be there for kids in ways that no one was there for me."

Physical Illness Often Triggers Mental Illness
The final session, "Partnering to Improve Outcomes for Youths With Chronic Health Conditions," concentrated specifically on how to help young people with chronic medical illnesses. Youths who are seriously ill may experience related mental health problems such as depression. Aside from enduring the physical and emotional toll of their illness, these young people may feel isolated and reliant at a time in life when their peers are becoming more independent.

Maureen Monahan, Ph.D., of Children's National Health System, is a certified diabetes educator. She described her work identifying symptoms of depression in young people with diabetes and coaxing them to discuss it. Monahan shared the stage with Kimberly Ehrlich, PNP, a project coordinator for the Adolescent Behavioral Health Project at Sutter Health in the San Francisco Bay area. Ehrlich teaches primary care providers to treat behavioral health disorders the same way they would treat other chronic conditions.

Also speaking in the third session was Nicole Pratt, a senior professional development trainer for New Jersey's Statewide Parent Advocacy Network. Pratt, whose adult children have undergone a range of physical and mental complications including cerebral palsy, learning disabilities, and obsessive–compulsive disorder, described the kind of fear and anxiety that only a parent can feel when faced with her child's serious behavioral and physical health problems. Pratt found support at work and was able to access services and supports through the New Jersey Children's System of Care.

George Segouras, one of the evening's speakers, noted that the number of Americans seeking mental health care has increased significantly in recent years. According to SAMHSA's Key Substance Use and Mental Health Indicators in the United States, in 2015, an estimated 34.2 million adults ages 18 and older (roughly one in seven) received mental health care during the past 12 months.