By The Rev. N. Graham Standish, PhD, MSW, MDiv, MA #mentalhealth #mentalillness #schizoaffectivedisorder #compassion #generosity #charity On the Saturday after Thanksgiving, while most of us were still recovering from our Thanksgiving feasts, Bobby Vandrak gathered with his family as he prepared to do a 10-mile run around North Park Lake. Bobby wasn’t training for a marathon, nor was this part of his normal Saturday morning exercise routine. Bobby was running to make a differ

#mentalhealth #anxiety #polarization #rudeness #aggressiveness #media #socialmedia #massshootings #collaboration The Rev. N. Graham Standish, PhD, MSW, MDiv, MA I think a lot about the state of our collective mental health, especially in this age of growing mental health needs and the rise of mass shootings. Over the past decade Samaritan’s witnessed a significant rise in people seeking mental health services. It’s led to a shortage of therapists and long waiting lists for so

By The Rev. N. Graham Standish, PhD, MSW, MDiv, MA, Executive Director #olympics #simonebiles #mentalhealth Have you ever wondered why we’re so enamored with the Olympics? Every four years we’ll intensely watch sporting events that we’d completely ignore in the intervening years. Why? Personally, I think it’s because they inspire us with stories of tragedy turned to triumph, while periodically showing hubris turned to humility. In my life I’ve witnessed many truly great, insp

By The Rev. Dr. Graham Standish, Executive Director #mentalhealth #meghanmarkel #suicideawareness #emotionaltrauma #oprahwinfrey Did you see Meghan’s and Harry’s recent Oprah Winfrey interview? It was a revelation,… and disconcerting. The couple verbalized what we at Samaritan fight against day in and day out—the social stigma surrounding mental health issues. This stigma creates a culture of crisis for millions of people every day who need help but are afraid to admit it or