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Couch Sessions about Mental Illness addresses the stigmas and fears people have about seeking help for mental illness or emotional distress. MELINDA (41) survived her battles with suicide ideation, bipolar disorder, bulimia, and trauma utilizing a broken mental health system in the country that spends the most money on healthcare. Melinda, who has spent many “session” hours on a “couch,” brings others to her couch to talk about the biggest elephant in the room: mental illness.

 

Weaving her own stories of grit, tenacity, and humor as themes for discussion, Melinda talks with guests from various backgrounds about a variety of topics to help demystify myths and provide relevant information about mental illness, including prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and recovery. Her guests will include diverse representations of people who interact with mental illness or emotional distress daily by choice or survival.

 

Melinda approaches her conversations from her unique experiences as a black woman, an exchange student, traveler, law student, comedian, professor, military brat, suburb and city girl, researcher, cook, server, provider, advocate, speaker, and psych patient.

 

Melinda Hasbrouck is the kind of person you can’t help but listen to and want to converse with because you never know what she is going to say although you know it will be interesting, provocative, and relevant. Her ease of talking to people from all walks of life, genuine empathy, and personal vulnerability set the stage for deep, real conversations between her and those on the “couch.” It’s not surprising she was a class clown and often considered the smartest person in the room.