CRC Spotlight: Bridging Trends in Mental Health Care
Joanne Grady-Savard, Dr. John Torous, Dr. Tony Dodek, & Secretary Marylou Sudders at the Cole Resource Center Spotlight panel on October 3o, 2019.
CRC Spotlight on Mental Health Care: A Panel Discussion
Progress is underway. At the Cole Resource Center’s latest Spotlight event, three expert panelists from different perspectives cited promising initiatives that are proposed or already working to improve our state’s mental health care systems.
The lively panel discussion at the Boston Public Library on Wednesday evening, October 30, 2019 featured Secretary Marylou Sudders (Health & Human Services for the Commonwealth), Dr. Tony Dodek (Chief Medical Officer, AllWays Health Partners), and Dr. John Torous (Digital Psychiatrist, Beth Israel Deaconess).
The audience of around 85 people was welcomed by Dr. Kimberlyn Leary (Executive Director of the Center of Excellence in Women’s Health at McLean Hospital and professor at both the Harvard School of Public Health & the Harvard Medical School). She emphasized the value of this type of constructive dialog at the intersection of public policy, economics, and brain research. Joanne Grady-Savard, Executive Director of the Cole Resource Center, moderated the panel.
Secretary Sudders outlined the many ways in which the governor’s recently-filed health care legislation would address the current barriers to access in Massachusetts. Dr. Dodek described the innovative program of incentives offered by AllWays to encourage the use of effective overdose antidotes. Dr. Torous explained how his team is developing custom smart phone apps for effective communication about mental health symptoms between patients and caregivers. All three panelists discussed related issues including disparities in health care for different populations and different brain disorders, the training of behavioral health clinicians, the benefits of early treatment and preventive care, economic constraints on sole practitioners, and the challenges of integration across the diverse players involved in our health care systems.
Panelists noted the opportunity to give better assistance to patients at the time of their transitions out of clinical care. Making strong connections with the community, including peers with lived experience, can have a powerfully positive impact on patients’ recovery outcomes. Organizations including the Cole Resource Center provide exactly such connections.
Joanne Grady-Savard concluded the program by thanking the panelists for their participation and for their dedicated careers. She urged everyone attending to go forward continuing the conversation openly and collaboratively, with a focus on an improved future in mental health care.
Dr. Kimberlyn Leary welcoming everyone & introducing the panel
Joanne Grady-Savard challenges the audience, “raise your hand if you have a loved one or friend with mental illness.”
Secretary Marylou Sudders
Dr. Tony Dodek
Dr. John Torous
Joanne Grady-Savard
Panelists John Torous, Tony Dodek, & Marylou Sudders share a light moment.
Cole Resource Center tote bags: “Not everything that weighs you down is yours to carry.”
An animated crowd lingers after the panel to talk with the panelists (Guastavino Room, Boston Public Library).