Breaking Barriers: Understanding and Combating Mental Health Stigma Among Children, Youth, and Families (NEW!)
Much of what we know about mental health stigma has focused largely on adults with severe mental health challenges. Relatively less is known about understanding and combating mental health stigma among children, youth and families.
Mental health stigma can have a profound impact on individuals and families, particularly when it prevents children and youth from seeking the support they need or receiving quality mental health care. Understanding the roots of stigma and exploring strategies for creating supportive environments are crucial steps toward promoting mental wellness and resilience.
This panel discussion on the impact of mental health stigma on children, youth and families aims to foster an open conversation around the challenges and solutions for combating stigma in our families and communities.
The panel features four insightful voices:
- A Family Peer Advocate who shares their lived experience navigating stigma while supporting their child’s mental health journey.
- A Youth Peer Advocate who provides a firsthand account of how stigma impacts young people and the quality of their care.
- Two mental health stigma researchers who offer insights and discuss effective interventions for reducing stigma in clinical, school, and community settings.
About the Panelists:
Crystal Rose, FPA-C supports the engagement and training of Family Peer Advocates across NYS as the Family Workforce Development Coordinator at Families Together in NYS, Inc. Her past work at CRCEC, Brooklyn Perinatal Network, Wyckoff Hospital, and other community-based organizations includes onboarding and training new staff, advocating for maternal-child health programs as a certified Community Health Worker and helping families navigate government bureaucracy to receive needed services from organizations. Crystal also holds certifications in breastfeeding counseling, as well as the global Circle Of Security Parenting curriculum.
Jay Culkin, YPA-C has been working in human services since 2015. Jay is also a NY Certified Peer Specialist (NYCPS-P). He received a BA in Sociology in 2018 from Stony Brook University and received a Master’s Degree in Social & Public Policy with an Advanced Certificate in Child & Family Advocacy in 2023 from Empire State University. He was the first of a pilot project at SCO Family of Services, a well-known child and family services non-profit from the NYC metropolitan area, to have seasoned YPAs mentoring newer YPAs. Jay has spent most of his time as a YPA advocating for transgender youth and providing information to staff about quality LGBTQ+ care in mental health settings using examples from his own lived experience. Jay is currently a volunteer at the Walt Whitman Birthplace Association and a drag performance artist bringing awareness to local Domestic Violence & Intimate Partner Violence resources.
Joseph DeLuca, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Fairfield University. He is also a licensed clinical psychologist and an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Clinically, he specializes in assessment and psychotherapy for youth (adolescents and young adults) -- particularly those at risk for, or in the early stages of, psychosis. He also works with individuals across the lifespan who have psychosis-spectrum experiences. Dr. DeLuca has extensive training in evidence-based assessment and treatment strategies for youth in diverse settings, and his research is aimed at understanding intersectional stigma and addressing equity issues in services. He is also interested in addressing public youth stigma and has previously partnered with the National Alliance on Mental Illness to evaluate their youth stigma reduction programming.
Tally Moses, PhD, MSW is an Associate Professor at the Sandra Rosenbaum School of Social Work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Moses has made significant contributions to research in three areas: (1) Psychotropic medication, including social workers’ approach to the use of psychotropic medication to treat youths’ MH disorders, and psychosocial predictors of psychotropic medication outcomes; (2) Subjective experiences of MH treatment and mental illness stigma among adolescents diagnosed with mental disorders; and (3) Parents’ problem perceptions, experiences with stigmatization, and coping with their children’s MH challenges. With increased recognition of mental health problems among youth, Dr. Moses’ research is on the cutting edge of mental health research as most of the focus of past research has been on adult treatment and services.