Video Library

Mental Health and Hospice Care: Improving quality of life at the end of life – 5/31/2026

Melissa Chacona shares her personal journey of recovery and how the 12-Step program and other recovery tools have facilitated her transformation from active addiction to a fulfilling life as a loving wife, mother, community member, and advocate for addiction recovery. She discusses the challenges of recovery, including the missteps, the struggles with activities surrounding addiction, the role of support from her family and friends, as well as the mental and emotional toll and losses associated with addiction.

Understanding social pressures involved with antipsychotics and how to see through them helps people make better decisions on antipsychotic use. It also helps caretakers to understand these pressures from their loved ones’ point of view.

Sarah Merritt Ryan shares with us her vast knowledge as a survivor of four psychotic breaks who made a full recovery while choosing to remain on antipsychotics for life. She is diagnosed with schizophrenia and has been in complete remission, symptom-free for 13 years.

When a mental health crisis occurs, one thing often becomes all too clear: Treatment can be expensive. This is especially true when long-term treatment or extended inpatient treatment is required. This session provides valuable tips on minimizing expenses by taking advantage of programs your loved one is eligible for. It also covers some ways to prepare now to help provide them with financial resources when you are no longer here. Angela Lassiter, Attorney at Law, has worked in this arena for her entire professional career. Have a listen as she explains the many ways you can help your loved one obtain financial support in their mental health journey, both now and in the future.

Amanda Clerkin, LCSW, is the Clinical Director of a Reentry Services Program that provides care to those being released from Federal Prison and also owns a private counseling practice. She specializes in counseling people with Substance Use Disorder.

Melissa Chacona shares her personal journey of recovery and how the 12-Step program and other recovery tools have facilitated her transformation from active addiction to a fulfilling life as a loving partner, mother, and community member.

Moving America’s Soul on Suicide is a video presentation of 5 people who have attempted suicide or who battle suicidal ideations. It is their stories, raw and painful, yet uplifting and hopeful. You will cry. You will learn. You will be inspired by the courage and grit displayed. It will help you understand the innermost thoughts that plague these people, and the battle they face each day to keep those thoughts from becoming actions. This video is shown with permission and was produced by Five Lanes – One Road to Recovery and copyrighted in 2023 by Integrated Health Resources, LLC.

Erik Shepard is a Raleigh native. His career has taken him through the Pentagon, tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, Research Triangle
Park and Silicon Valley under various customer support roles.

He has spent an equal amount of time managing post-traumatic stress symptoms and harnessing post-traumatic growth potential. In this presentation, Erik outlines his wellness journey, highlighting obstacles and helpful strategies for making progress out of robust trauma experiences.

Kris Ford is a retired grief and trauma therapist with over 30 years of experience working with children and adults in grief counseling. Her passion for this work is fueled by her own experiences of loss as a child and as an adult. She believes in the transformative power of a healthy grief process. She served as the Director of Programs for Bo’s Place, the children’s bereavement center in Houston, and founded “My Healing Place,” a child and family grief center in Austin, TX. Kris is currently developing “My Healing Place at St. Francis” in Cary, NC, to provide support groups for children and adults who have experienced the death of a loved one.

“Anyone old enough to love is old enough to grieve.” – Mr. Rogers

Listen as Dr. Raychelle Cassada Lohmann shares her extensive knowledge on the subject of bullying with us. With over 25 years of experience in school and clinical mental health counseling, the author of 10 published books in 8 different languages, and extensive contributions to the media, she is a true expert in the field.

Dr. Andrea Linares is an Adult Neurology Resident at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC. Understanding Alzheimer’s and Dementia is a presentation created by the Alzheimer’s Association and presented by Dr. Andrea Linares. Listen as she compares Alzheimer’s and Dementia, explaining how the diseases affect the brain. Discover the risk factors associated with Alzheimer’s disease and learn about its progression stages. Discover the latest research advancements and explore the resources available through the Alzheimer’s Association.

Sarah Merritt Ryan is a survivor of four psychotic breaks who made a full recovery while choosing to remain on antipsychotics for life. She is diagnosed with schizophrenia and has been in complete remission, symptom-free for 13 years. Since her last break, she has married, given birth to a son who is now in kindergarten, and runs her own successful marketing business.

Her blog in Psychology Today is called “Healing Mind.” It is required reading for resident psychiatrists at the UNC Schizophrenia Treatment and Evaluation Program (STEP) Clinic at UNC-Chapel Hill. Sarah also has presented webinars for NAMI North Carolina and speaks regularly at NC State University. She is the Lead Facilitator of the NAMI Wake Connection Support Group (CSG). Sarah has a degree in Journalism from UNC-Chapel Hill and a Master of Science in Communication from NC State. She is published academically in social sciences.

Amy Brundle holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration /Marketing from Meredith College and a Master of Divinity from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. As a peer who has wrestled with mental illness since adolescence, she is excited to help bring awareness to mental health issues and to advocate for those who suffer from them.

In this presentation, Amy discusses Crisis Intervention: How do we recognize mental illness in others? What are the warning signs that a loved one is in crisis? Where can I get immediate help in the event of a crisis? She also discusses some of the popular NAMI-NC educational and support programs, including Family to Family and Peer to Peer.

Eric Johnson is the Crisis and Justice Support Manager at Alliance Health. In this position, Eric leads a team that develops and trains the CIT programs for first responders throughout the triangle. He previously worked with Wake County Human Services and the Department of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention.

The Crisis Intervention Teams (CIT) program is a community partnership of law enforcement, mental health and addiction professionals, individuals who live with mental illness and/or addiction disorders, their families, and other partners to improve community responses to mental health crises.

Caring for someone with mental health issues often can throw the caregiver into the unfamiliar world of laws and the courts. This is Angela Lassiter’s area of expertise. As a Legal Officer (attorney) and Assistant Clerk for the Wake County Clerk of Superior Court, she deals with mental health legal issues daily. Her 35-minute presentation, The Legal Side of Mental Health, is crucial to helping your loved one through the legal system’s challenges.

Dr. Micah Krempasky is the Chief Medical Officer for Mental Health & Well-Being at WakeMed Health and Hospitals in Raleigh, North Carolina. Listen as she explains who a Psychiatrist is, how they are trained and what roll they play in the journey to mental wellness. She also summarizes the current state of health care in the Triangle area and her role in the design and construction of the new mental health hospital WakeMed is building in Wake County.

Join Michael Garner with One-Eighty Counselling as he educates us on the many aspects of Mental Health Therapy. The topics covered in this presentation will explain these commonly asked questions: What are the differences between a therapist and a psychiatrist? What’s the purpose of therapy, and how to find a therapist? What should my expectations be during therapy? What are the different types of therapy? (CBT, DBT, EMDR, IFS, etc.) What is Dual Diagnosis? What is Forensic Psychology?

Please turn on Captions to assist with understanding audio. Due to technical difficulties, audio was not ideal during recording.

Our second presentation was held on June 2, 2024. Michele Chassner with Kids Peace, discussed The Hope Center’s adolescent care options: Mobile Crisis Unit (MORES ages 3-20), Urgent Care (BEHUC ages 5-20) and In-Patient Care (FBC ages 6-17). Wanda Crawford and Dana Heuser with Raleigh Oaks Behavioral Health covered: Stabilizing and treating patients during a mental health crisis, Anxiety Disorders, Depression, Bipolar Disorders and Schizophrenia care for adults.

Our first presentation was held on May 19, 2024 and featured NAMI – Wake County (National Alliance On Mental Illness). NAMI is the gold standard when it comes to Educational Courses, Support Groups and presentations on Advocacy & Awareness. All of these programs were discussed by four individuals who have personally benefited from these resources.

On May 13, 2024, Tina Wilson, WW’s PR Director, sat down with two moms who have lived experience with children affected by mental health issues. Listen as they describe the challenges they faced while searching for resources to help their loved ones.

The kickoff was held on Mothers Day May 12, 2024. It features Lead pastor Kelly Lyn Logue describing her ongoing struggle with mental wellness, and an interview with the chairperson of Welcoming Wellness discussing the upcoming programs and the motivation behind the initiative.