How Do We Want Our Mental Health Care Systems to Change?
Building Cultural Responsiveness, Respecting Our Shared Humanity
How does our current mental health system perpetuate harm? What changes would you like to see happen? How can we lift up the shared wisdom and healing power of community members?
These are a few of the questions CARE Program Director Mark Fadool asked in a recent conversation with program leads Shayla Collins, Makinie Fortino, and Cindy Trevino. The group shared their personal experiences and observations in response to the questions about and also spoke on other topics such as how they sustain hope and joy while working in the mental health field. You can view the full conversation with the CARE leadership team, below.
“[My hope for clients is] that from the moment they make that first call, they feel heard. [They think] I’m calling the right place….Instead of being fearful.”
In year two of the CARE for Kids & Families program, which aims to expand culturally responsive mental healthcare in Washington state, the work is being carried forward by several subcommittees.
The Culturally Responsive Training subcommittee, led by Shayla Collins, is working closely with Makinie Fortino of Deconstructing the Mental Health System (DMHS) to develop and evaluate a culturally responsive training for community mental health clinicians in several regions across the state. DMHS was selected as the CARE training proposal following a statewide RFP application and interview process. DMHS is a group of mental health professionals who are actively increasing access to mental health and wellness services for Black people, Indigenous people, and People of Color.
The Expanded Workforce subcommittee, led by Cindy Trevino, is working to bring new workforce roles (such as a “Wellbeing Specialist”) onto clinical teams to provide upstream mental health support to families.
CoLab extends our deep gratitude to these amazing individuals for their leadership on the CARE project and for sharing their wisdom and person stories with us for this piece!
About the speakers
Shayla Collins designs and leads mindfulness and compassion programs locally and nationally. She facilitates sessions for parents, parents of children with disabilities or special healthcare needs, providers working with children, youth, and families as well as individuals who have interfaced with the criminal justice system. Shayla is a devoted wife and a mother of two young boys. She enjoys reading, eating delicious vegetarian cuisine, and antique shopping.
Mark Fadool has worked in the mental health field for 40 years, including as a therapist and clinical director. Since moving to Seattle in 1992, Mark has worked in a variety of settings including group homes, a juvenile detention center, with homeless children and young adults, at the Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic and Childhaven. Mark has seem many families with immense pain and struggles but more importantly has been a first hand witness of the strength, power, and courage of these individuals to fight for a sense of peace and joy.
Makinie Fortino is the Founder and President of DMHS: Deconstructing the Mental Health System, Inc. She identifies as Black and Afro-Caribbean American and is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) who has been working in mental health for over 10 years. Makinie has worn many hats ranging from in-home counselor to case manager, vocational counselor, academic advisor/behavioral health counselor and in social services. In all of Makinie’s work, she is intentional about interrupting and dismantling the racist aspects of the mental health system.
Cindy Trevino, PhD, is a bilingual (Spanish/English) Assistant Professor in the department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington (UW) and Attending Psychologist in the Department of Child Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at Seattle Children’s Hospital (SCH). She is also the co-director of the Child and Adolescent Latino Mental Health Assessment and Treatment Clinic (CALMA) at SCH, which is a Spanish mental health clinic. Her research focuses on identifying and preventing the impacts of social risks and adversity on child behavioral health in under-represented populations.
Links
To learn more about CARE for Kids & Families, visit uwcolab.org/CARE.
To learn more about Deconstructing the Mental Health System, visit dmhsus.org.
To learn more about Makinie and her other projects, visit linktr.ee/MakinieTherapy.
To learn more about the Child and Adolescent Latino Mental Health Assessment and Treatment (CALMA) Clinic, visit seattlechildrens.org/clinics/psychiatry-and-behavioral-medicine/services/latino-mental-health-clinic.