Supporting Mental Wellness in a Time of Crisis—the War in Ukraine

Episode description:  

A few months ago, Dr. Sherry Kelly, a widely recognized neuropsychologist, was a guest on 45 Forward, talking about how we can maintain mental wellness in an age of social media overload—on top of the social isolation, trauma and anxiety brought on by a deadly pandemic.

In today’s episode, Dr. Kelly rejoins our conversation, along with an eminent physio-psychologist Dr. Gerard Meyer, the CEO of the Mental Wellness Society International, to talk about another dire mental health crisis: the daily struggles of families in Ukraine, trying to cope and indeed, survive, amid the uncertainties of war.  Drs. Kelly and Meyer are members of a tireless corps of professionals who are working with their colleagues in Ukraine to support families in need of daily support and services. Each week, they offer a range of programs, services and training to help caregivers, teachers, health care providers and volunteers. In today’s conversation, they’ll describe their efforts to bring people together, coordinating with other relief initiatives and humanitarian organizations to help families prepare and focus on crisis responses and strategies to mobilize them to action—what they can do to make things right. In a broader context, Drs. Kelly and Meyer will also talk about the vision of the Mental Wellness Society: to unite experts in making mental wellness a global movement, promoting mental wellness as something more sustainable in our daily lives, than a reactive, treatment-based mental health practice.

Guest descriptions:

Sherry Kelly, Ph.D., is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Clinical Neuropsychologist with more than 30 years’ experience in the field of child development. She is the Co-Chair of the Connecticut Psychological Association’s Child & Family Committee, Chair of the Parenting & Education Group of The Mental Wellness Society—an international non-profit—and featured lecturer for Meaningful Paths in the United Kingdom. Dr. Kelly began her career as an educational researcher in 1977 at the University of Minnesota Center for Youth Development and Research. Dr. Kelly completed her undergraduate degree in Social Education at Boston University. Dr. Kelly holds multiple master’s degrees in psychology from New York University and Yeshiva University.  She earned her PhD in Clinical Health Psychology from Yeshiva University in New York. She was a National Cancer Institute and National Institutes of Health (NIH) Fellow.  Dr. Kelly is known for her work with children challenged by learning differences, autism, neurodiversity, anxiety, chronic illness, and developmental delays.  Her research focused on hopefulness and resilience. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, forbes.com, parents.com, and in past segments on “Good Morning America.”  Dr. Kelly and her daughter founded PositiviTeens® Workshops & Webinars to educate students, parents, and teachers about the impact of social media and digital technology on today’s youth. She was a clinician in private practice, a lecturer, and a columnist. Dr. Kelly was also founding board member of Autism After 21, a non-profit program of support, education, and skills training for young adults with special needs.  Her office is located in West Hartford, Conn.

Dr. Gérard Meyer, Ph.D. is a physio-psychologist and Founder and CEO of the Mental Wellness Society International. The lead innovator in the development of education and training programs for Mind Focused Coaching. Dr. Meyer is the former President and CEO of the Carnegie Mellon Driver Training and Safety Institute. He has investigated human response patterns and researched perception, memory, reasoning, and motor response. Dr. Meyer’s research interests include mental workload, decision-making, skilled performance, human-computer interface, human reliability, work stress and training. Based on his research, Dr. Meyer has developed a person-centered, person-in-the-loop approach and investigated all aspects of cognition as a means for optimizing well-being and system performance.

Contacts: sherry@mindandheartcoaching.com