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Paulo del Vecchio is a person in long-term recovery from mental health and addictions, who has been a leader in the peer recovery movement for 40 years. He recently completed a 30-year career at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, where he served in multiple roles including the director of the Center for Mental Health Services and the founding director of the Office of Recovery. Paolo is now an independent advocate, working to advance recovery-oriented policies and practices on national and international levels. In this interview, he speaks with Mad in America's Leah Harris about his roots as a housing justice activist to his decades of public service at SAMHSA, what worries him most about mental health in today's America, and where he sees hope in the recovery movement that he helped create. *** A full transcript of this interview can be found here: https://www.madinamerica.com/2025/06/progress-only-occurs-when-people-make-demands-paolo-del-vecchio/ Thank you for being with us to listen to the podcast and read our articles this year. MIA is funded entirely by reader donations. If you value MIA, please help us continue to survive and grow. https://www.madinamerica.com/donate/ To find the Mad in America podcast on your preferred podcast player, click here: https://pod.link/1212789850 © Mad in America 2025. Produced by James Moore https://www.jmaudio.org
Liat Ben-Moshe, Sasha Warren, and Leah Harris discuss the political economy of psychiatric incarceration and strategies for resisting surveillance and carcerality that center liberatory care and international solidarities. Transcript forthcoming. This episode was recorded live at the 2024 Socialism Conference in Chicago in early September, under the session title "Care Not Courts: Resisting Carceral Psychiatry and the Pathologization of Dissent." This panel was the rare exception where a DP member was not able to chair the session, so our thanks to Eman Abdelhadi who graciously stepped in as moderator. Thanks to Han Olliver for our Death Panel x Socialism Conference 2024 poster image, which is being used as the cover image for this episode on platforms that support it. Find and support Han's work at hanolliver.com Find our book Health Communism here: www.versobooks.com/books/4081-health-communism Find Jules' new book, A Short History of Trans Misogyny, here: https://www.versobooks.com/products/3054-a-short-history-of-trans-misogyny Death Panel merch here (patrons get a discount code): www.deathpanel.net/merch
This is a deeply meaningful episode that I think you'll feel and take something away from:Meta-leadership vs traditional leadershipOrganizational intelligence vs emotional intelligenceBeing a part of the first HIV-positive delivery Responding to the murder of a faculty member at the height of COVIDManaging the overnight firing of 3 key physiciansAnd moreDr. Leah Harris, among many things, Chairs the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School.
One of the most overlooked experiences is menopause and perimenopause and impact on mental health. Societally we treat it like a disease or an ‘untapped market' to sell more products. Many people feel isolated and alone in their mind-life experiences, and for some this can have extreme consequences. Today we have three experts by experience and training talking about how the system fails menopausal people and sharing their lived experiences in approaching this time of life as an incredibly transformative experience. We also discuss: how early trauma and sexual abuse can re-emerge in midlife the “second peak” of psychosis spiritual emergency and holistic healing dealing with mortality and fear of dying sacred rage in menopause developing new archetypes for the "elder" the medicalization of pms and menopause hormone replacement therapies, estradial, etc. diagnostic overshadowing capitalism and the menopause “market” Bios Leah Harris is a psychiatric survivor, activist, and independent journalist. Their work examines mental health and disability policy, with a focus on deinstitutionalization and involuntary psychiatric intervention. Leah's writing appears in Truthout, the Disability Visibility Project, The Progressive, and Mad in America; and in the anthologies We've Been Too Patient: Voices from Radical Mental Health (North Atlantic Books (https://www.wevebeentoopatient.org/) and the forthcoming Mad Studies Reader (Routledge). Their memoir-in-progress, NONCOMPLIANT, traces two generations of psychiatric survivorship and resistance in their family, alongside in-depth reporting and analysis of America's failed mental health policies. https://www.leahiharris.com/ Lynda Wisdo, MA, CYT: Lynda is a survivor of childhood trauma and a menopause/trauma-related Spiritual Emergency. After several years of mind/body healing, she went on to earn an MA degree in Transpersonal Studies and Spiritual Guidance along with certifications in Trauma-Informed Yoga, Transpersonal Hypnosis, Reiki, and Tarot for Women. She has written a memoir about her experience with spiritual emergency titled Menopause in Crisis—When Spiritual Emergency Meets the Feminine Midlife Passage (https://menopauseincrisis.weebly.com) her hope being to offer insights and support to women who may be undergoing similar experiences. She can be reached through her websites at https://lyndawisdo.weebly.com or by email at lyndawisdo@gmail.com Trauma & Menopause Conference 2024: Healing the Effects of Trauma Through the Challenges of Perimenopause with Lynda Wisdo, MA, CYT https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/trauma-menopause-conference-2024-the-intersection-of-trauma-menopause-tickets-798528298637 Marie Brown, PhD is a licensed clinical psychologist working in private practice and the public mental health system in New York City. She is the current President of the US Chapter of the International Society for the Psychological and Social Approaches to Psychosis and an original co-founder of Hearing Voices Network NYC. She is co-editor of Women & Psychosis: Multidisciplinary Perspectives (with Marilyn Charles) https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781498591935/Women-and-Psychosis-Multidisciplinary-Perspectives and Emancipatory Perspectives on Madness (with Robin Brown) https://www.routledge.com/Emancipatory-Perspectives-on-Madness-Psychological-Social-and-Spiritual/Brown-Brown/p/book/9780367360160. Website: https://mariebrownphd.com/ Twitter: @BrownMarieC Resources: Yale Study on Menopause & Psychosis + All resources mentioned here: https://www.jazminerussell.com/blog/menopause-trauma-psychosis-holistic-approaches-in-midlife-undoing-patriarchal-conditioning Sessions & Information about the host: JazmineRussell.com Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.
Beatrice and Jules speak with Liat Ben-Moshe and Leah Harris about how Palestinian resistance and rebellion is pathologized and the importance of transnational disability solidarity with Palestine. Transcript: https://www.deathpanel.net/transcripts/pathologizing-palestine Find our book Health Communism here: www.versobooks.com/books/4081-health-communism Pre-order Jules' new book here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/733966/a-short-history-of-trans-misogyny-by-jules-gill-peterson/ Death Panel merch here (patrons get a discount code): www.deathpanel.net/merch As always, support Death Panel at www.patreon.com/deathpanelpod Referenced in this episode: — Nu'man Abd al-Wahid, "Pathologising Palestinians to revive eugenic genocide" https://english.almayadeen.net/articles/analysis/pathologising-palestinians-to-revive-eugenic-genocide — Mohammad El-Kurd, "Jewish settlers stole my house. It's not my fault they're Jewish." https://mondoweiss.net/2023/09/jewish-settlers-stole-my-house-its-not-my-fault-theyre-jewish/ — Alice Wong, "Why Palestinian Liberation Is Disability Justice" https://disabilityvisibilityproject.com/2023/12/02/why-palestinian-liberation-is-disability-justice/
Beatrice speaks with Liat Ben-Moshe, Leah Harris and Vesper Moore about increasing calls to "reopen the asylums" and why the dark history and enduring legacy of psychiatric incarceration mean we should never go back. We look at recent statements by politicians Eric Adams, Donald Trump, Matt Gaetz, and Vivek Ramaswamy and discuss how carceral sanism is not exclusively the domain of the right. Transcript: https://www.deathpanel.net/transcripts/reopen-asylum This episode stands alone, but also functions as an extension of "Resisting Carceral Sanism," posted September 28th in the public Death Panel podcast feed, or available here: https://www.deathpanel.net/transcripts/s23-resisting-carceral-sanism To sign up for resources on psychiatric abolition (collected by Leah Harris) go here: https://bit.ly/psychiatricabolition Find our book Health Communism here: www.versobooks.com/books/4081-health-communism Pre-order Jules' new book here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/733966/a-short-history-of-trans-misogyny-by-jules-gill-peterson/ Death Panel merch here (patrons get a discount code): www.deathpanel.net/merch As always, support Death Panel at www.patreon.com/deathpanelpod
Earlier this month we collaborated with the organizers the Socialism Conference to put together five sessions at this year's conference on the political economy of health and disability. Each of these sessions is live now for patrons, and we'll be posting one a day in the main feed, all week. In this session, "Resisting Carceral Sanism" Beatrice, Liat Ben-Moshe, and Leah Harris discuss the increasing wave of policies and legislation, from Eric Adams' stance on involuntary hospitalization to Gavin Newsom's Care Courts, that seek to criminalize madness and people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. They also discuss why it is so critical for the left to work against these policies, and how to understand the politics of what Ben-Moshe has termed “carceral sanism.” Thanks to Han Olliver for our Death Panel x Socialism Conference 2023 poster image, which is being used as the cover image for this episode on platforms that support it. Find and support Han's work at hanolliver.com Transcript forthcoming. Find our book Health Communism here: www.versobooks.com/books/4081-health-communism Pre-order Jules' new book here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/733966/a-short-history-of-trans-misogyny-by-jules-gill-peterson/ Death Panel merch here (patrons get a discount code): www.deathpanel.net/merch As always, support Death Panel at www.patreon.com/deathpanelpod
April 2023 — Join Holly Eva Allen and Maxwell Suzuki as they discuss their favorite prose pieces from Issue 4.1 including Noémie Boucher's The Turtle and Leah Harris' Built to Last. Featuring readings from Muraya Ranieri . Mastered, edited, and produced by John E. Brady.Passengers Literary Press, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. All staff donate their time and effort. If you'd like to support our mission to publish art that is necessary rather than desired, please consider donating at the link below.Support the show
In this episode we interview Max Guttman and Leah Harris about a recent announcement from NYC Mayor Eric Adams requesting that police officers initiate more involuntary hospitalizations. Max Guttman: https://www.madinamerica.com/2022/12/nyc-mayor-adams-consult/ https://mentalhealthaffairs.blog/editor-in-chief-max-e-guttman-lcsw-j-peters/ https://www.amazon.com/University-Watch-Crisis-Academy-Peters/dp/1728304520 Leah Harris: https://progressive.org/magazine/defining-what-it-means-to-care-harris/ https://www.madinamerica.com/2022/12/unhoused-expand-involuntary-treatment/ https://rootedinrights.org/the-anosognosia-label-is-psychiatric-gaslighting-masquerading-as-science/ 1987 Article: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-10-30-mn-11718-story.html Episode Transcript: sensiblenonsense.squarespace.com/committables3-transcripts/2023/2/20/nyc-an-addiction-to-force-and-coercion Committable is produced by Michelle Stockman, Jim McQuaid and Jesse Mangan. https://sensiblenonsense.squarespace.com/committable All music is from the song Reasonable by Christopher G. Brown. https://christophergbrown.bandcamp.com/track/reasonable
In this episode the boys are joined by Leah Harris. Having recently stepped off the stage at the Gillian Lynne Theatre in London's glittering West End performing in Andrew Lloyd-Webber's acclaimed Cinderella, the trio talk longevity in musical theatre, her amazing experiences in shows like 42nd Street and Funny Girl, and how she stays healthy and well in the career she's chosen. Along with a splash of reminiscing about some old day jobs they performed together many years ago!
Josh GarleppInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/joshgarlepp/TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@joshgarleppFull Credit Podcast- https://open.spotify.com/show/fullcreditPodcast suggestionsSounds Like a Cult - https://open.spotify.com/show/soundslikeacultTV Series suggestions Zero Zero Zero - https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/program/zero-zero-zero
"Sometimes you get energy just from putting yourself in the environment where there's inspiration." - Leah HarrisIn the season FINALE, episode number 7, we chat with my dear friend, the fabulous soul singer-songwriter Leah Harris. Leah grew up in Canada but with a view of Detroit- whose musical legacy influenced her in a major way. She's been a professional musician since she was 15 and has since toured all over the world. But she's not only a musician she also helped develop the world's most popular piano learning app - Yousician. She's a multi-talented, multi-passionate person whose heart beats softly, like a Ray Charles song. I'm so excited to share our conversation with you today!She gets super real with us in this episode and we talk about SO much, including:✨How our souls can easily & slowly drown in the day-to-day and what to do about it.✨How covid helped her restructure priorities. ✨How to build a sustainable life as an artist. ✨How authenticity will probably be a bit isolating, if only at first. ✨The immense power of simply showing up. ✨How no action is neutral. ✨How habits and identity are kinda the same thing. ✨How to not abandon yourself.And SO MUCH more! This episode will inspire your socks off!Quotes & Resources Mentioned✨“Be careful when a naked person offers you a shirt” - African proverb✨“There's no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside of you” - Maya Angelou✨“Unused creativity is not benign and doesn't just disappear. It lives within us until it's expressed, neglected to death, or suffocated by resentment and fear.” - Brene Brown✨“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” - Mahatma Gandhi✨Atomic Habits by James ClearWe would both love to hear from you!Leah's Links:InstagramLeah's dog Luka's InstagramSpotifyWebsiteGet in touch with me!WebsiteSpotifyInstagramSupport the show (http://www.paypal.me/hannafrancis)
On this week's episode of EXHAUSTED, queen incarnate Leah Harris (finally!) joins us to discuss institutional racism, what white folk can do to be better allies, the things that help remedy the stress of constant engagement, and the joys of drinking water. In Leah's own words of wisdom - 'Drink water, don't be racist!'. Black Lives Matter. Podcast art by Eliana Reed Audio mix by Zach Maynard
Guess what? (Or should we say GUEST what..?) We have our first guest! Join Eli, Zach, and Leah (give her a follow @sustainable_leah) for an in-depth discussion on the doldrums of climate change, the effects of environmental racism, how sustainable living can be classist, and much much more! Try not to panic under the crushing weight of impending planetary doom, and enjoy! Podcast art by Eliana Reed Audio mix by Zach Maynard
This episode Leah Harris - Spotify Australia and New Zealand - Creative Producer for PodcastsLeah is very much behind the podcasts that you've no doubt been listening to or through if you're using the Spotify. We discuss: Her mission to champion unique Australian voices and get them the recognition they deserve. What makes a Spotify Original v Exclusive What she looks for in an original podcast Leah listens to and recommendsDying for Sex Recaps with Mish and ZachThis podcast is a partnership between the Australian Podcast Awards and DM PodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Leah shares about intergenerational trauma and healing within her family, and how psychedelics figure into that story. We discuss the failings and dangers of the mainstream Western medical model of mental health and its treatments; we talk about the potential of psychedelics and the essential need for support for people who take them, as well as fears that people with a history of mental health struggles may have about taking them; and how to move towards more compassionate and just responses to all of our mental and psychological states. Show notes and links: https://thepsychedologist.com/leah-harris/
TheWorkofTheseHands.com - Transformative 1:1 coaching and whole-person wellness with your host, Amy DayThe work of Leah Harris: https://www.leahidaharris.comSome resources from Leah - on practices for schools and creative restorative healing circles within the classroom : http://www.sprc.org/sites/default/files/resource-program/AfteraSuicideToolkitforSchools.pdfhttps://www.healthiersf.org/RestorativePractices/Resources/documents/RP%20Curriculum%20and%20Scripts%20and%20PowePoints/Classroom%20Curriculum/Teaching%20Restorative%20Practices%20in%20the%20Classroom%207%20lesson%20Curriculum.pdfPlus, reframing suicide within the context of Social Justice:https://vikkireynoldsdotca.files.wordpress.com/2017/12/hate_kills_socialjusticesuicide_reynolds_white2012.pdfPlus, books & teachers dealing with trauma, healing & community work:Dr. Gabor Mate, on Trauma, Addiction & Compassionate Inquiry.Journalist Johann Harri, and his book, Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression & the Unexpected SolutionsA Mother’s Reckoning by Sue Klebold, the mother of Dylan Klebold, one of the two shooters at Columbine High School.
Leah Harris is the Content & Programming Strategist of the Digital Summit series working with speakers and attendees from world renowned brands to provide best practices, thought leadership and practical solutions from the best and brightest minds in marketing and business. With the Summit series hitting 20 different cities around the US in 2019, Leah shares how her team programs the event, pros and cons of great speakers and even gives her grade on the talk our own Justin Andrews gave last year in Chicago.
Today’s episode is meant to honor the best superheroe I can think of… she doesn’t wear a cape (usually) but she cooks, cleans, go to work, take care of you when you are sick, is a wife, is a friend and is the best. Our episode today is dedicated to mothers. Thank you mothers for being the best type of human there is. Happy Mothers Day! Today, stories by awesome moms! AmberDrea is a writer, editor and storyteller who has performed all over New York City and has appeared on several podcasts, including Risk!, Fish Out of Agua, Lost & Rewound, The Virgin Chronicles and The Soundtrack Series. Brittany is the Memphis native, Texas implant that feels conflicted when others ask “Where are you from”. She is a Mother, Nurse, Midwife student and lover things Southern Hospitality. She does it all, as well as hosts a weekly podcast called Hear Ye Podcast. Leah Harris is a mother, writer and storyteller in the Washington DC area. She has told true tales with Story District, Better Said than Done, and Perfect Liars Club. Her 2016 solo show Aliens, Nazis and Angels was rated among “best of Capital Fringe” by DC Metro Theater Arts. Carolyn Castiglia is a standup comedian that has appeared on VH1, MTV2, Comedy Central, NBC, Lifetime. She was featured nightly as Nickmom’s “Ultimate Sports Mom”, and she is a frequent guest commentator on HLN. The late Joan Rivers called her “hysterical” and she was named “funniest female comedian” by the Fringe Review Publication. Hosted and Produced by Vanessa Valerio. Music by Twintapes. Ilustration by Maria Jose Figueroa. Sponsored by TukFab and Manuel Hair Salon.
SheetstotheWind.co is a lifestyle guide to all things wine-country, specifically Healdsburg and Northern Sonoma County. This podcast aims to broaden your knowledge of the area by offering interviews of local wine-makers and wine-label entrepreneurs. EPISODE ONE (1): A podcast interview with local winery-entrepreneur, Sam Lando of Lando Wines. His philosophy on wine-making and his thoughts on what the "wettest winter on record" will bring to Sonoma County's 2017 vintage... The podcast was created & edited by me, Leah Harris. Music is "Frisco Nights" by Lobo Loco.
We caught up with Leah Harris at the 2017 Bridging the Divide: Suicide Awareness and Prevention Summit in Denver earlier this spring. Her keynote address was titled "How I Went from Wanting to Die to Loving Life: A Resilience Journey." We continued the conversation in this summertime length podcast.
Here is we have Leah Harris who is #Trauma survivor and activist. She is a consultant on #TraumaInformed care. You can learn more about her at her website www.leahidaharris.com
The Families in Mental Health Crisis Act HR 2646 — The Murphy Bill — proposes drastic changes to US mental health policies. Will the Murphy Bill curb violence and improve care? Or will more forced treatment, medication, and hospitalization only enrich pharmaceutical and medical industry power and reinforce stereotypes at the expense of real human […]
Leah Harris, coordinator of the Recovery Now! campaign, and director of the National Coalition for Mental Health Recovery, gives her take on the best way to care for people who struggle with mental illness on Bob Herbert's Op-Ed.TV.
Leah Harris was orphaned after both parents were diagnosed with schizophrenia and died from medication toxicity. Today she is a leading voice in survivor activism, and her powerful spoken word poetry, including "I Was A Teenage Mental Patient," has been featured in publications including Word Warriors: 35 Women Leaders in the Spoken Word Revolution, and DC Poets against the War: An Anthology. Leah is also the co-coordinator of the US Network of Users and Survivors of Psychiatry. [Read more...]
Psychiatric survivor and leading advocate Leah Harris reads her powerful poem "I Was a Teenage Mental Patient" and discusses how communities can work to prevent suicide by looking beyong mainstream approaches and rethinking our alienating school system. [Read more...]