Mental Health Episodes

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health and Director of National Health Communications in the Office of the Surgeon General, Stephanie Haridopolos, shares about the U.S. Surgeon General's new evidence-based toolkit on harmful screen use and the "Live Real Life" campaign.

Amy Ciarlo, senior analyst for Chronic Disease Risk Factors at ASTHO, highlights how fall prevention goes beyond clinical care and shares about programs like the CDC's STEADI program that aim to minimize fall risk.

Emily Fine, school and youth survey manager in the Prevention Services Division at the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment, highlights how findings from the 2025 Healthy Kids Colorado Survey showcased record low rates of persistent sadness, suicidal thoughts, and suicide attempts among youth.

On today's episode, Beth Giambrone discusses ASTHO’s mid-session update, reviewing the current public health trends emerging in state legislatures.

On today's episode, Conlin Bass, health systems suicide prevention manager for the Colorado Office of Suicide Prevention, explains Colorado’s comprehensive, data-driven strategy focused on reaching people before they hit a breaking point.

On today's episode, Senior Advisor for Public Health at MaineHealth, former state health official, and ASTHO Alumni Society Representative, Dora Anne Mills, tells us about the rapidly escalating rural maternity crisis, beyond just hospital closures.

What happens when health coverage becomes unaffordable, and who’s stepping up to lead in moments like this? This episode connects two powerful public health stories. First, we break down the ACA enhanced premium tax credits: what they were, who they helped, and what’s at stake now that they’ve expired. Catherine Jones, senior analyst for government affairs at ASTHO, will explain how these pandemic-era subsidies dramatically expanded access to marketplace coverage, helping middle-income famili...

How do public health agencies expand access to mental health support while genuinely engaging the next generation? In this episode, we speak with Heidi Laird and Xavier Foster from the Southern Nevada Health District about two PHIG-funded initiatives designed to do exactly that.

As behavioral health and overdose crises continue to strain health systems, states are rethinking how and where care is delivered. In this episode, Dr. Jerome Larkin, the director of the Rhode Island Department of Health and an ASTHO member, explains how youth-focused mobile response and stabilization services provide rapid, in-home crisis care and keep children out of emergency departments and reduce the need for hospitalization. The conversation explores why Rhode Island moved to require insurance coverage for these services and how states can sustain them amid funding uncertainty. Later, ASTHO Senior Director of Overdose Prevention, Richa Ranade, discusses the evolving policy landscape around naloxone, including efforts to expand access in schools, libraries, and other public spaces to prevent overdose deaths.

As part of our spotlight series on artificial intelligence in public health, today’s episode explores the BEACON Portal—a groundbreaking collaboration between Google and the state of Illinois designed to streamline access to behavioral health services for children and families. Dr. Dana Weiner, chief officer for children’s behavioral health transformation in the Illinois Governor’s Office, and Julia Strehlow, senior advisor at the Illinois Department of Public Health, discuss how BEACON centralizes information for families...

In this episode, ASTHO’s Catherine Jones, senior analyst for government affairs, breaks down the 2025 federal government shutdown, the longest in U.S. history, and what made it uniquely disruptive compared to the 2018–2019 closure.

In today's installment of the PHIG Impact Report, Jade Ramsdell, performance improvement director with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), shares how KDHE is using the Public Health Infrastructure Grant (PHIG)...

Amelia Poulin, assistant director of emerging infectious disease at ASTHO, discusses how she was recently recognized as an honoree of de Beaumont Foundation’s 40 under 40 in Public Health awards; Christina Severin, director of public health law at ASTHO, breaks down her recent Health Policy Update,...

Dr. Susan Kansagra, chief medical officer at ASTHO, discusses some of the downstream implications of CDC’s adoption of recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices earlier this week; Dr. Holly Wilcox, founder and director of the Center for Suicide Prevention and professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, shares...

Dr. Kayla Anderson, senior advisor for mental health and adverse childhood experiences in the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, shares how the CDC’s new Mental Health Data Channel streamlines access to essential data and resources that often become siloed by different sources; Dr. Scott Rivkees, dean of education at the School of Public Health at Brown University...

Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, epidemiologist and CEO of Your Local Epidemiologist, shares how her public health newsletter helps to educate readers about the policies and science impacting public health today; Tracy Gruber, executive director of the Utah Department of Health and Human Services...

Ali Maffey, vice president of social and behavioral health at ASTHO, explains how ASTHO’s new legal map assists with suicide prevention infrastructure; Noell Stone, practicum and capstone director at the University of New Mexico’s College of Population Health...

Maggie Nilz, senior analyst for preparedness at ASTHO, explains how states can help support public health preparedness workforce resilience and capacity; Carolyn Mullen, senior vice president of government affairs and public relations at ASTHO, shares what Congress has been busy with in this week’s View from Washington, D.C. report...

Dr. Allison Arwady, director at the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at the CDC, details a recent webinar focused on mental health and overdose prevention; Beth Giambrone, ASTHO senior analyst for state health policy, explains..

Beth Giambrone, senior analyst for state health policy at ASTHO, discusses her role on the state health policy team in this installment of the Get to Know ASTHO segment; Dr. Rose Molina, associate professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive biology at Harvard Medical School...

Danny Staley, ASTHO senior vice president for public health programs and practice, details the recent Healthy Brain Initiative Summit where he presented a keynote presentation; Catherine Murphy, ASTHO government affairs analyst, explains...

Dr. Sarah Nosal, president-elect of the American Academy of Family Physicians, discusses the importance of family physicians in regard to mental health; Amelia Poulin, ASTHO assistant director of emerging infectious disease...

Dr. Susan Kansagra, ASTHO chief medical officer, provides updates on measles and the avian flu; Dr. Ralph Alvarado, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Health and an ASTHO member...

Brittany Giles-Cantrell, program director at the de Beaumont Foundation, tells us why de Beaumont’s 40 Under 40 in Public Health program is so valuable; Catherine Jones, ASTHO government affairs senior analyst, tells us her journey to ASTHO in this week’s “Get to Know ASTHO” segment...