October 11, 2022 |
The governor’s Mental Health Summit to discuss the state of mental health in Wyoming began this morning. Governor Mark Gordon said in a statement that the summit will focus on improving mental health for Wyoming residents through partnerships and enhanced collaboration.
“In order to address the scope of the problem, we must be actively engaged in finding solutions,” the governor said.
The summit will include a variety of perspectives from community partners, private providers and state leaders. It also includes panel discussions highlighting current efforts, and the development of a common agenda to address mental health and substance abuse in Wyoming.
The keynote speaker is Dr. Rob Anda, developer of Adverse Childhood Experiences research. Anda’s works traces all mental health problems and the risky behavior they produce in adults, including drug abuse, homelessness, incarceration, to childhood trauma. Here’s a clip of Anda from a recent event in Texas.
Anda hypothesizes that institutional policies and practices make adversity worse. The theory functions as a critique of individual responsibility and the notion that an individual can overcome adversity by “pulling yourself up by your bootstraps.”
This is a welcome message to many with state-paid jobs who see government as the solution to all problems, including individual behvior.
Today’s summit, held at the Nicholaysen Art Museum in Casper sold out quickly, it is being livestreamed by Wyoming PBS. It is scheduled to begin with a welcome message from Governor Gordon.
Photo courtesy of the Office of Mark Gordon.
