Make Mental Health Matter Show In this episode of Make Mental Health Matter Kelli chats with Alison Perry and Robert Shaw. Alison is a military family member, Licensed Professional Counselor, and Founder of Central Oregon Veterans Ranch (COVR). Inspired by her brother’s military service and deployment for the invasion of Iraq in 2003, Alison began a six-year career with the Department of Veterans Affairs in 2005. Working in both urban and rural settings, she developed a passion for healing combat trauma across the lifespan. It was during this time that the vision for an alternative to the medical model of treating veterans was born; the concept of a “PTSD ranch” that would engage veterans in nature, community, and the support of peers for healing. COVR was established in 2014 as a 501c3 nonprofit organization and thrives today as a community hub offering free peer support and agri-therapy programs to veterans of various ages and eras. Alison served as the Executive Director of COVR from 2015 to 2022 and is launching into the next phase of her career; consulting, teaching, and inspiring others with her journey and the model of care she developed in Central Oregon. Alison is co-producer of the 2022 documentary Cover Me, The Path to Purpose, a gripping film about the transformative impact of COVR. She is the winner of a 2009 Red Cross Community Hero Award, 2016 Deschutes County Health Advisory Board Health Hero Award, and 2017 Bend Chamber of Commerce Community Hero Award. Additionally she served as an instructor at Oregon’s Department of Public Safety Standards & Training from 2018-2021, facilitating Mental Health scenarios and teaching Veterans Awareness to Law Enforcement recruits. Alison currently lives in the Denver area with her husband, a Navy and Army combat veteran, where they enjoy running and hiking in the foothills of the Front Range, reading, and serving others. Robert is an Army Veteran, a survivor of another horrible type of military trauma, including severe physical injuries and numerous suicide attempts. You’ll hear his story. Learn more about Alison here: www.alisonperrysower.com www.covranch.org / alison-perry-sower-ms-lpc-18192320 https://www.primevideo.com/detail/Cov...

In this episode, Kelli engages in a conversation with Casey Feicht, delving into her remarkable journey starting from her challenging birth with life-threatening asthma, navigating through addiction, enduring the loss of her business due to the pandemic, and ultimately surviving breast cancer. Despite the multitude of hardships she faced, Casey managed to cultivate the ability to fearlessly embrace both giving and receiving by opening her heart. We explore her methods of utilizing mindfulness, spirituality, and NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) to bring about transformative changes in her life. Casey is completing her Masters in Consciousness Studies, is a licensed Spiritual Practitioner, NLP Master Practitioner Coach, and Mindfulness and Yoga teacher/trainer. She loves empowering women to live their best life, through fun and healthy lifestyles. Follow Casey’s journey here: https://bit.ly/couragecanceryoutube https://funandhealthylifestyles.com https://www.instagram.com/courageousc... https://www.facebook.com/CourageousCasey

In this episode of Make Mental Health Matter Kelli chats with Stephen Jaye. He is a podcast host, product manager and the founder of Reclaim Your Time a business that helps people reduce the amount of time they spend online, on social platforms that often have negative impacts on their mental health. His primary passion is helping people live to their fullest potential and building a better future for humanity. Born on Long Island, New York he lives in Denver, Colorado and enjoys spending time outdoors in nature and is passionate about community. You can find out more about Stephen here: https://www.lessscreentime.com/ https://actions-antidotes.com/

In this episode of Make Mental Health Matter Kelli chats with Dr. Sugi (Sugandika T Subawickrama) is originally from Sri Lanka. She is a licensed psychotherapist in New York (LMHC) and New Jersey (LPC), a certified substance abuse clinician (Master CASAC) in New York and internationally and is also an approved DWI assessor and clinical screener for impaired driving offenders in New York. She is a strategic leader and a motivational speaker as well. Dr. Sugi has worked in Behavioral Health, Mental Health, quality, research, and Substance Abuse Counseling for over 20 years in various treatment settings. Her educational journey in Sri Lanka, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States helped her to learn coping strategies and leadership skills. She completed the ""Science of Well-being"" course at Yale University, which provided a different perspective on life and happiness. Dr. Sugi completed her Doctorate from Liberty University, with a 4.0 GPA, and is affiliated with Sigma Beta Delta and Omega Nu Lambda Honor Societies. In addition, she is a Six Sigma Black Belt and a member of the American Counseling Association. She also serves as a chairwoman for youth at the VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars). She has been selected/accepted to the roster for the Fulbright Specialist Program, allowing her to represent the USA and use her knowledge and experience with the world. Dr. Sugi is a volunteer TED translator/reviewer/language supervisor and has two YouTube channels in Sinhala and English on Mental Health and empowering individuals. Also, International Translation Day TED Translation giveaway winner. TEDWomen 2022 subtitling contest winner (English to Sinhala: Get out of the glass box) and received an invitation to TEDWomen present to participate connector pass 2022. Dr. Sugi has delivered 2 TEDx talks so far, Immigrant Resilience (Southlake, Texas), and I Am Not My Past and Rising Above Trauma (Staten Island, New York). Dr. Sugi is passionate about research and is involved in numerous qualitative, quantitative, social, and marketing research both nationally and internationally. Dr. Sugi's passion is to use her skills to help individuals recover and rebuild their lives from the devastation caused by traumatic events, such as war, natural disasters (Tsunami, Hurricane), recurring substance use, and maladaptive coping skills. She has extensive experience providing individual and group counseling, while utilizing evidence-based approaches to help adults and children reach their treatment goals. You can find more about Dr. Sugi here: Website: https://drsugimentalhealth.com/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-sugi-s... YouTube Link: / @dr.sugiandmental... https://www.facebook.com/ssubawickrama Dr. Sugi & Mental Health https://www.facebook.com/groups/27929... https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?...

In this episode Kelli brings back Jodie Jensen. Growing up, Jodie dreamed of single-handedly achieving “world peace”. She studied international development and conducted fieldwork to relieve poverty in Africa, Oceania, Europe, and the United States. But as she examined the effects of non-profit interventions, she saw little, if any, lasting change. Jodie realized a simple truth–you can’t solve a problem you don’t understand. While raising her five children, and inspired by her international work, Jodie committed herself to the study of emotional intelligence and empathy. Today, she is a recognized expert in applied empathy, is a certified emotional intelligence coach, and has a mission to help leaders and organizations discover and apply empathy to solve problems. Find more info about Jodie here: LinkedIn: Jodie Jensen FB: Jodie Jensen FB group: Raising Emotionally Intelligent Kids Instagram: raising_EQ_ kids Blog: raisingEQkids.com

In this episode Kelli talks about your brain and how your brain plays a part in mental health.

In this episode of Make Mental Health Matter, Kelli talks about the stories that we tell ourselves as a Memorial Day special.

In this episode Kelli talks about why May is Mental Health Awareness month, also shares some extremely useful information as related on how we can help ourselves and others with faced with a mental health challenge or suicidal ideation. She talks about how important it is to take care of our mental health and resource that we have available through BCC Evolution. She shares how to talk to someone that might be experiencing suicidal thoughts and how to help them. For more resources and to sign up for BCC Evolution's newsletter go to: www.bccevolution.org

Make Mental Health Matter Show In this episode of Make Mental Health Matter Kelli brings back to Dr. Zakiya Mabery, who was part of the World Suicide Prevention Day special. She is an author, international speaker, independent consultant who helps businesses, colleges, universities, and communities design programs that address mental health, diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) in addition to social justice issues. Her expert opinion is frequently sought after by the media, federal government, the United States military, and professional organizations. Dr. Mabery is well-known for initiative programs which address issues of mental health, overcoming adversity, disability inclusion, bias, inclusive leadership, intersectionality and bystander intervention. Dr. Mabery is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated, Inc.® Find out more about Dr. Mabery here: https://inphone.co/drzakiya

On this episode of Make Mental Health Matter Kelli chats with Heather Dearman. She is a Civil Service Specialist at the City of Aurora, a Chairperson at the 7/20 Memorial Foundation and Spirit of Aurora, and a founding member of The Colorado Resilient Life Center (CORLC) and Survivors of Tragedy Outreach Program (STOP). Heather’s cousin Ashley was paralyzed in the July 20, 2012 Aurora Theater Shooting. Ashley’s unborn child and 6-year-old daughter Veronica were also killed. Heather was inspired to join the foundation in 2015 after experiencing the love and compassion the community displayed at her youngest daughter’s lemonade stand fundraiser for the theater shooting memorial. For the following 3 years, she helped lead fundraising efforts for the permanent memorial, and in July of 2018, the permanent memorial ""Ascentiate"" was installed. Heather and her 7/20 Foundation board are now focused on providing support across the nation to communities who have experienced similar tragedy, through their paper crane peace project, and the foundation has grown into a resource for advice and guidance in the aftermath of other mass tragedies. She has continued to advocate for survivors' long-term needs, alongside others in the STOP coalition. Heather has been a keynote speaker and panelist at several victim advocate conferences, and received the 2022 Outstanding Volunteer award from the National Philanthropy Association. Heather also works closely with Aurora’s police officers and firefighters in her role with the city of Aurora’s civil service commission. Her connections with first responders, victims, survivors, and communities who have experienced tragedy propel her passion for proving that there is more love in the world than hate. Find more info about Heather here: https://www.7-20memorial.org https://www.instagram.com/720memorial... https://www.facebook.com/720memorialf...

In today's episode of Make Mental Health Matter show, Kelli talks with Victor Stewart. His 12-year-old son completed suicide in 2002 and he also found out the same day his wife was cheating on him. The 2 worst things a person could experience in life, all in one day. He has 5 adult kids & 13 grand-kids. He has been a business owner for 40+ years. Passionate about helping people not make the same mistakes he did when he went through this. He is now very grateful because it deepened who he is. He never knew he could love that much...or hurt that much. A Chinese proverb that he goes by is: He who has not tasted what is bitter, cannot know what is sweet. Truth. To learn more about Victor, you can find him here: https://www.saynotoseo.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/saynotoseo/ https://www.alignable.com/broomfield-... https://calendly.com/saynotoseo

In this episode of Make Mental Health Matter show Kelli will talk about the power of community and how it can be important for those that might be struggling with a mental health, or substance abuse challenge and going through the journey of grief and loss. BCC Evolution is building a Trusted Resource Hub with a community of incredible individuals, organizations and businesses. Find out more about joining our Trusted Resource Hub here: https://www.bccevolution.org/trusted-...

In this episode Kelli will talk about what it means to be a Warrior for Mental Health and why we need your support to accomplish our big goal of 250 Warriors for Mental Health per month for BCC Evolution. Learn more here: https://www.bccevolution.org/warrior-...

On today’s episode of Make Mental Health Matter, Kelli brings back one of her previous guests Alexandrea Diel to share her journey through recovery. Just over a year ago the courageous woman was on my show speaking about the struggle of living with Borderline Personality. She fought for her life. She didn’t want to live with the pain of the trauma from her childhood and a life of domestic violence. She left the love of her life, her home, her beloved dog who had kept her alive through the darkness. She choose to save her life. She moved back to Colorado and immediatly went into treatment. It wasn’t until 3 months later she accepted she was an addict. For 14 years she had used Meth and even though she had not been in active use for a few months she just couldn’t understand why all the therapy wasn't helping her heal. She still wanted to die. Then one day she came to believe and fully accept that she was an addict. She decided to make another major life change and seek sober living. I hope that her story will help others that are fighting for their life.

Make Mental Health Matter Show In this episode of Make Mental Health Matter Kelli talks with Laura Silverstein, LCSW. She is an author, speaker and Certified Gottman Couples Therapist who has been helping couples find more happiness for over thirty years. She writes practical step-by-step guides including Love Is an Action Verb: Couples Therapy Workbook. Laura is the founder and co-owner of Main Line Counseling Partners, a group psychotherapy practice based in Bryn Mawr, PA. She has appeared as a relationship expert in media outlets such as the New York Times, ABC 6, and Mind, Body Green. You can find Laura here: https://laurasilverstein.co/ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09QLFBRVR https://www.facebook.com/author.laura... https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-sil... https://www.tiktok.com/@laurasloveadvice

SEASON 5: EPISODE 1 TOPIC: HONORING BLUE IVY & BEYONCE STREAMING LIVE JANUARY 6TH @ 2 PM EST

TOPIC: TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP GUEST: Linda Fisk, CEO, LeadHership Global

On January 1, 2025, two tragic incidents occurred in the United States: New Orleans: A military veteran drove a truck into a crowded Bourbon Street, resulting in 14 deaths and numerous injuries. Las Vegas: A Green Beret detonated explosives in a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump International Hotel, causing his own death and injuring several others. These events have heightened concerns about domestic terrorism and the mental health of veterans.

Join us as we uncover the essential role of water intake in optimizing your wellness! Staying well-hydrated is crucial for your overall health, but how much should you really be drinking? In this live episode, we’ll discuss: The best times to hydrate for maximum benefits Tips to encourage children to drink more water Key signs that indicate dehydration Plus, hear inspiring stories and effective strategies to keep you and your family well-hydrated. Don’t miss this opportunity to transform your hydration habits and boost your well-being!

🌟 Revisiting 2024 Iconic Moments with Our Guests | It’s Your Life Radio 🌟 Join Dr. James and Michelle Cooley as we take a heartfelt look back at the most unforgettable guest highlights of 2024! 🎙️ From inspiring stories to impactful discussions, this episode reflects on the central themes, key takeaways, and the significance of our guests’ contributions. Discover how their insights remain relevant today and continue to inform solutions to new challenges. 🧠✨ Whether it’s topics on health, empowerment, relationships, or community growth, these moments remind us why It’s Your Life Radio is a platform for transformational conversations. 🌍💬 Don’t miss this powerful recap of wisdom and inspiration! 💡 Visit 👉 www.cooleyfoundation.org to learn more about our mission and impact. 🔔 Subscribe to our channel for more motivational content and share your favorite moments from this journey in the comments below! ⬇️ #ItsYourLifeRadio #DrJamesCooley #MichelleCooley #PodcastHighlights #2024Recap #InspiringStories #TransformationalTalks #GuestHighlights #MotivationalConversations #EmpowermentJourney #LifeLessons #HealthAndWellness #CommunityGrowth #RelationshipGoals #ThoughtLeadership #SelfDevelopment #EmotionalIntelligence #OvercomingChallenges #WomenEmpowerment #PersonalGrowth #LifestyleTransformation #MakingADifference #InnovativeSolutions #PodcastCommunity #IconicMoments #ResilienceMatters #MindsetMatters #PurposeDriven #SuccessJourney #LeadershipMatters #InspirationForAll #GuestSpotlight #LegacyMoments #RadioShowRewind #StayInspired #LivingYourBestLife #GrowthMindset #PowerfulConversations #EmotionalHealing #ThoughtProvoking #BeTheChange #PositiveImpact #CooleyFoundation #PurposefulLiving #LifeChangingInsights 👉 Watch now and relive these iconic moments! 🎥✨ 🎧 Tune in, get inspired, and stay motivated with It’s Your Life Radio! 🌟 ⚡️ 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐓 :- ▶ Facebook: / james.cooley.167 ▶ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ JCCooley9 ▶ Instagram: https://www .instagram .com/jccooley/ ▶ Email: jamescooley145@gmail.com