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Painted Brain | Digital Storytelling Program
We're bridging communities and changing the conversation about mental illness using arts and media.
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Digital Storytelling Program

Our mission is to empower young adults living with mental illness and equip them with technical skills that will distinguish them in the job market and provide a sense of occupational identity.

Since 2014, Painted Brain Tech has been fostering a community of techies living with mental health challenges.

Our unique workshops combine experiential opportunities with alternative educational modalities and are further enhanced by Painted Brain occupational therapists, who ensure an optimal learning environment through expertise in sensory processing and performance in everyday tasks.

The program integrates mental health support and community building in the context of cutting-edge technical training.

How Does Social Media Fit Into Mental Health Advocacy?

Shifting public attitudes about mental illness and mental health require a fundamental shift in the way the public discourse frames mental health. Prevailing public attitudes heavily influences public policy, which significantly affects how the mental health industry works, and how mental health professionals approach their work with consumers.

We hold our the belief in light of what we know about the influence of social media in the world; and in spite of the too many downsides of companies like Facebook, Twitter, and Google, effective use of social media is essentially a form of community building, and community building is a big part of our mission.
Thus we put emphasis on non-traditional media as a way to spread the word, amplify our efforts electronically and virtually, and further extend our ability to reach and serve a greater public.

There Is Power In Storytelling

How we reach a wider audience:
  • A peer-led MH media outreach campaign creating video, podcasts, and blog content.
  • Youtube channel
  • PB News
  • Social media
  • Event promotion
Addressing the Digital Divide in the Mental Health Community 

Sharing personal stories of recovery challenges stigma

Telling your stories to others can often be incredibly helpful to other people.

Our own words can give inspiration and awareness to others who may not know what it is like to look at life through your lens.  Alternatively, someone may identify strongly with your struggles, resilience, and perseverance in a way that they were previously unable to.

It also gives many psychological benefits to the storyteller.

Telling your story to others may help you to truly “find your voice,” and learn how to express yourself in a way that others can comprehend.  Analyzing the events of your life and compiling them into a linear story can help to appreciate the events that have led you to become the person that you are today.

Sharing Your Story for better mental health

 

Finally, it can create social change by building new communities

Our current history is replete with events that were sparked and ignited on social media. The virtual community has truly become something we never anticipated. Movements have been waged online, and the recent presidential election was a demonstration of the power of social media at literally electing candidates for office. I wrote more about the role of the Internet in Social Movements in a separate blog.
Social media and other online communities give mental health activists a forum to share their stories and reach more people. Empowered with new tools, new literacies, and new levels of access makes for more effective advocacy. It goes without saying.
The most significant part of this is the bridging of communities that is the true power. Painted Brain is a network of communities, one that’s expanding. It’s a community that embodies the idea of redefining mental health through a new recovery model.
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Digital Storytelling Program
Digital Storytelling Program
Digital Storytelling Program