Cook Children's Health Care System Launches New Podcast to Address Youth Mental Health Crisis
The podcast is part of the Joy Campaign, which launched in April 2021 as a suicide prevention communication initiative, and aims to reach parents through honest conversations about the mental wellbeing of children and teens.
Go here to listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts. Episode 1 and Episode 2 are also available on our YouTube channel.
Cook Children’s Health Care System announced today the release of its new mental health podcast, Raising Joy. The podcast is part of the JOY Campaign, which launched in April 2021 as a suicide prevention communication initiative, and aims to reach parents through honest conversations about the mental wellbeing of children and teens.
“The pandemic was extremely difficult for kids and families and we’re going to be dealing with the results of that for a long time,” said Kristen Pyrc, M.D., co-medical director of Psychiatry at Cook Children’s and co-host of Raising Joy. “My hope with this podcast is that we can empower parents with tools and strategies they can use to support their children, as well as themselves.”
In addition to Dr. Pyrc, Raising Joy is co-hosted by Wini King, Chief of Communications, Inclusion, Equity and Diversity at Cook Children’s. Each week, the two will interview guests about topics such as depression, anxiety, stress, adverse childhood experiences, bullying and social media (to name a few).
“This is bold. It’s not something you might expect from a children’s hospital but I can tell you it’s something special,” King said. “In the few episodes we’ve already recorded, my jaw has dropped from what our guests have shared. We’ve heard incredibly impactful stories of personal struggle and resilience. I hope listeners walk away from our podcast knowing they are not alone, and that there is hope and help.”
Episode two of Raising Joy features a particularly raw conversation with pediatrician Kathleen Powderly, M.D., of Cook Children’s Pediatrics Magnolia in Fort Worth. Dr. Powderly is credited with sounding the alarm that sparked the Joy Campaign.
In early 2021, she sent an email to leaders across Cook Children’s making them aware of the dramatic increase in suicidal patients she was seeing in her practice, some as young as 7. It turned out what she was seeing was a trend throughout the health care system and the country.
“Dr. Powderly’s passion for this topic comes through within minutes. She courageously opened up about her own experience with depression and burnout. This is a conversation every parent and physician should hear,” said Dr. Pyrc. “Even with the first couple episodes, Raising Joy is bringing the topics that we typically bury out into the light. It’s an out-of-the-box that I’m very proud to be a part of.”
Season one of the Raising Joy podcast will run through May with new episodes becoming available each Tuesday. It is currently available on all major streaming platforms including Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts and YouTube.
About Cook Children's
Cook Children’s Health Care System embraces an inspiring Promise – to improve the health of every child through the prevention and treatment of illness, disease and injury. Based in Fort Worth, Texas, we’re proud of our long and rich tradition of serving our community. Our not-for-profit organization is comprised of nine companies, including our Medical Center, Physician Network, Home Health company, Northeast Hospital, Pediatric Surgery Center, Health Plan, Health Services Inc., Child Study Center and Health Foundation. With more than 60 primary, specialty and urgent care locations throughout Texas, families can access our top-ranked specialty programs and network of services to meet the unique needs of their child. For 100 years, we’ve worked to improve the health of children from across our primary service area of Denton, Hood, Johnson, Parker, Tarrant and Wise counties. We combine the art of caring with leading technology and extraordinary collaboration to provide exceptional care for every child. This has earned Cook Children’s a strong, far-reaching reputation with patients traveling from around the country and the globe to receive life-saving pediatric care. For more information, visit cookchildrens.org.
