The Return of Trump: What Does it Mean for Mental Health Policy and Advocacy? A Live Discussion

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Thursday, December 19th,
12:00 pm PDT / 2:00 pm CDT / 3:00 pm EDT

Mental health was not a major issue during the presidential election campaign, but Donald Trump’s return to power will no doubt have major impacts on mental health policy – and many areas that directly touch on policy and outcomes.

How will Candidate Trump’s pledges to bring back mental institutions and to get “deranged” people off the streets actually look in practice?

Will Trump’s support for creating the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline – which was initially approved during his first administration – also lead to continued or expanded federal support for maintaining and expanding it?

How will his promises to enact mass deportation of undocumented immigrants and to revamp the asylum system affect people who have come to this country feeling war, trauma and violence?

How will the focus of mental health policy shift toward the states, as governors and state legislators of both parties increasingly seek to address mental health issues at a state level?

And how can advocates most effectively focus their attention and efforts in the new Trump era to protect the most vulnerable?

Join MindSite News and a team of mental health policy experts and advocates as we explore what a second Trump presidency will mean. Register and read more about our panelists below. Produced with support from the Commonwealth Fund.

Panelists

Tom Insel, M.D. is a psychiatrist and neuroscientist who has been a national leader in mental health research, policy, and technology and is the former director of the National Institute of Mental Health. He is the author of Healing: Our Path from Mental Illness to Mental Health (Penguin Random House, 2022).

Aimee Hilado, Ph.D., LCSW is an assistant professor at the University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice where she researches the impact of immigration trauma, early childhood/adult mental health, and culturally-sensitive clinical practice. She is the Chair of the Coalition for Immigrant Mental Health in Chicago.

Rebecca Bagley is president & CEO of The Kennedy Forum. She oversees the organization’s efforts to advance evidence-based practices, policies, and programming for the equal treatment of mental health and addiction. She brings over 30 years of experience collaborating with stakeholders through strategic partnerships that achieve shared goals and outcomes.

Tim Clement is the vice president of federal government affairs at Mental Health America. He works with Congress and the federal agencies to advance substantive mental health policy. Prior to joining MHA, Tim was director of legislative development at the American Psychiatric Association where he wrote state and federal laws on a wide array of mental health topics.

Luke Sikinyi, M.S. is a first generation American born to Kenyan immigrants who began his career advocating for mental health rights and a more equitable, person-centered system at a New York City Clubhouse. He is now the Director of Public Policy at the Alliance for Rights and Recovery (formerly NYAPRS).

Moderator

Rob Waters, founding editor of MindSite News, is an award-winning journalist whose reporting has focused on mental health, public health and science. He has worked as a staff reporter or editor at Bloomberg News, Time Inc. Health and the Psychotherapy Networker. He was a contributing writer to Health Affairs and his articles have appeared in the Washington Post, Kaiser Health News, STAT, Atlantic.com, Mother Jones and many other outlets. He was a 2005 fellow with the Carter Center for Mental Health Journalism.