“You don’t have to have a mental health condition to experience a mental health crisis”
Bianca McCall, a retired women’s basketball player, TEDx Speaker, Licensed Clinical Therapist and Suicidologist. She is the Founder & Executive Director of a health group; where she presents, and trains organizations across the country on Mental, Emotional and Behavioral Health subjects.
Bianca is also the owner of a tech company, which recently released a mobile health application called Reach-In Now; the first of its kind providing anonymous chats and video timelines, 24/7/365 peer supports and real time links to helper and healer resources for anyone wanting to try this virtual, mental, emotional and behavioral health subjects.
Bianca resides in Las Vegas and is a dynamic speaker and coach who had learned a lot of lessons before forming the company. She grew up in a small California town and felt like an outsider culturally especially when she visited her family in Oakland because some of the family members couldn’t relate to her interests of attending college or playing basketball professionally.
Many people are suffering and the world is not adapting to the trauma which is occurring on a daily basis; many are not allowing themselves time to be alone to answer the question, “why are we here?”
Bianca has allowed herself time to heal herself before doing it for others as a trained and licensed clinical therapist, especially as a retired athlete. Her identity as an elite basketball player began in childhood where she over-performed and overachieved because she was afraid of not being good enough.
Many of us are afraid of being alone to discover our purpose.
Basketball injuries suffered from a pickup game sidelined her and she lost a lot of scholarship offers which caused her to lose her identity but it didn’t stop her from playing through the pain which is how most of us deal when injured or are in pain physically or psychologically.
My name is Bianca – Let’s have a conversation
Treated with medications at a young age due to those injuries, also affected her and caused depression, identity crisis and imposter syndrome. Withdrawal from those medications increased the depression, however, there were others who told her that she was “losing her mind” as opposed to the actual cause which was the affects of the chemicals and internal pressure that she placed on herself and not having someone to talk to.
Kindness is Free
Despite the mental state in the world today, Bianca is optimistic, motivated and inspired by the opportunity to work with others as part of a larger group but feels the need to increase access to these groups. She talks about these 3 major eco system stakeholders.
3 Major Eco System Stakeholders:
- Students
- Managers (Educators/Administrators/Para Professionals)
- Parents/Peers
Bianca believes that we can no longer isolate and medicate our students. In the school system, we cannot continue doing what we are doing as we are in a national state of emergency. Social and emotional learning is vital for our students’ mental health. However, simply purchasing a program from a 3rd party vendor is not enough, educators and para professionals are already overburdened and underpaid and don’t have the time to learn a new program to correct student behavior.
We need to have a 3-prong comprehensive approach to deal with this crisis and to make it work; we want our kids and parents to be okay; everyone in the Ecosystem needs to be empowered and we need the funding and communication skills.
Are you injured or Are you hurt?
Athletes play through the pain, parents and caregivers also work through the pain, but
no one wants to work through injuries.
Recent School Shootings
Our youth and our school system is in a state of crisis, mental health is in a national state of crisis so we have to look at the root causes because kids model adults and we have to have the communication and language skills necessary for expression.
Reach in Resiliency Program is based in Las Vegas, and offers a 3-prong approach program to school systems, colleges, universities, criminal justice departments, law enforcement, 1st responders and professional sport teams.
If after listening to this interview, you want more information, please check out the website www.reachinnow.com or send an email to [email protected]
“You don’t have to have a mental health condition to experience a mental health crisis”
We have to validate everyone, all races, religions and cultures, we need to look at root causes and this will help in the education systems across the world.
WOW: You Deserve It!
