Town Talks With the Mayor

Excited About Mental Health: A Conversation with Sumita Bhandari

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In this episode of Town Talks with the Mayor, Mayor Newell Arnerich sits down with Sumita Bhandari, Executive Director of Discovery Counseling Center, for a conversation during Mental Health Awareness Month about the importance of mental health and its impact on the broader community.

Sumita shares the history of Discovery Counseling Center and the organization’s long-standing role in supporting the San Ramon Valley. The conversation highlights the services Discovery provides, including counseling and support programs for students, seniors, and groups.

Mayor Arnerich and Sumita also discuss how mental health shapes a healthy, connected community, and the importance of making resources accessible to those who need them. Through the Town of Danville’s partnership with Discovery Counseling Center, residents have access to a comprehensive group therapy program designed to help meet local mental health needs.

Tune in to learn how Discovery Counseling Center continues to support students, families, and residents throughout the San Ramon Valley, and why being “excited about mental health” means understanding that a truly strong community starts with the well-being of its people.

Town Talks with the Mayor is a monthly video podcast produced by the Town of Danville featuring the Mayor in conversation about community priorities, Town initiatives, major projects, and timely local topics. Find more information at danvilletowntalks.org/mayor

SPEAKER_02

Well, welcome. I'm Newell Leiner, it's Mayor Dan Hill, and welcome to the podcast for the Mayor. Today, we're joined by Samita Bantari, uh, Executive Director of Discovery Counseling Center. And very appropriate. Welcome, Samita.

SPEAKER_00

Thank you. It's a pleasure to be here.

SPEAKER_02

We're excited to um, and yes, we can be excited about mental health. And we're going to talk a little bit about why we should be excited that. But particularly that this month, the month of May, is mental health awareness. And um it was at our May 19th council meeting that you were kind enough to um accept um a resolution from the town proclaiming uh May as mental health awareness. Um but I want to go back in a little bit of history to set some context. So Discovery Counseling Center started a very long time ago, and it started back in the 1960s. And maybe you can just share a little bit of brief, how did you get it started? And um then we're gonna talk about where are we today and a little bit about post-COVID. And we're gonna talk some specific about post-COVID and what what happened, where we are, and what's changed in that. So maybe you can start with a little bit about the history of discovery.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, yeah, because all of that would take time, right, to cover all of it. Um so starting back in uh the the the late 60s, really, um discovery was uh the inception came out of concern that the community um had over what they were noting among youth in the community, that there was um, you know, a lot of drug use, that there was an uh intersection of a lot of issues of depression and anxiety among youth. And, you know, these these leaders in the community, some of whom were Rotarians, um, some of whom were professionals in the community, got together and said, hey, we need to do something about this. We've got to be there for our young people. They're obviously struggling, and we're seeing the signs of that. How do we help them? And so they approached a counselor at San Ramon Valley High School by the name of Peter Strauss and asked him if he would meet with these uh young folks, talk to them, see if you know there was something that could be done to help them. Um and so, you know, Peter, uh being a therapist, um, just kind of approached the kids in a very uh you know comforting, non-threatening way. I think they began meeting uh um in the Foster's Freeze parking lot in downtown Danville. Fosters Freeze is still there.

SPEAKER_03

Right.

SPEAKER_00

Um and you know, I think he just had uh an approach with these uh young folks. It became so um sought after, and uh there were you know kids just kind of hanging out there already, and then they began to just become comfortable with Peter. Um and it very quickly became apparent that this was not only uh reaching kids in a way that was important, but it was effective. And the next question uh became how do we keep this going?

SPEAKER_02

Um Yeah, that was interesting because back in that point in time in history, people didn't talk about mental health. It was you know, life was good, the world's great, but now more was going on, and there was that was another current. But in the United States, there was a sense of peace, love, and all of those things, and a fairly wild experimental time. And mental health wasn't on that list, it was not in our schools per se. So maybe as we fast forward, what how has discovery changed and what did it become since the days? And he literally had a van that I think was purchased as from the folks you said who helped start. And he worked out of the van, foster freeze and that. So where are we today and how do we get there?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I mean, it's an incredible story of where we started and how you know the meeting the needs of not only young people then became addressing families, um, couples, uh, and then you know, growing into a partnership with the school district about 35 years ago, um, you know, uh a partnership began that offers now counseling in every school site in the San Ramon Valley Unified School District. We provide, we recruit, train, supervise counselors who are on campus to meet students where they are, where they spend a majority of their day in order to provide them support as needed. And it could be anything from a student struggling with, you know, how do I balance, you know, this this heavy load of classes with my extracurriculars? How do I, you know, um, how do I balance expectations at home of what I should be doing and what I really felt feel a passion for? There could be a loss in the family, there could be a number of reasons that might trigger um a referral to a counselor at school. Uh but that is, you know, just an example of how Discovery really was able to meet a need in the community and then evolve over time. So, you know, as we discussed, we started in the 60s with really just high school kids. And then that developed into the partnership that uh allowed us to provide services not only to students on every campus, but also to be able to provide services to the community at large. Um, you know, it has been we went from, you know, now we see um thousands of sessions a year, thousands of counselors.

SPEAKER_02

I was gonna say we have 28,000 students, um 34 campuses. Yeah. So is this at all grade levels? And then it started in high school at San Juan Valley High.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

But this goes all the way down to kindergarten TK.

SPEAKER_00

Exactly. It's K through 12. Um, every high school, elementary, middle school campus, as well as our alternative education camp uh sites as well.

SPEAKER_02

And then how many days a week is um are councils available at the campus?

SPEAKER_00

Our counselors are on campus two days a week. Um and in at times uh there are sites that will have needs that exceed the two days, and we do our very best to kind of balance that and provide extra coverage as we are able to with the counselors that we have on staff. And so Discovery goes through that that cycle of of hiring, um, training, and supervising over 30 staff every year.

SPEAKER_02

Well, that's a lot of that's a lot of people. But it's an amazing value to the community. And I remember Discovery wasn't involved in a program before you technically were um the former executive director, Kathy Shiverton was involved in it, and I helped a little bit. But there was the stigma that goes along, it still exists today with mental health. Mental health that, you know, I think people fear that people think I'm not a good person or I'm failing. But a program that came out of that was called um, well, we knew first aid, right? We've all taken first aid classes out of something. So there was an organization that had just started with mental health first aid. Discovery Counseling Center really promoted that. And the concept was, you know, particularly students, and that's my passion, is you know, trying to help students, and and and we know from educational purposes that the earlier you can help them, the more successful the outcomes are gonna be. But people, when they s would see young people maybe in stress off by themselves, they would have a tendency to walk around. And mental health first aid said, engage, lean in. You're not gonna solve their problem, but you might say, Hi, how are you today? And that conversation may trigger in you, as that mental health first aid, what your role is, is to engage and say, you know, there are people that can help you and do that. And I think that made a big difference. But then comes along COVID, and COVID revealed, I think, to the general public that mental health was all around us, and it just we didn't see it because you know, children go to school, adults go to their jobs and things, but now they're all at home. What do you think happened in COVID relative to mental health? And where are we today? Are we better, we worse, or are we still on a on a road to recovery?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, it's a great question. I mean, I think um for mental health, COVID really, you know, as you said, it it highlighted for everyone, every family, um, that when we pull one thread from our lives that really, you know, allows us to move through our day, to function, if we pull one thing uh an expectation, how delicate our sense of well-being can be, and you know, how we're all impacted by these things that we look to for normalcy, whether it's um, you know, interacting with our friends and our families, you know, all of that was removed for a period of time. Um, all of those things that really do give us that sense of connectedness and well-being and and how fragile that can be. So I think, you know, for mental health, it really gave everyone a sense of, hey, this could impact me. Uh tomorrow something could happen in my life that would really could destabilize myself. And then the implication of that is is all the people that are around me, my my work colleagues, my you know, my family, um, will be impacted by my sense of well-being. So I think in a very fundamental way, it gave gave every uh you know, a community at large a sense that um this is something that anyone could be dealing with at any at any given moment. And so there was there was an empathy for it. I think um in terms of what we have seen at Discovery, both through COVID and afterwards, I still feel that um we are not fully cognizant of all of the impacts that we, you know, will ultimately feel coming out of COVID. I think there are many kids who were caught in very critical um developmental times and suffered during that time when they had to be apart from their friends, they were not able to develop socially, and there were certain very important points developmentally that were missed that they're still trying to make up for. Um, and then there's, you know, other intersecting factors that were also present during COVID that COVID just kind of blew up in a different way. And, you know, some of that we often talk about uh with social media, the time online and the time that that young people now spend in their rooms by themselves on devices. I think, you know, we're all struggling to figure out how to contend with that and figure out really is this is this something that needs intervention? And I think we still find parents looking for guidance on how to help their child. You know, we see it manifest in different ways in the school district in terms of you know absenteeism, kids that can't make it to school because, you know, they've they they're struggling with mental health issues, they're struggling with isolation, they're struggling struggling with social acceptance, which are all issues to get back to your original question. You know, I don't think anything that came out of COVID was uh unique in a mental health sense, but I think that what COVID and other factors did was exacerbate it in a way that we're not quite yet prepared to deal with.

SPEAKER_03

Right.

SPEAKER_00

Um and we are still trying to figure out how best to address uh some of these issues. So, you know, in terms of what we hear from our therapists, we we certainly see and right out of COVID saw an intensity of issues that we hadn't traditionally seen. Um so it might mean that uh uh you know a student is in with our skip counselor, SKIP as we uh refer to our school counseling intervention program with SRVUSD. You know, traditionally we conceive SPIP to be a 8 to 12 week intervention to get a you know a kid over um you know a a social issue or something uh you know a mild intervention. But what we have seen is that those the the issues have grown. It might take a little bit longer, and that's a clinical judgment between that counselor and uh and their client.

SPEAKER_02

You know, interesting. I I was just with a group uh earlier today, a group of high school students. Yeah, and it came up in conversation that they were in the seventh grade. And seventh grade is kind of that breakout year. It's um, you know, young people kind of becoming teenagers, and they all communicated through electronic devices because they couldn't see each other every day. They learned how to go to class in Zoom. So their world changed in a flash. And social media, if you look at how social media, their advertising, their revenues all went up. They blew up. You look at all of the streaming services for online movies. Well, COVID clearly wiped out um uh movie theaters because for you know, that nine months or so you couldn't go, but it wiped them out because people got used to the streaming services. So all the online um access could be on your phone, in your room, and it changed the world a lot. And so one of the questions to them was you know, they were trying to do presentations about how to get involved in their community. And the theme they all had was that they are intimidated, and it's because they lost those formative years of being connected. Not that that's a mental health, but it's an observation that the normal processes are different, and sometimes mental health, as you've mentioned to me previously, is young people just need to know that this too shall pass and might be enough. And I I was thinking about all of the how um we're seeing more people at Discovery Counseling considered you're seeing it in the staff. It's growing. There are more um counselors there. The skip program is bigger because I remember when it started, it wasn't in all the schools, and it was one day a week, and you know, it's blossomed um to meet a need. And how does a parent or a child, how do they get that help? Once they're they're enrolled in the school, something happens. Do they do it during school hours? Or maybe you can describe how that process works.

SPEAKER_00

Sure. So it it um it might be look a little different depending on what level um the student is at, right? Yeah, grade level, exactly. Um so you know, at an elementary level, it might just be a parent, you know, meeting with a teacher at a parent-teacher conference and saying, hey, you know what, this is all great with the academics, I'm not that worried about it, but how are they doing in school? Do they have friends? You know, I've noticed um, you know, that they have trouble connecting with their peers. Is there something that, you know, um that the school can offer? Are there any resources? And so um something like that. Or there, you know, like I said earlier, there may be a death in the family. So the teacher can refer.

SPEAKER_02

So the teacher or a student. That's correct.

SPEAKER_00

Correct. And then um, you know, that they're you know, at a high school level, there it you know is a team of folks that might include uh a clinical uh social worker, uh school psychologist, their uh alphabet counselor, that team may meet and decide, okay, given this set of circumstances that we know about the student, who on our team, including the skip counselor, who's the best to be able to address this? And so they may refer. Um but yeah, the referral can come from a number of different sources.

SPEAKER_02

Interesting. And um is there a cost to um seeking that service?

SPEAKER_00

No, that that actually is really a tribute to the school district that they had the foresight to invest in this um support for students. It is free of charge to families and it in it really it's accessible to students in a sensitive way that doesn't that allows them to access the counseling without you know calling them, hey, you know, Johnny, time to go see your counselor. Um it's they they try and do it in a way that um minimizes any other social exposure that the child may have.

SPEAKER_02

So at the obviously at the younger level, um, you know, it's probably a parent or a teacher or a staff member who might um observe something and make a recommendation. But high school, you know, students are more mature in many ways. Can they on their own um elect to say, hey, I'd like to just chat with somebody? Absolutely. And how does that process work there?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, absolutely. They would go to their their counselor, you know, their academic counselor. They're also uh trained a bit in this area to be able to at least recognize and refer kids to refer to discovery to the skip program. Yes, absolutely. Unless it was a more severe issue, in which case they would want to refer uh students directly. Uh they try not to refer directly to us, uh, but to to appropriate services of which we may be one.

SPEAKER_02

So there's the school counseling, which is fairly robust, so that's available to the 28,000 students. So there's another side to Discovery, and that's in the general public. And so what are the types of services that Discovery offers to the general public?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, so um we offer uh counseling to really for a variety of issues, any you know um level that might go from uh you know social anxiety, um anger management um issues that couples are um encountering, um uh just a whole host of issues. Really anything in that mild to moderate intervention space, um, discovery would be able to help. It it's you know, I think there are certain things that we would refer folks out to uh to other centers for, excuse me, um, you know, substance abuse issues that might require um inpatient or even a higher level of outpatient treatment, things like that. But there is a large uh range of issues. We also offer group therapy uh services. So there are, you know, and that was actually revived with the help of the town of Danville.

SPEAKER_01

I said it's the program that we helped fund it, it's been very successful.

SPEAKER_00

Yes, it's been really just uh a blessing to be able to offer that to the community, actually similar to our SKIP program, free of charge. So uh residents of Danville are able to access those services without regard to any fees. Um, you know, we have a senior support group, a caregiver support group, um uh a grief or loss support group, and as well as a somatic eating group, which is getting off the ground. And that has all been possible because we had the funds to be able to support that work. So we are very grateful to the town to to really allow us to really uh what the the grant funds is the therapist's time to be able to run those groups. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

So it's interesting the demographics um have changed a lot in Danville since COVID. Our population over 65 has grown almost by 25 percent. Yes. And you mentioned in the group therapy um seniors and things like that. So Discovery was able to deal with not only children, families, and seniors. And why would somebody what does group therapy offer that individual therapy? And who might do that? Is it easier for people to kind of be with people or what how does that work?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I mean, I I thank you for bringing me back to that. I I thought about talking about that and then I lost myself in a lot of things. No, no, no, no.

SPEAKER_02

Totally different as what? Thank you for sharing what you have.

SPEAKER_00

No, absolutely. I mean, group therapy is uniquely able, I mean it it offers a couple of things, just from a, you know, uh being able to have a greater impact on the community, to be able to see seven or eight people at a time in one session. Just but that aside, group therapy in and of itself is better suited for certain issues that are not going to be able to be addressed in a one-on-one uh relationship with a therapist. And that has to do with social connection isolation. When you talk about seniors, that is one of the most uh prevailing issues. And also, you know, in that context to be able to sit with a group of people, um establish a connection with other folks going through similar circumstances. They may have adult children that they're, you know, dealing with relationship issues there. They may have chronic health, you know, problems. And everyone around there is not only there to kind of hear what's going on with you, they're also there to support, you know, support you. Uh and it just, it's so uniquely able to help people, you know, in a way that one-on-one therapy would not. And so things like the senior group, the caregiver group, even groups that we hope to start um to help teens. You know, we talked about isolation. And missing those very important developmental phases that we all benefited from and allowed us to be more comfortable in a social context, which a lot of the you know this generation is still kind of struggling to figure out. And yeah, and maybe eventually they they will, they're gonna join a workplace, they're gonna be working. But we want people to be able to thrive and kind of meet their their potential as soon as they as soon as they possibly can. So um so yeah, group therapy really does offer some unique benefits.

SPEAKER_02

That's great. And it's amazing um as we're just talking even here today, yeah, is how many types of services are available. Um but we've also had a dramatic change over the past 25 years here in the San Juan Valley as a whole, culturally.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

So our school district has changed dramatically. 47% of the school district is now um Asian Pacific Islander. Um what challenges has that presented to counseling? And and particularly with discovery and trying to reach people?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, it's an excellent question. Um so yes, our our composition of students has changed. I think the questions of what students are maybe dealing with that might have a cultural component have changed. I think the culture of the area overall has also kind of uh changed um uh slightly. Um in terms of mental health, I think for discovery, and and one of the things that I really, when I joined, was very important to me to be able to offer some um you know, some insight into or some you know some direction on is that cultural component. How do you reach a family who has had no interaction with the mental health system, who may have some reservations about uh whether this would go, you know, in the in the uh uh case of skip access, is this gonna go on their school record? How is this gonna impact them? And really understanding, are we doing, are we serving everybody uh, you know, in an equitable manner, right? Are we are we reaching all the families that that are really struggling? So, you know, we um applied for and received a grant to be able to fund uh cultural uh competence training for our therapists. So we completed that in 23, 24. Um we partnered with a professor at UC Davis who had done decades of re decades of research on how, if you don't necessarily look like the client across the table, how can you um you know ensure that they have not insure to the best of your ability, but how can you maximize this, maximize the chances that they're going to have a successful interaction. And connect with you. And connect with you.

SPEAKER_02

That you don't have some perceived barrier that might not really be a barrier, but there are cultural differences about mental health that create their own uh stigmas and barriers.

SPEAKER_00

Aaron Powell Exactly. Um, you know, there's often a um uh a sense of guilt, right? That uh there are a lot of sort of subliminal expectations that that things uh like mental health will be dealt with within the family unit. And um things are not to be shared outside with strangers. So a client um, you know, that might be even open to mental health may sit in a session and then feel tremendous guilt about sharing all of this private family dynamics or information with this person that is, you know, otherwise a stranger. Um and so how do you, as a therapist, help them, you know, through that type of you know, uh cultural uh reason for for that sense of, okay, I just want to discontinue this. Because that that is one of the phenomena that we find. They have to trust each other. They have to trust you. And so how do you build that relationship? And so, you know, uh I found that tremendously satisfying to be able to, you know, uh address that for our therapist. Because the reality is um the training for uh to become a therapist is is a long journey.

SPEAKER_02

Very long, yes, thousands of hours.

SPEAKER_00

3,000 hours for a licensed marriage and family therapist. Um and it doesn't pay very highly. So really you're you're by virtue of the system weeding out a number of folks who may be from disadvantaged backgrounds. So what we end up with is a struggle to try and diversify the workforce in the mental health sphere. So knowing that that's a reality, how do we as discovery address that in an effective way so we can counsel, you know, and offer services to our community that are culturally responsive? So that's part of it. I think part of the dialogue is also whenever we have the opportunity to address um cultural nuance and allow the conversation to go beyond simply that I think these parents are putting too much pressure on their child. And what often happens with that is, and this is what I mean, is that the conversation will shut down there, right? Um, you know, all of these parents in this community, you know, you can fill in whichever nationality you want to in that sentence, are are unreachable. And often the conversation will stop there. And that's the critical point where we actually need to build that trust and engage with that family. And so, you know, to me, uh I think that's a very important part of what Discovery can and should be doing, you know, even into the future, is to try and bridge those gaps wherever we can, wherever we have the opportunity to be able to do that. Um there are real stigmas out there for many communities in accessing mental health. So really the creative part is how do we build that trust with the community and how do we how do we uh address these things in creative ways? So, you know, if I'm not gonna look like you, how am I gonna make sure that we can have a successful trust-built, you know, based relationship? If you know your family has some um reservations about accessing mental health, how do we talk about it in a way that convinces them that this is actually going to ensure your long-term resilience, success, and happiness when you don't live under the roof with me as your parent, right? That's the message I think that sometimes we need to keep saying and keep talking about because oftentimes, like let's say we put on a workshop, um, we're only gonna bring in the people that are somewhat sympathetic to the idea of mental health. They're the ones that are gonna be in the room. But we need to reach the people who may not, you know, be open to that message yet. How do we do that? That's the large, larger question. And I think that's where we need to kind of develop a message that's more nuanced, that that really addresses what fundamentally any parent, no matter what cultural background you're from, you want your kids to be happy and successful. So how do we connect this? Because fundamentally that is what it is. If this pillar, as we all learned in COVID, is gone, oh, it's devastating. So if you want, you we truly want our kids and our young people to be successful in the long run, that connection to the mental health system, to the resources that are available to them, actually is part of preparing them to be a successful adult.

SPEAKER_02

But you pivoted exactly on that in two ways. Well, first of all, what helps is you're you're born and raised, grew up in the area here, so you kind of know this. Your children went through the school system here. But counseling agency don't do a couple of things. They normally do all the things you've said. But two things happen that you help promote, um, and it had to do with community outreach, fundraising, and things like that, and marrying the two to celebrate. And you don't think of mental health therapy about comedy.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

And you started a comedy night that has evolved, and people show up knowing that Discovery Counseling Center is holding a uh comedy night, a night to celebrate community local talent and musicians and things like that. And then also doing dandy a night in reaching out to the um uh East Indian community of just celebrate. And nothing about mental health is ever talked about, but it's Discovery Counseling Center, the staff, the board members. What what do you think that that has on the impact of the community in doing those things?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I mean, I think that there is also we we often talk about uh mental health and we focus on sort of the the the trouble and the you know the struggles, but there's also a lot of deep joy and resilience that you see that you get to witness. And um I think what those events do is is celebrate that uh that sense of togetherness and community and the joy that we can find um uh with one another. So, you know, the the first event you referred to is our uh evening of music and laughter, which is held uh every spring, and it's put together by um you know the the the entire board, but the life force of that event is Mike O'Flynt, um who does an incredible job. Um he puts together the show, finds the comedians, and you know, and I think that this uh sentiment was started by my predecessor, Kathy Shivertune, who wanted to put events together that didn't just that that offered something, you know, in exchange for somebody coming to come out and support uh mental health. We also offer something to the community, right? Uh think about discovery in, you know, in a number of different ways. Think about it in a way of, hey, we're there. This is what we're doing in the community, and we're there to be able to help you if and when you need us. Just, you know, it's a light message. It's um it's we are a resource. And so similarly with Daddy and I, what I had wanted to do was because uh like I referred to, you know, if we put a workshop together, we're reaching a limited sliver of people, but we need to reach everyone. How do we do that? Um and yeah, I mean we we struggled to really figure out a place where we could insert ourselves with a mental health message. And in the long run, I think that that event um holds its place in that um in that space of uh we're here. Hey, did you know about us?

SPEAKER_02

Right. Um just a resource. We can help. But it doesn't hurt to laugh. We know that when human beings laugh, there's endorphins and things that are released in your body. And it actually does make you feel better.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

So that was an interesting contrast. And then the Dandianite is so successful, it's really not a fundraiser. It's really just uh reaching out to the community to celebrate, um, dance, share food, um, share community with each other. And there's what, seven to eight hundred people, and you have to limit it because we can't find a big enough facility.

SPEAKER_00

That's right. Yeah, we were pretty um surprised by how quickly that was embraced by the community. They wanted to come out, they wanted to be together.

SPEAKER_02

And all ages.

SPEAKER_00

All ages, yeah. That was the thing. It's multi-generational.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, people, young kids, five years old, a lot of high school kids, and and a wonderful group of adults that are um incredibly talented teaching young kids how to dance. It was, I mean, it was probably one of the best community events I think I've seen. And you've done it three or four years now.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, yeah, three years. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Well, you have another part, um, another um, and we'll go back to some other services that you probably that we haven't talked about. But one of the core group of people, um, it happens to be a group of only women. Yes. Um my wife is there. Um she's one of the younger ones. Yeah. But the average age is in the kind of the high 70s. Maybe you can talk about the Friends of Discovery. Who, what, when, and where. What are they?

SPEAKER_00

Oh my gosh. I would love to talk about the Friends of Discovery because uh there is no way that we would be here doing what we're doing without these incredible women, both the women who founded so so as I uh spoke about earlier when when Discovery Services became uh it became apparent that we were going to need a steady source of funding to be able to continue this work and results.

SPEAKER_02

There's a nonprofit providing a lot of your services at little or no cost.

SPEAKER_00

Exactly.

SPEAKER_02

It's done, as I recall, based on if you can't, if your income isn't this high, we can do it for free. And there's a sliding scale. Obviously, some can, but surprising in this valley, there are a lot of people, given the circumstances, may have caused the mental health issues, financial and things like that, can't afford it.

SPEAKER_00

Absolutely. And um, yeah, and I think back in the days when it was started, I think it was free. Um the services were free. And then at at so, so, but getting back to the the founding, um, so these women got together and um you know said, hey, we're gonna find, we're gonna need to find a way to keep this going. This is really important to our community. And they decided back in the 70s and 1973, it was founded, they decided to start a thrift shop and donated goods from the community to be sold to support counseling services. And that fundamental model exists today.

SPEAKER_02

And some of the same women, I think, are working there, a few of them.

SPEAKER_00

There are, yeah, it is the most amazing volunteer model. Yeah. Uh we're talking Shirley Jacks. Yeah. Yeah. Um, so it's been it's it's it's been a uh just a blessing, doesn't even capture it. But yes, to your point, I mean, this is a uh 130-plus volunteer uh organization called the Friends of Discovery, founded in 1973 to run uh the Thrift Station, which is in downtown Danville. I believe it's one of the most successful retail operations in the city.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, it's located at uh the Crossroads Shopping Center at the intersection of San Juan Valley Boulevard Railroad, Hearts and Hearts Way.

SPEAKER_03

Yes.

SPEAKER_02

And they are the single highest-grossing retail store other than like a Costco.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Amazing.

SPEAKER_00

Amazing. Amazing model, amazing symbolically what they represent. Uh it's just, it's, it's beyond even what they give to us, which I will tell you in a minute and it'll blow your mind. But well, you know, but other people don't. They, you know, it's repurposing goods from the community, turning it into, again, a good that comes out for the community.

SPEAKER_02

Nobody gets paid.

SPEAKER_00

Nobody gets paid.

SPEAKER_02

100% volunteers. They only pay rent, um, utilities, and insurance. Yeah. Everything else is donated.

SPEAKER_00

Everything else is donated and turned into uh it's it's just the most beautiful model of sustainability, of community good. I mean, even you know, uh setting aside the good that comes from the the sale of these donated items, the the community and the family that's created amongst the volunteers is incredibly strong as well. Any one of them going through something, um, you know, they're all there for each other. And it's you know, similar to what we talked about with group therapy. That right there is mental health, right? Support in action. Um, what they do for each other and that sense of solidarity amongst them. It's it's it's a beautiful thing, right? Um but yeah, and and through these donated um community goods, they are able to provide discovery with $50,000 a month in in donation, which is over $600,000 a year, actually.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. It's incredible.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

You know, interesting in looking at that particular group, it reminds me a few years back because um quite a few of those women are widowed um or single. And you're right, the therapy of the conversations, they all check in each other. They send out wellness notices to each other. But I think it revealed some of them also belong to one of our senior groups in downtown Danville at the Veterans Senior Building. And there was an idea, and um Kathy Shiverton, myself, and some of our our staff were there, realized that there's we we could do some real senior counseling, but they needed the counseling in a group setting, but they all resisted it. They they were willing to help, but they didn't realize it. And I think um Discovery found a woman that was of a similar age. She joined the group and just became a friend. And they all got to know her, it was almost all women, and they were so ingratiated by her, and then slowly she started talking to them. How are you doing? And things, and we all discovery was able to do a sort of a group counseling through a different avenue, not just advertising, and it was done so gently, and the women the benefit, they became closer friends, and they realized they had a lot in common. I mean, really a lot, and it was underlying was grief and loneliness. And um, but a genius idea to have somebody who, as you were talking about trying that you can identify with, and this woman realized, I can't just stand up and preach mental health, I have to be part of this. Um I mean that that's incredible. An organization, you know, a professional for-profit would never think of that because there's no profit in it. But Discovery is uniquely positioned to be able to treat the community and meet it in the way it needs, because you're a nonprofit and a nonprofit now for 54, 55 years.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

But you have other programs, I think. Um, not only the changes in that, um, particularly with young people. I think you worked um in a diversion program over in history. Young child gets in trouble. And if the parent agrees to be part of the solution, which is important, um that that young person will not have any record. And Discovery was able at various times to provide diversion programs. Um, has that been successful from your point of view?

SPEAKER_00

And yeah, absolutely. So I think uh you're referring to the alternative to suspension program, um, which uh yes offers um families whose student has been um you know caught on campus, either in possession of or using uh substances, um, be it alcohol or tobacco, um, they are referred to ASP. Um, you know, and they opt in, and basically what it is is uh a two-part session. It's not therapy per se, but it is you know, the first session is an assessment of the nature, the extent of the problem, um, what might be intersecting, because what we often find, you know, and this is really the whole spirit behind that program is to move us away from a punitive frame of mind to a, hey, let's see what's really going on here, because as we know, there's something driving that student to that choice, right? So what is that uh factor is what this uh you know the meeting with the therapist would be. So part one is that it's one-on-one with the therapist and the student, and then part two actually involves the whole family. And this gives uh the family a chance to understand what some of those underlying issues might be, as well as an opportunity for the therapist to be able to refer them to resources, whether it's uh at discovery or maybe if it's a more severe issue, there might be a um, you know, some other program that that might be required in that situation. But um, that program has really made a difference in turning some students, you know, in at a critical time on a different path. And we, you know, this is kind of feedback that we've gotten from administrators at uh different high school levels in particular. We tend to see those kinds of incidents and referrals to this program pick up around this time of year actually, when a lot of the you know, grad nights are happening or you know, senior ball, junior prom, those kinds of events um tend to be those um high season, let's say, for for ASP referrals. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

You know, I I recall back um and I got involved because I was involved with Discovery, but I also did the family. There was a young man, middle school student, who um had gotten a lot of trouble, rapetto in the school and convinced the parents and him to go through sort of a diversion that that evolved a little beyond that. And it was amazing to see the transformation in this young man. He would wear a hoodie, come in discovery with his head down, and You know, reception could barely see who it was. And time goes on. One day this young man shows up and the reception says, Can I help you? He goes, I'm so-and-so. And she goes, Who? And no hoodie. Normal smile on his face.

unknown

Wow.

SPEAKER_02

What a difference that makes. So I'm sure you get to see the gamut of all of that. Um if you were gonna issue um a mental health report card, this is a big question.

SPEAKER_01

Oh gosh.

SPEAKER_02

So, you know, sort of starting back COVID to where we are now, you know, issues seem to change as the economy goes up, economy goes down. We have, and we're just starting to feel it. A lot of people work in tech, major layoffs, financial is kind of an underlying of a lot of issues. Children see things happening, discord at home, and they don't know if it's their fault or or what role. Is there a mental health report card you think that you could say, where are we at? Where is where are we in this community?

SPEAKER_00

Well, I mean, I think I so I have to give a grade, huh?

SPEAKER_02

No, no, you're not that it's really to start the conversation. Where are we? And you know, what what kinds of things could you say that um and and obviously for people might be listening is to make somebody comfortable say, hey, you know what, boy, that that's an issue I have too.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

And and it wouldn't be a bad idea to talk to somebody. You know, and part of the reason for us being on the podcast today is to be able to talk about things in a way we go, yeah, you laugh, you feel good. When you don't feel good, you have a tendency to talk to your friend. So counseling has similarities to that. So is there a health card that we could say, what are those trends, where are we at? What areas do you think we need to focus on?

SPEAKER_00

Well, I think some of what you what you started with really to me will mean that it's going to be even more important that discovery is able to be that place that people can come to. I mean, when we're talking about, you know, um prices going up, people losing their employment, people losing their health insurance, all of these are trends and realities that that are in the background. I think as a community, we recognize the importance of being able to support one another and that this is a critical factor in our ability to thrive as a community, to connect, to be able to engage in the civic life. You have to feel uh like you have your resources together, right? It's you know, whether it's a student accessing academics or it's a citizen in our community accessing services and parks and being able to engage civically. I think this is a this is a fundamental piece. And I and I don't, and I think that the long history that Discovery has had in this community and the um interaction and support with the civic leaders in this community has uniquely positioned um us uh you know as residents of the San Ramon Valley to be able to deliver on what is inevitably going to become an increasing need for mental health support. And, you know, we talked about discovery, and I just want to make sure I touch on this. Discovery offers financial assistance for services. So if we have, you know, it might be a well-to-do family that's going through a divorce and the wife has no access to the financial account, right? So, or she's uncomfortable, she doesn't want to ask for it. Maybe there's some other implication that she doesn't want to trigger in, you know, the proceedings. Um we're able to step in and say, that's fine. What can you afford? And hey, even a zero fee for a while, we can manage that. We want you to come in and get the help that you need. So I think in the context of you know our uh report card, I think we're well positioned to be able to continue to do uh to do that as trends uh worsen. But we will definitely, you know, we'll we'll need, as any nonprofit does, we'll we'll need to keep calling attention to the fact that these resources, um, you know, uh in order for the services to be sustainable, the resources also, you know, uh, they have to be available.

SPEAKER_02

But it takes a lot of people. Yeah. It's back to does take a village, but it's wonderful to know that there is a resource. And a resource that is unusual for a nonprofit like this that provides these kinds of services to be around for over 50 years. That in itself is extraordinary. And when you look at the advent, particularly of the area that we live in, Silicon Valley, most of our residents work in tech. Um technology is making human interactions, it's it's changing those. Not necessarily for the good, but it is changing, even with uh the prevalent um use of AI. AI is is being used right now. We don't even know it and how it's being used and things. And that's gonna make life more complicated, and the intersections are gonna get um um tangled and and gnarly a little bit. Um so we're fortunate to have obviously um discovery. Um and it's an interesting point of view that here's a resource, and I would share this because it's public knowledge, but it's amazing the number of people that get involved. And I'll share it because your background, but there is a um one of our therapists who was just getting license is just leaving, but he has the same background as you. It's Candace Supervisor Candace at Addison.

SPEAKER_03

Phil Anderson. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Phil Anderson, yeah, who was a lawyer, corporate lawyer retires from that and felt a calling to help people. He has incredible people skills, incredibly approachable, but he spent and did his what is it, 3,000 hours he had to do. Um but he was a lawyer in your background. So you were a lawyer. I mean, you were a well-known lawyer in the area, um, and you ended up taking a break and said, I wanted to, how did you get, how did you choose to be at um to get into counseling? What was your calling or how did you make that pivot?

SPEAKER_00

You know, I think um I've always even when I approached uh, you know, career choice, it was always how can I use uh what I'm what I feel I'm strong at? What are my strengths? How can I use that to benefit the community? I think the definition of that community has changed over time. I started early in my career in DC advocating for immigrant rights at a Asian Pacific American um organization, civil rights organization, and was fortunate enough to be able to, you know, have a great, a great position there. But I think over time, my, you know, as I had kids and I, you know, settled back into a practice, um even at uh the law firm that I worked at here in downtown Danville at Cegan McCoy, I was encouraged to be a part of the community. And I really appreciated, to be get involved with the issues that you care about. And actually, um, you know, when I had the opportunity to be able to make that pivot, it and and I fully understood what discovery does. Um I think how did you know what they did?

SPEAKER_02

Well, because you were involved.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, uh that's right. That's right. I mean, yeah, and you know, and and Kathy is a wonderful human being um and a dear friend. Yeah. And uh she, you know, is is very good about sharing about you know the work that Discovery does. But I think when she was making the decision to retire, um, I had already decided that I was going to be making a pivot in in my own career. But, you know, all that said, I when I began to really look at what Discovery's place was, what would they actually do? Because I, you know, I knew Kathy, I knew that they work on mental health and, you know, great, it's a noble cause. But when I really started to understand the model, when I got to know about the thrift station, when I got to know about what this organization does in the schools for the young people in our community, I was compelled. I was like, this feels like the right place for somebody who grew up in this area, who understands a more diverse community as it evolves. What are what are the unique things that I could bring to this position that would allow me to be more effective, similar to how I chose my profession? What can I bring to the table that would allow me to do this in a way that would offer something to the community? So that kind of is the same motivation. And similarly, as you brought up Phil, you know, it's it, you know, Phil completed his hours at, you know, during his time at Discovery. And we've had, you know, I've had conversations with him about, you know, just that that deep satisfaction that you feel. Um, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Well, and you've become of use. You were always involved in the community, but you you're really immersed in the community in a lot of ways. And you've built stronger relationships. Um, and it's clear with the friends of the thrift and the women that ran that organization, it's part of the discovery, and you have to oversee that. But that is really robust. You can tell by their successes, the the spirit they have, they're recruiting, um, all of that. And you know, we've had some members in that that um I think the oldest was 99 just a little over 90, not quite a hundred. Um, but it's changed a lot because it takes a lot of work. Um and those women are so dedicated, but you've built a wonderful relationship and a new team, and you're looking to expand, which is great. And the community has stood up to help support in many ways.

SPEAKER_00

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02

So you see there's going to be a long future with Discovery. Will it be here maybe even 50 years from now?

SPEAKER_00

Oh gosh, I sure hope so. Because I think that this is one of those organizations, you know, that has had uh it's it's almost like it's difficult to measure an invisible impact. But I know as I am out in the community, so many people have come up, you know, even when I was thinking about joining this organization, people were just beyond um happy to come up to me and tell me, you know, Discovery helped my my niece, my my sister, uh, you know, my kid. Um and they'll just come up to me and tell me that. So I, you know, with the number of folks that I know have benefited, I sure hope that we are.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah, I think I and I agree with you. I don't think I ever showed the story um how I got originally involved back in 1999 with Discovery, um, was helping fundraising. And also they were looking for a new home. And they'd found the home, a new space to rent, but they didn't know how to get uh the construction plans done, how to get a contractor. So I was able to help that. But what was really surprising to all of us was the construction company, the gentleman owned it. He was a former client. Um and he was fairly young. He was in his mid-30s, very successful. And he was one of those that in the early um years of the skip program or precursor to that, he got involved with Discovery. And he just said, I'm I'm here in this community because I'm part of it. And that was what he told us is that he felt disconnected from the community at the time. Discovery to help him that. So he was so excited to come back to be able to build and actually build this the offices. So you're gonna be moving. Um, and again, as I said, you're gonna get you have the opportunity to expand. You've had offices um in San Ramon um for many, many years. Um, and um the thrift station is here in Danville. Um, the partnership in the in the community to me has been um elevated through the events that have that have uh risen up from Dandy and I, um uh laughter and all of those programs. Um I I won't be here, you probably will be, but 50 years from now, um, I do see that there's hope. Um, and it's not because you say, well, our mission is done. It's it's not mission, it's life. Yeah, life is complicated and it will change. Who knows what the technology is, who knows what how we'll be living, and it's those changes and those interactions that create the opportunity to have those conversations. And I think about you know, on a layperson view, um mental health um is having a series of conversations with somebody you trust. And it's just talking to know that what is happening may be short term, it may be long term, but it's okay. And so I I think the the the role we are so fortunate in the San Juan Valley to have um an organization like uh Discovery Counseling that doesn't just raise money and give it away and ask somebody else to you actually have to raise the money, you have to do the work, and the evidence is the health of our community.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

So I really want to say a huge thank you to you, particularly, Samita, um, because you walk the talk and and you do everything. And and again, I think it was, I know when you were considering to come to work, um it's because you're from here. And you really did know the community and knew it from many levels of perspectives other people couldn't see. So I think that's huge. Um so I just want to personally thank you for that.

SPEAKER_00

I appreciate that.

SPEAKER_02

And what would be the last message if you could, we're just coming to the end uh here. Yeah um if you want to send a message out to the community from a mental health perspective, either about discovery or just a general statement of how people what can they do? I you know, whatever you want to say in that in that space.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I think um I think being open really to considering to considering these services for for yourself. I think discovery allows you to to do that without you know uh feeling a sense that you you need to uh address your issues in some way. It's it's it's like you said, it's it could be just um meeting someone for a time period till you feel, you know, hey, I've dealt with that issue, um, I think I'm okay, I can move forward. Um it may be something more long-term that you need to see somebody about, but it's okay to reach out. And you know, I think, you know, uh it could take many forms. You know, we talked about the ladies at the thrift station and really being amongst that community and family could be how you access mental health. It may not look like a a session with a therapist, it may be a good friend that you can reach out to, it may be a grandparent.

SPEAKER_02

And oh, I forgot about this. When you said just a conversation, you also do telehealth.

SPEAKER_00

Oh, yes, we do.

SPEAKER_02

Right. That's a big deal because nobody we had to you had to figure out how to do that because of COVID. And COVID we couldn't meet. And it's not, it doesn't work for everybody, but for some people, yeah, I have a close friend who once a week just checks in. And sometimes they say, Hey, how things are going? I'm great. What were you up to? Yeah. And it's just that pressure relief out. But you do too telehealth. How does that work?

SPEAKER_00

Um, yeah, I mean, we during COVID, we had to pivot 100% to telehealth. And um, yeah, we have a platform that we operate with, simple practice, and we have telehealth sessions available as needed. But what we find people want more of these days is that in-person session. Uh that's just I I think coming out of COVID, that's what we're starting to see is there is a desire uh and to reconnect. And and there, you know, from a therapist's perspective, there's a lot more that you pick up with body language in a session that but for you know those folks that might be at work and uh you know, this is a session on their break.

SPEAKER_02

And it might be what you call the light touch. It's it's what works for that person, their personality, and their circumstance.

SPEAKER_00

Exactly.

SPEAKER_02

A great option.

SPEAKER_00

Exactly.

SPEAKER_02

So I would leave leave this conversation maybe with us. We all as citizens have responsibility. Lean in for yourself. And if you have a friend that is um their personality has changed, their sadness, or whatever it is that's changed them, lean in and ask them how they're doing. And know that Discovery Counseling Center's organizations like that are available.

SPEAKER_00

Absolutely. Yes.

SPEAKER_02

Please thank all the therapists. Congratulate Phil Anderson on his achievement by getting his license. Yes. But thank you for joining us today here.

SPEAKER_00

It's a pleasure. Thanks for having me.