Season 2: Behavioral Health
Stronger communities begin with good health—for everyone.
Good health means caring for both the mind and body. We can improve our overall health when we uncover, deliver, and destigmatize the support needed to manage emotions, handle stress, and build healthy relationships.
Taking care of our mental health is key to resilience and overall well-being—and resilient individuals make for resilient communities. Good health, better world.
Behavioral health focuses on the relationships between emotions, habits, and physical health.
Although behavioral health plays a critical role at every age and stage of life, there is still a stigma around it. For some, accessing resources that help people handle stress, relate to others, and make healthy choices can be challenging.
This audio series aims to help overcome these issues through education and openness. Experienced behavioral health experts will discuss behavioral health disorders and ways to work toward good health for our bodies—and minds.
"Good Health, Better World" is available wherever you enjoy podcasts.
Episodes
Laying the Foundation for Behavioral Health
In this season’s inaugural episode, our guests discuss what behavioral health means and share resources to help us get back on track as we move forward from COVID-19.
We hear from Diane Holder, president and CEO of UPMC Health Plan, and Dr. James Schuster, chief medical officer of the UPMC Insurance Services Division. Listen in!
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Building resilience through trauma-informed care
In this episode, Dr. Kimberly Blair, a psychologist at Western Psychiatric Hospital, and Dr. Lyndra Bills, senior medical director at Community Care Behavioral Health Organization, discuss the ways that trauma and anxiety have affected people as our lives shifted as a result of the pandemic.
How can trauma-informed care and trauma-i...
Childhood, interrupted: Adolescent and pediatric behavioral health
The pandemic disrupted childhood routines in ways that experts are still seeking to understand.
In this episode, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh pediatrician Dr. Johanna Vidal-Phelan and psychiatrist Dr. Abigail Schlesinger talk about common behavioral health issues children and teens can have and what adults can do to suppor...
Opening up about addiction
In this episode, we hear from behavioral health experts who discuss different types of addictions, the impact, and how to get support on a path to recovery.
Hear insights from Dr. Michael Lynch, associate professor of Emergency Medicine, Toxicology, Pediatrics, and Addiction Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh and Dr. Antoine D...
Behavioral health and resilience in the workplace
Healthy, happy employees mean a better workplace. What can employers do? Guests James Kinville and Nancy Mckee of UPMC Health Plan’s LifeSolutions discuss why behavioral health care should be an important area of focus for employers and how an employee assistance program can support resilience and a culture of wellness.
About the host
Dr. Ellen Beckjord
Vice President, Clinical Strategy and Program Optimization
UPMC Health Plan
Dr. Ellen Beckjord, MPH, is host of the “Good Health, Better World” podcast.
Ellen is a behavioral scientist, epidemiologist, and licensed clinical psychologist working at the intersection of population and digital health.
Her work focuses on promoting health, wellness, and health behavior change. She is vice president of clinical strategy and program optimization for UPMC Health Plan based in Pittsburgh.
Ellen trained at the University of Vermont, where she worked with cancer survivors and their families, at Vanderbilt University, and at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
She completed post-doctoral research at the National Cancer Institute in the Health Communication and Informatics Research Branch within the Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences. She spent nearly five years in academic medicine at the University of Pittsburgh and Hillman Cancer Center.
Ellen also is the co-author of “Porchtraits” in which she interviewed people in Pittsburgh during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic about what they were learning, missing, enjoying, what surprised them, and what they felt hopeful about. A long-time member of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, Ellen currently serves on the Board of Directors as President-Elect.
Ellen’s guiding principle: “Lead with love.”