School District No. 8 (Kootenay Lake) psychologist Deanna Britton-Rumohr had the honor of meeting former U.S. congressman (Rhode Island) Patrick J. Kennedy at the National Association of School Psychologist conference in Orlando, Fla.
Kennedy, who has bipolar disorder, was the keynote speaker at this year’s conference, “Student Success: Mental Health Matters”. His speech, “My Journey: Making Mental Health Essential Health” discussed why mental health is critical to the overall health and well-being of individuals, the underlying public policy imperatives, as well as his own journey (and his family’s journey) toward mental health and recovery, and how he sees the world today.
His father, the late Edward Kennedy, suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Patrick is on a crusade to help the end of the stigma attached to mental health and as he said, he prefers to use the term “brain health”.