Stigma Free Speaker Series

The Psychology & Human Services club, along with Student Life & Activities, is hosting a Stigma Free Speaker Series. All events are held in MAS 100 and will be available live on Zoom (registration is required). The presenters are Brookdale Community College alumni, students and mental health professionals!

Please join the Psychology and Human Services Club as they go past the surface and have a “Real Talk” about the challenges of Stigma.

WARNING: Mental Health Disclaimer: Please be advised that content of the presentations may at times be difficult for audience members due to the nature of the topics. Our goal is to discuss different topics such as trauma, self-harm, anxiety, and depression in a space that allows for awareness, enhances understanding and empathy, and ultimately chips away at stigma. Mental health resources will be made available for each presentation and mental health professionals will be in attendance to assist those with resources.

Fall 2024 Presenters

Laura McCullough-Thoms
October 24
11:45 a.m. – 1:15 p.m.
MAS 100 and on Zoom
Lunch will be served

REGISTER FOR ZOOM LINK HERE

Laura McCullough-Thoms is a writer and educator who’s been a professor at Brookdale for almost 25 years. She’s published several books of poetry, including most recently WOMEN AND OTHER HOSTAGES with Black Lawrence Press and THE WILD NIGHT DRESS selected by Billy Collins for the Arkansas University Miller Williams poetry series.  Her most recent manuscript, THE RESURRECTION JAR, has just been accepted for publication by Cornerstone Press with the University of Wisconsin.   Laura is also in a doctoral program in medical humanities with Drew University specifically working on emotional literacy and narrative therapy. The importance of storytelling for healing has been an essential aspect of her personal and professional life.

Her talk called “The Drummer, the Old Man, and the Whale” will recall a time when she was in college and experienced the terrible loss of death by suicide of her musician boyfriend.  Steeped in grief and trauma and headed down the same path herself, she accidentally meets two wise beings, an old man and then later a whale, and both of them changed her life and sent her on a path not just toward healing, but on trying to understand the way all of us need to metabolize pain, grief, and loss, and how we’re truly never alone.

Caitlin Raiten
December 19
11:45 a.m. – 1:15 p.m.
MAS 100 and on Zoom
Lunch will be served

REGISTER FOR ZOOM LINK HERE

Caitlin Raiten is a registered nurse and Assistant Professor of Nursing at Brookdale Community College. She earned a Master of Science in Nursing with a Nurse Educator focus from Thomas Edison State University and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Delaware. Before transitioning fully to nursing education, Caitlin dedicated 10 years to bedside care as a medical-surgical nurse at a local hospital. Caitlin is also a proud wife to her husband Justin and mother to their two children, Cadence and Caleb.

Throughout her life, Caitlin has faced challenges with anxiety, growing up in a household where conversations about emotions were uncommon. After the birth of her second child, her struggles intensified, culminating in a diagnosis of postpartum depression and anxiety. Through this difficult journey, Caitlin gained invaluable insights into herself and developed a passion for supporting others facing similar challenges. She now shares her experiences, offering a message of resilience and empowerment to those navigating mental health challenges. 

The Stigma-Free Lecture Series is sponsored by Student Life & Activities.