Here are some ways that I advocate for mental health in my community.

Being a mental health counselor is more than just providing individual psychotherapy services or “talk therapy”. As you may have seen in my previous posts, mental health workers do a lot of work in a lot of ways to support mental health and wellbeing.

Some of the ways I increase access to information about mental health is through contributing to articles, providing public speaking engagements, and engaging in community partnerships and events that support mental health and wellbeing. I also like to share resources, including businesses and professionals, that have mental health as a primary focus of their work. I believe that providing a variety of viewpoints and engaging with many different groups can help build the diversity and inclusion that makes a community, and our society thrive.

Here are just a few of the ways I’ve worked with people and organizations in our community over the past few years to support access to mental health.

Lunch and Learn for Thurston County Bar Association

Therapy can help reduce anxiety and improve your mental health.

On September 22, 2023 I was honored to speak at TCBA’s September Member Luncheon & CLE at Tugboat Annie’s & on Zoom. I shared with dozens of interested and engaged professionals about “Navigating Mental Health, Burnout, Stress, and Substance Use: A Guide for Attorneys.” A copy of this presentation can be found under Projects on my LinkedIn profile or you can watch the video on my YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/cUwni7s9YUo for anyone interested in seeing one of the many ways I can cater a mental health topic to your specific organization. It was my pleasure to provide this service gratis. I received a lovely thank you gift and enjoyed getting to know a few of the attendees a bit better. There were a lot of questions from the audience and unfortunately not enough time to answer all of the questions.

Roundtable Luncheon with the Thurston County Trial Lawyers

On Wednesday, January 10, 2024 I was privileged to spend a lunch hour as the presenter for the Thurston County Trial Lawyers. Rather than a more formal presentation like I did for the Thurston County Bar, this event allowed me to do a Q&A of the topics I had presented for the Thurston County Bar. A group of about 15 attorneys actively participated in asking their questions about mental health related to being an attorney including topics such as: stress, burnout, sleep hygiene, how to access mental health care, how to support their clients with access to mental health care, and much more. The lunch hour flew by as we conversed about the importance of mental health for work-life balance and how to prevent burnout or negative coping skills. I was treated to a delicious lunch at Mercato’s in downtown Olympia, and just like the event for TCBA, our time for questions ran out because there was so much engagement. It was a true pleasure getting to know this group and the work they do for our community.

Healthy Relationships can improve your mental health

EmpowerU.

As a member of the Junior League of Olympia, it was exciting for me to present about Healthy Relationship for our annual EmpowerU event on Saturday, February 24th at the Olympia Center in downtown Olympia. This event is a one day event focused on empowering women in our community to take care of themselves, learn new skills that can advance their leadership training, and address a variety of topics that are relevant to being a woman in today’s world. You can find a copy of my presentation on my LinkedIn profile at: www.linkedin.com/in/katielorz. I received a wonderful gift card for some yummy Starbucks, and got to know women in my community better as we engaged in empowerment activities.

Entrepreneurship can be stressful. How do you manage your mental health while you grow your business?

The Evergreen State College CELTC Lecture Series

I was invited on to speak on May 31, 2024 for The Evergreen State College CELTC Lecture Series. My presentation: "Accidental Entrepreneur" and mental health for business owners gave me the opportunity to connect with college students in our community and share my own challenges and accomplishments as a business owner. I was also able to talk about how to maintain your mental health while you are doing the hard work of creating a business that can positively impact your community. The students in attendance had great questions after my lecture, and I felt humbled to see such a great turnout of eager learners. You can watch this lecture on YouTube here, or on my YouTube Channel. It is also on my LinkedIn profile. I received a generous honorarium for presenting this lecture.

Miss Washington Scholarship Organization’s Competition

One of the women I know from my volunteer work and membership with the Junior League of Olympia, an organization that develops women for civic engagement, leadership training, advocacy and volunteerism, is part of another great organization, The Miss Washington Scholarship Organization, which empowers women through competition, scholarship, volunteerism, and mentorship. It was my pleasure to support her through advertising and purchasing a group of tickets to the competition for me and my friends to attend. I believe one of the ways that we empower women and uplift our community is by putting our time, energy, and money toward supporting organizations and people that support that goal. I was so impressed with the supportive competition and talent that I witnessed on July 6, 2024.

Dry Tikes & Wet Wipes

Diaper insecurity can impact family mental health and wellbeing.

Diapers are expensive. When caregivers can’t afford diapers it can impact their mental health, their employment, and their family life. Many people in our community experience diaper insecurity. Diaper banks can help support families and improve mental health. I’ve gotten to volunteer at my local diaper bank, Dry Tikes & Wet Wipes, and see first hand how a diaper bank and dedicated volunteers can improve the mental health of families in Thurston County. Along with twice weekly public access to a local diaper bank, Dry Tikes & Wet Wipes puts on a number of events to collect diapers and engage the community in alleviating diaper insecurity. By volunteering at these events I know that I can do a tiny bit to help my community and their mental health. I also believe in donating financially to organizations that improve mental health and uplift our community, so it was great to be able to offer financial support through sponsorship of their annual Stuff the Bus Diaper Event on September 21st, 2024 in Lacey, WA.

SafePlace

Domestic violence can impact the mental health of families and individuals in many ways. Our communities need to continue to put effort and money toward prevention, support, and recovery from domestic violence. Some ways we can do this are by advocacy, education, and charitable giving to organizations that serve those who have experienced domestic violence. Safe Place is a great, local nonprofit organization that is focused on this mission. As an advocate for mental health, I was privileged to donate to this wonderful cause, and bring along women leaders from my community who also want to eliminate domestic violence from our community. We attended their annual gala on Saturday, October 5th and learned about their impact in our community and how we can continue to support their mission.

Writing Contributions

If you couldn’t tell, I like to write. Writing about mental health topics is one of the many ways that I hope to increase access to mental health awareness and support in our community. Along with this blog, I like to contribute to other publications through guest blogging or providing my expert opinion and knowledge. Here are a few of my recent contributions and the mental health topics they address. I hope they are helpful!

Should You Use Negative Reinforcement At Work? | Hive

10 signs you’re giving up too much of yourself to keep your relationship alive - Hack Spirit

Are You A Little Awkward? Why Psychologists Say It's Not Necessarily A Bad Thing

Signs Your Boundaries Are Being Violated: Examples and How to Deal

Do You Engage In Self-Destructive Behavior? 23 Common Examples, From Therapists

Why Is It So Hard To Keep New Year’s Resolutions? - TherapyDen Blog

How are you engaging with your community to improve your mental health?

Holistic wellbeing includes being engaged in your community in meaningful ways. Everyone engages in their community in some way, and hopefully those ways are creating positive impact for you and for those you interact with. Sometimes being in community can be stressful, especially in an environment like our current one where there are strong political divides, overwhelming responsibilities, distractions and emotionally charged interactions, and difficulty in juggling all the things and maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Being intentional about how you engage in your community can help to create positive feelings of empowerment and control in a world where it can feel like things are totally out of your control.

Here’s a quick exercise to help you be mindful and intentional about your community engagement and how it impacts your mental health.

Grab a piece of paper and a writing utensil. (Sure, you can do this digitally too on your notes app or other document, but writing has an especially powerful way of being a connector between your emotions and your thoughts, so write it out if you can).
Think about your day, week, month, or year. Choose whichever makes the most sense to you.
Identify the places you go in your community, the people you connect with, and the things you invest your time and money into on a regular basis.
Make a list of these places, people, and things that you put your energy into.
Notice and make note of if they are impacting your mental health (how you feel and think) in a positive or negative way. A simple plus or minus next to each item will work.
Now take a moment to consider how important these things are to you. Are you required to do them? Do you have a choice in participating in them? Are there things missing from this list that you would like to be involved with but haven’t felt like you had the time, energy, or money to be involved?
Jot down any people, places, or things you would like to be involved with but haven’t felt able to.
Identify what is stopping you from being involved.
Commit to being more aware of how you spend your time, money, and energy and investing in your community in ways that feel meaningful and positive to you.
Share your commitment in the comments to keep yourself accountable and receive support from this community.
Notice how your engagement in your community impacts your mental health and get help if you notice it is impacting your mental health negatively
You don’t have to be perfect. It takes time and energy to create an intentional life. If you notice that this feels overwhelming or impossible to achieve, but you want to make these changes in your life, getting help from a licensed mental health counselor can give you the direction, motivation, and commitment to achieve your goals.
Research shows that volunteerism and community engagement improve mental health, decrease symptoms of anxiety and depression, and can help to build a supportive network so that when life get’s hard, you have something to lean into to get perspective and support.
If you would like help getting started, please reach out today for a free consultation, or to schedule an appointment.

Community engagement and volunteerism can improve your mental health.