Reeve Talks Mental Health Awareness Month - Reeve Foundation

Each year millions of Americans face the reality of living with a mental illness or coping with difficult challenges that have come their way. Individuals affected by paralysis are more likely to suffer from mental health struggles than their abled-bodied counterparts due to the lack of resources and support systems readily available to our community.

In May, the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation joins the national movement to raise awareness about mental health. We are dedicated to providing resources that can help individuals with paralysis and their families through our National Paralysis Resource Center, which is filled with resources, programs, and support groups that can help support you or your loved one’s pursuit for mental health help. With resources from our Information Services program like our Women’s Mental Health After Paralysis, Become a Self-Advocate, factsheets on PTSD and Suicide Prevention, and numerous community Blogs addressing mental health discussions, Reeve is well equipped to help along the journey of mental health care. Supporting individuals looking for mental health care help is the first and most important step that we offer.

In addition, the Reeve Foundation has produced a series of impactful videos that delve into the stories of several individuals with spinal cord injuries and give us a look at the emotional adjustment phases that they faced as well as the advice of counselors from the Shepherd Center (a model Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation facility) on how to address these emotional adjustment phases. Here, you can check out these videos on Cultivating Resilience after Spinal cord Injuries. We also have a monthly webinar series hosted by Dr. John, a psychologist with paralysis who offers a unique and insightful perspective on life with paralysis. Check out our Living Well with Dr. John webinar. Lastly, you can find our factsheet on Mindfulness, which touches on practices to help clear and calm your mind. All of these resources are here to assist you and help you to be as healthy and independent as possible. We hope you will use them whenever you feel you need a little support.

To learn more about the free programs and services that the National Paralysis Resource Center offers, please contact media@christopherreeve.org.