Mental-health Saves, On and Off the Field

EPISODE #35  |  Tom Duff, LCSW, MSW, Executive Director

Aside from sharing the first four letters of their last names, Executive Director Tom Duff and Kansas City Royals pitcher Danny Duffy are on the same team when it comes to speaking out about mental health. After his favorite MLB franchise was eliminated from post-season play last week – thanks to the Cardinals’ awesome four-game sweep at Wrigley (no bias whatsoever from this St. Louis-native scribe!) – Tom took to the podcast microphone to air his disappointment about the recent W-L record of the 2016 World Series Champs and discuss Danny Duffy’s pitch to the Kansas City Star that hits on a game-changing win for his life.

In this week’s podcast, Tom talks about emotional and mental health from the LCSW seat of a downhearted fan to the roughed-up mound of a struggling pitcher. He credits Duffy for the courage it took for him to candidly share his story about mental illness, especially as a Major League Baseball player who is held to such high – and often unrealistic – standards of performance by the public. Duffy doesn’t balk. He understands that mental health matters for everyone and that mental-health conditions hit people in all walks of life. For both Duffy and Duff, it’s about knowing when to go to the mound and face situations head-on and when to walk off to recharge and heal. And it all starts with talking.