Mental Health: Hope and Recovery
We live in recovery. So can you.
Helen Sneed and Valerie Milburn have both fought and overcome severe, chronic mental illnesses, and offer an insider’s approach to mental health. They share inspirational true stories and a host of recovery skills. Episodes examine mental health conditions and topics such as depression, anxiety, substance use, eating disorders, PTSD, obsessive compulsive disorder, setbacks, suicide and self injury. Helen and Valerie delve into a wide range of factors that affect our mental health such as creativity, grit, happiness, the healing power of animals, work, and loneliness. You’ll learn about treatment options, coping skills, goal setting, relationships, cutting edge research, and mindfulness.
Helen and Valerie are your peers. They are not a substitute for qualified counseling or other mental health resources. They are not professionals, but they are experts through their own lived experience with multiple mental health conditions. Please join them on their journey.
2025 Mindfulness Exercise Favorites
In this special solo episode, Valerie shares her favorite mindfulness exercises from the past year—practices that support calm, clarity, and emotional balance in recovery. She explores what mindfulness truly is, how to build a simple and successful meditation habit, and four guided exercises drawn f...
Dialectical Behavior Therapy -- The Journey from Pain to Purpose
Mental Health: Hope and Recovery Episode Title: Dialectical Behavior Therapy – The Journey from Pain to Purpose Episode 60 | Duration 45:00 Episode Date: November 26, 2025 Hosts: Helen Sneed and Valerie Milburn EPISODE OVERVIEW Named one of the top 100 scientific inventions, Dialectical Behavior The...
Mindfulness Applied to Mental Health
In this enlightening episode of Mental Health: Hope and Recovery, Helen Sneed and Valerie Milburn delve into the transformative practice of mindfulness and its profound impact on mental health. Mindfulness can effectively combat anxiety, depression and many other psychological conditions. Both hosts...
Attacking Anxiety
Anxiety disorder is the most prevalent mental illness in the U.S. and worldwide. Twenty percent of Americans, 40 million people, suffer from an anxiety disorder. The disorder can have a devastating impact on society and the individual, and can be particularly damaging to the human brain. Experts cau...
A Therapist Examines Therapy
What does a skilled therapist with an exceptional background think of therapy and how to effectively treat people battling mental illnesses? From advice on how to choose the right therapist to attachment issues to Ketamine treatment in conjunction with psychotherapy, Samantha Potthoff delivers price...
The Rough Road of Bipolar Disorder: One Woman's Journey
Bipolar disorder is one of the toughest of all mental illnesses. Personal stories about the complexity and severity of bipolar symptoms and behaviors represent great challenges for those fighting for recovery, their friends, family, and many professionals in the psychiatric field. Firsthand accounts...
Seeking Happiness
The subject of happiness is a new area of research and study in the mental health field. In a complete reversal of psychiatric tradition, the emphasis and exploration are not about what makes you weak and sick, but rather, what makes you healthy and happy. In this episode, Valerie and Helen confront...
Setbacks on the Road to Recovery
Setbacks are commonplace in most lives, but for individuals with mental health issues, they can be devastating or even lethal. Helen and Valerie are well-versed in setbacks throughout their long journeys to their lives in recovery today. This episode’s remarkable guest, Phoenix Wang, speaks with gre...
When a Loved One Won't Seek Mental Health Treatment
Throughout a decade of making presentations, Helen and Valerie are often asked, “What can I do when my family member with mental health issues refuses treatment?” A tough situation and difficult to answer until they discovered “When a Family Member Refuses Mental Health Treatment.” They explore this...
The Family Dynamics of a Psychiatric Crisis -- Part Five: The Professional Perspective
The significance and complexities of the family’s role during a loved one’s psychiatric crisis led Valerie and Helen to devote a five-episode series to the topic. This fifth and final episode of the series is filled with invaluable professional advice with guest Lisa Powell-Watts, a seasoned psychot...