The newest episode of our university podcast, ‘MindfulU at Naropa University,’ is out now!
Episode 14: Joy Redstone: Compassionate Therapy, Counseling & Poverty
“A person can look far less healthy than they actually are in moments of extraordinary stress. When we put ourselves in another person’s shoes and we have some sense of the weight and the burdens and the stresses and the different directions they’re being pulled in, it makes more sense, but we all seem to fall away from remembering that. When someone is fed, their kids are okay, they’re housed, and they have what they need – that in itself makes a person infinitely more healthy. We teach a lot about the DSM in the clinic because it’s the language of the mental health field, but it’s only a snapshot. I encourage people to remember that – that we’re seeing a person at a snapshot in time. Whatever our judgment is about them–despite the fact that we’re working in a system that calls for judgment and diagnosis–that it’s just a snapshot.”
Joy Redstone is a licensed clinical social worker and addiction counselor (CAC III), as well as being adjunct faculty at Naropa and University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work. Joy received her Master’s degree in Social Work from Boston College in 1995 and completed post-graduate certificates in addiction counseling and clinical supervision. She is a writer and artist, and contributes regularly to the Daily Camera. She began her career in Boston, MA and worked at Pine St. Inn and New England Medical Center.
Her work has focused on the intersection of mental health struggles, addiction, and oppression and has been characterized by a commitment to advocacy and social justice. She served as the Executive Director of Bridge House for 7 years and was recognized for excellence in service delivery. Joy began her work at Naropa in 2012 and has worked in alcohol and drug education before assuming the role of crisis clinician. She became Director of Naropa Community Counseling (NCC), in 2015. Joy also serves as a Board member for the Grief Support Network.
