This episode is part of our Mental Health Week series. Explore all the episodes, find resources + more at weareforgood.com/mentalhealth.

Listen to this episode

Meet Haylin. She’s a licensed clinical social worker, mental health activist and systems expert with expertise in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and inner self-work. After completing her graduate program in LA, Haylin moved back to Hawaii with a mission to improve mental health access and treatment in her hometown 🌺 There she founded Spill The Tea Cafe, an inclusive mental health clinic focused on adolescents that helps them build the skills and resilience they need to thrive and reach their full potential 🌱 We’re diving into the reality of mental health in our sector and the necessary systemic changes needed. Tune in to see how you can break down barriers and make mental health a priority, together.

💡Learn

Overview of Spill the Tea Cafe
Common misconceptions or stigmas surrounding mental health
How to promote resilience and self-care

Today’s Guest

Haylin Dennison, LCSW, Founder, Spill the Tea Cafe

“If the leader is saying, take a self-care day, do this, do that. But they’re not doing it themselves and they’re working until 10 p.m. every night, then that’s just cognitive dissonance. That doesn’t make sense to anyone.”

— Haylin Dennison, LCSW, Founder, Spill the Tea Cafe

Episode Transcript

Download Full Episode Transcript Here

Episode Highlights

Haylin’s story and journey to where she is today (3:00)
Creating Spill the Tea Cafe (7:50)
Overview of Spill the Tea Cafe (13:30)
Lessons learned building a space of community care (19:35)
Common misconceptions or stigmas surrounding mental health (23:30)
Prioritizing mental health in the workplace (26:05)
Two powerful moments of kindness and philanthropy in Haylin’s life (35:20)
Haylin’s One Good Thing: A growth mindset is not something we’re born with. It’s a skill. (38:00)
How to connect with Haylin + Spill the Tea Cafe (40:55)

POWERFUL QUOTES

"There is no greater force on this earth than an angry mother." -Becky

"We don't want to say adolescent mental health clinic because who's going to want to come and then we want to make sure that we are taking a trauma-informed lens, which means we understand the unique challenges that LGBTQIA+ youth face." -Haylin

“Spill the Tea Cafe, Mattie came up with the name, and we did that intentionally. The way we market is specifically to Gen Z, and also to destigmatize. We don't want to, say, adolescent mental health clinic, because who's going to want to come and then we want to make sure that we are taking a trauma-informed lens, which means we understand the unique challenges that LGBTQIA+ youth face.” -Haylin

“LGBTQIA+ youth are placed at highest risk for suicide in our community. The research is super clear about it being due to the discrimination they face at home, at school and the community at church events, sports.” -Haylin

"In Hawaii, specifically, 50% of trans youth actually attempted suicide in the past year. And then in 2019, this is specific to Hawaii as well Asian or other Pacific Islanders and native Hawaiians in 2019 SAMSA reported that suicide was the number one leading cause of death for that for youth." -Haylin

“It’s not just to have a cute place, there's a strategy behind this. We're listening to the kids, we're listening to people of the community, our staff is of the community. We have a teen advisory council where our board doesn't make any decisions without their input."

“Leaders, we need you to model it, we need you to put space in your budget for it, we need to see that it's okay and that it's encouraged when we do take it off.” -Becky

“I think we've got to invest in it, model it and we got to support it in and celebrate it every time we see it.” -Becky

“If the leader is saying, take a self-care day, do this, do that. But they're not doing it themselves and they're working until 10 p.m. every night, then that's just cognitive dissonance. That doesn't make sense to anyone.” -Haylin

"Look at what's actually happening in your organization and see what admin stuff you can actually eliminate. -Haylin

"We’re trying to really incorporate mental health into existing systems, what needs to happen is an extremely transparent and honest audit of what is happening." -Haylin

"If you want to prioritize mental health in your organization, then get funding for it.” -Haylin

"It requires a lot of new learning and discomfort and self-doubt and imposter syndrome. And so, you know, we can talk about that in therapy, but when you're actually doing it, you don't have a choice but to show up." -Haylin

“Growth mindset is a strategy. It's a practice and you can improve at it. It is a skillset, like any other skill.” -Haylin