LIZ / CONNECTING THE DOTS BETWEEN SNEAKERS, SPORTS, AND MENTAL HEALTH

Liz tuned in to our Zoom meeting from her colorfully hip, extremely well-decorated NYC apartment. Sitting on the floor with her cat over her shoulder on the couch behind her, Liz chatted with the energy of your most stylish friend who just happens to know a lot about mental health

For more on color, fashion, therapy, and mental health, read on from Liz herself…

A BIT ABOUT LIZ:

I'm originally from Pennsylvania, but I’m now based in Brooklyn, NY. I moved to New York City in 2014 for my Master’s Degree – I went to NYU for my Master’s in Social Work. Then I just kind of stuck around, I met my fiance – and here I am. 

I work for a foster care organization full-time. I’m a licensed clinical social worker, working as a psychotherapist providing trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy, and other modalities, to youth and their families in the New York foster care system. I recently started private practice as well, which I really love. I’m hoping to be able to do that full time by the end of this year. (I recently resigned from my full time role in the Nonprofit space and will be full time in private Practice as of April 1st!)

Outside of my job as a therapist and a clinician, I work with brands, through product collaborations or consulting, to help make mental health initiatives impactful, and make sure they’re credible and appropriate. I like to connect the dots between sneakers, sports and mental health.

SEPARATING WORK + LIFE:

Well, work definitely affects me. It's really hard, especially working with children, because at the end of the day, it's not their fault that they're in foster care or in this situation, so it's challenging. I think, unfortunately, the downside to it is the more I'm exposed to it, the more numb I become to it. I get a little jaded, but it doesn’t mean I don’t care less – it just makes it easier for me to hear some of these traumatic topics. 

It's hard, but it's part of why I started using my social media platforms to promote mental health awareness outside of my work as a creative outlet. I love sneakers and that culture, so I really started on instagram because I needed an outlet. I was bringing work home – it was like vicarious trauma, which is very real.

THE SMALL THINGS FOR HAPPINESS:

I really enjoy cooking. I'm not a good cook, but I like to cook. I like the process because following a recipe is very meditative and I'm fully present in that moment. So cooking is definitely something special for me and it's fun to learn something new. And it's something that my fiance and I like to do together.

A RELIABLE SOURCE OF HAPPINESS:

My family and close friends are always a reliable source for me because they’re the ones who I think know me the most. Judging by social media people think they know everything about me, but like there's a lot that I don't showcase on there. So I feel like my family and friends know me best. They’re the ones I rely on most, especially when I’m dealing with like personal things. They just know and can kind of help me through.

APPROACH TO SHARING ON SOCIAL MEDIA:

For the most part I’m an open book. If people were to ask me something, I’ll always be honest. I definitely am very strategic when it comes to what I choose to post and promote. For one, I always want to be mindful to not do anything that could potentially trigger someone. 

When you think of therapists on social media, there tends to be a clear stereotype of what a therapist is, or what they look like, or how they act. There's so many amazing clinicians who have similar content, which is great and I like a lot of it – but it just doesn’t resonate with me. 

Part of why I do this is because my own therapist had helped me through a time in my life where I was struggling with the idea of code switching. When I was first on Instagram, I was trying to be like the stereotypical “hypebae” and not mention being a therapist at all. But she said “you’re a therapist and you love sneakers, what’s wrong with that?” and I told her it’s not the norm. But she encouraged me to show both sides of my life, ensuring me: “there’s people out there that will resonate with the unique way you do things”. That’s what pushed me to do this. I know it might not be for everyone, but people with similar interests might connect to what I’m saying – so that’s why I share the way I do. 

WHAT’S EXCITING RIGHT NOW:

I have a couple projects coming up! There’s some collaborations that I'm really excited about, so that's definitely keeping my creative side energized and getting me excited to keep pushing forward.

Also, I got engaged last year; we’re not getting married until 2022, but we’ve started planning. I think just to have all of our friends and family together in one place will be so nice – we’ve never been able to have everyone all together.

A TIME WHEN THINGS WORKED OUT FOR THE BEST:

The first thing that comes to mind is taking business leaps and starting new projects in general – starting my journey into private practice or even just starting the MENTL.SESH account. I have wondered if I’m doing the right things, or if something makes sense for me, or if it’s something that’s realistic. 

We started MENTL.SESH in 2017 or 2018, right after I finished Grad school. I knew I was nowhere even near where I wanted to be. But I hoped that it was eventually going to become something related to a private practice. To this day, sometimes I wonder why I am pursuing a private practice because I can easily just join someone else's practice. 

But for me, the ability to make change and change the narrative on mental health is so important. And I feel like it’s working out. I’m seeing the impact it's having on people – we’re not even that big. Like yesterday, over 700 people saved our post on how to find a therapist. It's cool to know that they're saving it because it's information that's actually helpful for them. Little reminders like these keeps me going. It makes me feel like things have worked out, even though I don't know how to start a business – they don't teach you that in social work school.

The decision to start this journey was something that a lot of friends pushed me to do. I think they believed in me and they believed in it more than I believed in it, or in myself to make it happen. But, I’m glad they did and even though I doubted the result, I get these reminders that it is working out.

ADVICE FOR HER YOUNGER SELF:

There's a lot I would probably tell myself… But mainly it would be: you don't have to look to others for validation or reassurance on your decisions. It's something I still struggle with today, but I’ve gotten a lot better at it.

I would tell myself to be confident in what you’re doing and your decisions; follow what you think is right and try to not be too influenced by what the norms are or what other people are doing. Stay in your lane and do what you love, no matter who's telling you otherwise.

ON CHANGES WITH COVID:

As a society, we were a little too self-absorbed – I don't mean that in a bad way, but like we just weren't really paying attention to issues that were really of importance. This includes larger issues, like social issues, but also our own inner personal issues. We were living at such a fast pace, trying to keep up with the Joneses – whether it be what people are up to on social media or business rivals or anything. I think we have learned that it's important to take the time needed for these issues, and, hopefully, we come out of this like better versions of ourselves.

HOW COLOR AFFECTS LIFE:

As a therapist, when I think of grounding techniques or think of ways to improve mood and functioning, I think of the five senses – sight, smell, touch, taste, and hearing. I’m a very visual person, so color is a big one for me, and I’m lucky to have my color vision, so I can and see and experience color. For me, looking at certain colors can leave me feeling energized and help keep my spirits up. I’ll even look back at an outfit I wore days later and realize that I subconsciously threw it on and hadn’t even realized the colors I chose really represented how I was feeling. There’s definitely correlations between your emotion and certain colors. So, really bright colors help lift my mood and keep things exciting.

MENTAL HEALTH + YOUR SURROUNDINGS:

Your environment has like a huge impact on your mood and your functioning. Especially with COVID, we're all kind of stuck inside, so now we really have to focus on our environment. And a lot of people are struggling to find motivation and work or learn from home. I recommend trying to create your own little space within your apartment where you can work. It’s important to create that separation because you go into certain mental modes when you're in certain environments.

MUSIC & MENTAL HEALTH:

As soon as work is over, and when I'm cooking, I'm always listening to music. My fiance and I have met and bonded through music. We would constantly go to live concerts like festivals; we were those people who were always out at a show. So, it's been tough in quarantine and we miss that, but we keep music close. A photo of Post Malone my fiance shot at a show is literally framed on our wall – music is huge for us. 

With clients, we will work on creating different playlists for different moods as a coping skill, or as a tool for wellness. Playlists can be helpful to help boost mood, improve focus, or help with relaxation. Also, music’s a huge thing with clients who you love music to look deeper into the lyrics and understand why they resonate songs. It’s a chance to look at their core values and beliefs and how that plays a role in their thinking patterns. It’s very powerful.

THERAPY MODALITIES:

When it comes to therapy modalities, there are some that are evidence-based and there's some that are non-evidence-based. Evidence-based means there's research done on the modalities to show that they're effective. With non-evidence-based modalities, there's no research so it’s more about anecdotal results. 

For example, psychoanalytic theory involves talking about your childhood and how childhood experiences affect life today. There can be issues with it, but some therapists today who still use concepts and little bits and pieces of it.

I’m trained in Functional Family Therapy, which is a family systems model that is evidence based. Basically, it’s a short term therapy that works with the family to change behavioral patterns and dynamics to improve the overall functioning. 

I’m also trained in a pretty well-known modality called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). I’m a huge fan of CBT because it covers so many bases, it can treat people with anxiety, depression, PTSD, and trauma. I love CBT because it makes a lot of sense to me, so I feel like it would make sense to others, it’s pretty straightforward and actionable. It’s really cool and can be really structured; I even am able to assign readings and homework to my clients. 

Essentially, it’s the idea that your thoughts, feelings and behaviors are all connected. So, let’s say an event happens in our life, and it could be any event – your best friend or your worst enemy can walk through the door – and, at the end of the day, you can't control it. If it happens it happens. But, either way, you’re automatically going to have a thought about it. Then, you think about the way you’re going to behave; your response or behaviors could completely change as a result of your thoughts on the situation.

We have automatic thoughts about everything and based on our past experiences and our core beliefs; it frames our thinking patterns. So, if you are dealing with trauma or anxiety, understanding unhelpful thought patterns, known as cognitive distortions, can be beneficial. As a therapist, I can help clients identify those thoughts, put a label on them, and go a little bit deeper to look at the behavior.  

After the client understands the problematic patterns and how the unhelpful thoughts affect them, practice reframing those thoughts. Then, it will get to a point where things are better. It doesn't have to turn it into like a completely positive thing, but maybe if it’s at a level 10 for anger, we bring it down to like a five. The goal is to improve functioning. 

And then there's Systems Theory which is really more of an approach and an understanding of how all the systems in your life affect you. It includes your family, your friends, your school – everything is considered like a system. Also, Motivational Interviewing is an intervention where, instead of weighing pros and cons, you’re more focused on the pros and focusing on the good things. 

Overall, there's a lot of different modalities but CBT is what I turn to the most.

TIPS FOR MENTAL HEALTH:

The first step I would recommend would be just doing your own research and reading. And I mean actually getting books and literature, not reading some quotes or sites that might not be as credible – going to credible sources, learning, and trying to avoid self-diagnosing. 

There’s a lot of things that we take into consideration before we ‘diagnose’ someone because even though you might have symptoms of something it doesn't necessarily mean that that is your concrete diagnosis. There's a lot of overlapping symptoms and a lot of criteria that has to be met within a diagnosis. For example, a certain timeframe or amount of symptoms need to be present for a diagnosis. It's very complicated. I think oftentimes people can self diagnose online; it's concerning because it can cause confusion. 

So, take baby steps. Start reading and journaling, or get some self-help books. There’s a CBT workbook on Amazon called Mind Over Mood. It’s a super-thick worksheet book. My therapist introduced it to me and it's phenomenal. I actually use it with my clients now. It’s a great place to start if you might be a little scared to talk to a therapist. Also, support groups are great because sometimes even being around other people and hearing their stories makes the nerves that come with individual therapy a little less present.

FAVORITE MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES:

The CBT workbook: Mind Over Mood

• A book called The Happiness Trap is really great.

• The Body Keeps the Score is really interesting and is about how trauma lives in our bodies from a physical aspect.

• Psychology Today 

Organizations like NAMI, The Jed Foundation, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The lifeline can be used not even if you're suicidal. You can call that number if you're just in crisis. Or, the Crisis Text Line is completely confidential and free.

COLLABORATION WITH UNKWN: CREATIVE PROCESS, INSPIRATION, APPROACH:

I have a team I work with; a manager and a creative director. Whenever a collaboration happens, the whole team gets together. I do a lot of the ideation as far as mental health. I consider the brand identity and how mental health fits in that narrative. I try to really make it true and authentic.

So for UNKNWN X LIZ BEECROFT, I thought about the tagline for UNKNWN: the sport of fashion. So we dubbed our collaboration, the sport of self care. And you know, obviously, it was founded by Lebron so there's a lot of basketball affiliation and it’s more of a luxury brand. So that's kind of where we took our angle – I want it to be about basketball, basketball is a huge part of my life, so it tied in really well. 

I wanted to look at the idea of mental fitness. For athletes, there’s physical aspects of the game and there’s clearly mental aspects. But in this game of life that we're playing, it's important to keep our mental fitness in check, just like we do with our physical health. So that's the narrative we took on it. And, I was actually really inspired by Lebron’s Calm series. 

It was really about trying to touch on the idea of sport, mental fitness, and the importance of training. It takes you two weeks to get in shape and two days to get out of shape. You go to the gym every week to stay fit. It’s the same with your mind. Self care is a consistent practice; you don't just do it when you're feeling sad, you should be doing it even on the days that you feel good.

MAKING MENTAL HEALTH FEEL APPROACHABLE:

Mental health can often come off really stuffy and sometimes too clinical. Even the language we use is super important. For me as a therapist, it's very much what you see, is what you get. I'm not in sessions, using all this clinical jargon. Of course I understand it, and I can speak it if I need to, but I'm not going to be doing that with clients because it’s not as relatable or digestible. I studied for over 6 years to learn this stuff; I don't expect everyone to have that same understanding. I try to keep a realistic perspective on it. 

Christian “BadBoyPapi” Gonzalez, my Creative Director, helps with for my own personal collabs and does the MENTL.SESH stuff as well. He's amazing and very informed when it comes to mental health. Something I always take into consideration, too, is if you're on my team and working with me, you have to understand it. What I do isn't just to look cool or for clout– it's to make an impact. I don't profit off of any of these collabs; all the proceeds get donated. 

It's always important to make sure that there's a more tangible resource or something that people actually get out of what I do. It’s not just like oh here's a cool product or ‘so and so’ influencer or celeb was seen wearing it so I need to buy it. Yes it's nice and I get we're raising awareness. But at the end of the day, this hoodie’s not doing anything for me, but having something like the contact number for a hotline or tips from a Licensed Professional is so much more impactful. So that’s my mentality – is to make everything more accessible and real, and truly give people something to make a difference from a credible source.

Interview by: Lexi Bone

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All images via: Liz Beecroft UNKNWN Christian Mentl.sesh