Jaime Blaustein knows what it is like to struggle with a mental health challenge. He battled with addiction, despite appearing to have it all together. What can seem unimaginable became a reality of arrests, overdoses, and more. However, those imperfect moments and tragedies led to a new chapter, and a new passion for helping others. He is now co-founder and CEO of The Sylvia Brafman Mental Health Center. He shared with Social The Lifestyle his expertise on the importance of taking care of our mental health:
Meghan Forte: With your center’s expertise, why are boundaries and effective listening skills important for all relationships?
Jaime Blaustein: Boundaries are critical for maintaining a healthy mindset for a number of reasons. One of which for those who are on the people-pleasing side of the spectrum where we’re too open or accommodating. It can result in folks compromising their own mental wellness, subjecting themselves to over-stimulation, and/or doing things that they might not necessarily want to do. On the other side, boundaries that are too strict can lead to isolation or a feeling of separation. I think a middle ground is critical to have the right balance and have healthy relationships. It’s important to have internal peace and quiet with external connection, and that looks different for everyone.
Meghan Forte: In your professional opinion, how can exercise be beneficial for good mental health?
Jaime Blaustein: I think from both the physical and physiological benefits as well as the mental and emotional benefits. Brain chemistry improves through physical exercise due to the effects of bodily movement, leading to a better mood and increased self-esteem. Taking care of our physical wellbeing translates to emotional wellness. It gives people confidence to not only be stronger on the outside, but feel an overall improvement to their internal health. Whatever it may be, the accomplishment of goals helps build self-esteem and the internal software.
Meghan Forte: What makes your center unique?
Jaime Blaustein : I think the focus is on primary mental health as opposed to trying to be everything to everybody. We own that we treat primary mental health diagnoses, yet can handle substance use and addiction as well as anyone. We pride ourselves on our extraordinarily strong clinical medical backbone, led by Ben Brafman and Dr Rick Seely, and folks that we employ each bring something unique to the table. They’ve had their own journeys, either personally or professionally, and are in it for the right reasons. Additionally, the family component is non-negotiable for us. We demand that the family is heavily involved. The emphasis is on the family, and the family getting better together – not just about the identified patient. The level of family involvement is truly unique. I would also say our Career Launch program provides a strong differentiator as well.
Meghan Forte: What would you like to tell those who are struggling with mental health or addiction, and would like help/treatment?
Jaime Blaustein: I would say that when we get better internally – mentally, emotionally, spiritually – the external tends to naturally improve because we’re placed in a position where we are able to be useful in the world. I would ask people “do you want to look good or do you want to be happy?” If you fix the internal then the external will take care of itself. On top of that mental illness/mental health is out there in the public either. No one is thinking of us as much as we’re thinking about how much they’re thinking about us. So that stigma is largely socially constructed in our own minds and at the end of the day ‘To Thine Own Self Be True’. Right? We need to be true to ourselves.
Meghan Forte: What would you like to tell our readers about the importance of ending the stigma of mental health challenges, and what are simpler ways of how the public can help those who are struggling?
Jaime Blaustein: I’d say that mental health doesn’t discriminate. There are varying degrees of acuity and what the remedy needs to be to address any sort of mental health that deviates from what is “normal”. What is normal has shifted overtime and so a layperson likely touches those struggling with mental health issues every day. Serving as a mental health advocate, formally or informally, would be especially valuable in helping those with lower forms of acuity that don’t necessarily need to be in an inpatient treatment center.
Meghan Forte: Can you talk about the importance of The Sylvia Brafman Mental Health Center’s holistic approach, by making activities like yoga, meditation, acupuncture, etc. available to your clients?
Jaime Blaustein: The general philosophy is that different elements of wellness resonate differently with everyone. We decided to take a very broad approach: clinical, medical, psychiatric, spiritual, and vocational. In some people clinical and medical may work alone as, for somebody else, maybe spiritual will, and psychiatric won’t. So the idea is, let’s take a really broad approach. It’s comparable to throwing something against the wall and checking to see what sticks. For many people some of the holistic avenues of healing and some of the more less Western modalities do in fact help people. Big time! So, the whole intention of that is to maximize the chances of mental wellness.
Meghan Forte: Ideally, what would you like vocational rehabilitation programs to incorporate for your patient’s coming out of mental health treatments, from programs like The Sylvia Brafman Mental Health Center’s Career Launch Program?
Jaime Blaustein: Programs like Career Launch are available to those in our program regardless of level of care. The program extends beyond their time in clinical if necessary. I am very lucky that I was able to experience different types of careers prior to starting this center. I had a whole career in the financial industry and I went to business school and obtained an MBA. That has amounted to a perspective on a number of different sectors and functions. A perspective on how one should package their story and deliver their messaging is a value I try to add in that process. I would like to see more treatment centers doing that, but I know that it is very common for the vast majority of staff to be lifetime behavioral health people and have that perspective. So I would like to see people be brought in who offer more of a breadth of experience to help patients in the same way.
Meghan Forte: Can you talk a little bit about your podcast, titled, The Mind-Soul Connection Podcast?
Jaime Blaustein: I feel like we have a really substantial perspective on all things mental health. Between myself sort of living through it, and Ben as our clinical expert. So we wanted to showcase our perspectives, and our intellectual capital on a variety of topics that really demonstrate that we have some substantial views. The podcast allows us to go deep on a number of different clinical topics.
The Sylvia Brafman Mental Health Center is one of Florida’s leading and premier rehabilitation centers to treat mental health and substance use disorders. The Sylvia Brafman Mental Health Center is located in Tamarac, Florida.
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