Episode 1: High School Track & Field, Working with IDD and Guest Raquel M. Mangual
Licensed professional counselors Johanna Dwinells and Sarah Bryski-Hamrick are slowly demystifying and destigmatizing therapy, one episode at a time. Recording and living in the Philadelphia area, Johanna and Sarah work to make therapy feel more accessible, with quirky, sometimes intrusive questions that reveal the human side of healthcare professionals, all while they overcome their own anxieties and internalized stigmas.
TW: Abuse of the disabled, including forced sterilizations, institutionalization, humiliation.
Episode summary: Johanna and Sarah discuss high school track and field before diving into the history of healthcare for the intellectually and developmentally disabled, which can be described as both horrendous and unpredictable. They interview recent Temple University grad and long time friend of Sarah’s, Raquel M. Mangual. Hear all about the challenges of guardianship for Raquel’s brother with IDD, the shortcomings of healthcare and support for folx with IDDs, as well as the complications of drug and alcohol recovery for Latinx and other BIPOC communities and the necessity of breaking apart from white spaces to heal further.
Guest Bio: Raquel M. Mangual is a BWS and recent graduate of Temple University's School of Social Work, with a focus on the disabled community, specifically adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She has done extensive research on the experience of Latinx disabled folx, examining the many intersectionalities. She has personal and professional experience working with this population as she cared for her older brother who lives with IDD and supported him after their parents died when she was 20. She spent a short period of time working in behavioral health but realized that wasn't where her spirit was. She’s in long term recovery from drugs and alcohol which has had a huge impact on her educational journey and in her spare time, she is an artist.
Sources for today’s History Lesson: “Healthcare for Persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disability in the Community” by David A. Ervin, Brian Hennen, Joav Merrick, and Mohammed Morad; National Park Service - series on disability; Brief History and Future of Intellectual Disability Services in America - Scott Spreat; The National Council on Disability
Resources:
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