Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute

12/15/2025

Meadows Institute Chief Innovation Officer Kacie Kelly shared bright spots in AI and mental health during a webinar hosted by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and moderated by CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Catch the full recording of this important discussion at the link below.

How do you think AI will improve mental health?

As AI mental health tools grow more advanced and accessible, questions are growing about their efficacy, ethics, implications, and regulation. The Academy re...

12/10/2025

Congratulations to our partners at Texas Health Community Hope on their incredible impact in North Texas and beyond. We are grateful to Texas Health for their support of our North Texas School Mental Health Executive Learning Community (ELC), an innovative school mental health initiative, which is featured in their Promoting Healthier Futures, a five‑year report celebrating nearly 90,000 lives reached and the organizations working together to make North Texas healthier.

Read more about Texas Health's groundbreaking work to support community health in their new report, out now: www.TexasHealth.org/Futures

Join our community of people focused on health & well-being. Sign up today to receive periodic emails with tips for living a healthy lifestyle, as well as invitations to Texas Health events and classes.

12/09/2025

Thank you to everyone who joined our recent Introduction to Collaborative Problem Solving® webinar. We were thrilled by the turnout and enthusiasm around how this approach can strengthen your work with children and families across Texas. Your strong interest in learning and implementing the Collaborative Problem Solving® approach reinforces why expanding access to this training is so important.

We’re excited to be kicking off the first in a series of Essential Foundations (Level 1) trainings this week. While this session filled quickly, plans for another training in early 2026 are in the works with our partners at Think:Kids!

Stay updated and be notified as soon as registration opens by visiting our website or joining our interest list: https://bit.ly/4iJNC46

Thank you for your interest in the Collaborative Problem Solving® (CPS) approach. Our December Essential Foundations (Level 1) training has reached capacity, and we are grateful for the strong response. We will be offering additional trainings in 2026 and would be glad to keep you updated as new op...

12/04/2025

Congratulations to Meadows Institute Senior Fellow Stephanie Muth on her appointment as the new Executive Commissioner of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission! She is uniquely qualified to lead Texas Health and Human Services and is the perfect leader to help ensure that all Texans receive the care they need, when they need it.

Read more:

Governor Greg Abbott today announced Stephanie Muth as the new Executive Commissioner for Texas Health and Human Services (HHS) effective January 3, 2026 upon retirement of the current HHS Commissioner for a term set to expire on February 1, 2027. Muth has served in various senior executive position...

12/04/2025

Tom Luce, the founding CEO of the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, is praised for his lifelong leadership and public service in a new Dallas Morning News column by former Texas House Speaker Joe Straus.

Speaker Straus writes about the creation of the new Tom Luce Policy Fund, made possible by the generous contributions of friends and supporters of the Meadows Institute, that is dedicated to advancing effective and efficient mental health policy grounded in data and real-world, nonpartisan practicality.

Tom Luce’s impactful leadership throughout his storied career has improved the lives of millions of Texans, and the new policy fund will help ensure that Texas remains a national leader in .

Read more via The Dallas Morning News: https://bit.ly/4rBmnNj

No one has worked more effectively with Texas leaders than Tom Luce to design and implement effective public policy related to mental health, writes Joe Straus.

12/03/2025

The holidays can be very challenging for those who have experienced the loss of a loved one — especially for children.

This National Grief Awareness Week, learn from Julie Kaplow, executive director of our Trauma & Grief Center, about how to better support bereaved children throughout the holiday season.

Read more via Psychology Today: https://bit.ly/491FAPc

After experiencing the death of a loved one, the holidays can be an extremely difficult time for children. Here are five tips to support children who are grieving.

11/27/2025

This Thanksgiving, we are grateful for our incredible community of friends, partners, funders, and changemakers who have worked alongside us to create meaningful improvements to mental health programs and policies. We appreciate your support of our mission to ensure everyone has access to quality mental health care. Happy Thanksgiving!

11/26/2025

Months after the devastating floods in Central Texas, the psychological toll continues for many children, who find themselves “very, very distressed” by simple rainstorms.

The Meadows Institute’s trauma and grief expert Dr. Julie Kaplow explains the ongoing mental health needs of children affected by the deadly floods - and how to support them.

“It’s not enough to intervene in the immediate aftermath,” Kaplow tells the Texas Tribune. “We want to make sure people recognize that this will be a long-term effort to help kids heal.”

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/11/25/texas-camps-floods-mental-health-resources/

Mental health experts expect the July 4 floods have resulted in post-traumatic stress disorder, unhealthy hypervigilance and recurring thoughts on disasters among campers.

11/24/2025

I pulled Item 22 during A Session to talk about something that can’t be overlooked—mental health in our public schools. With over $1.5 million going toward programs like the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute and Communities In Schools, we’re taking real steps to support our students’ well-being. I’m proud to back initiatives that put our kids first.

11/20/2025

For many of us, the holiday season is a happy and joyful time. But after experiencing the death of a loved one, the holidays can be extremely difficult, particularly for children. Today, in honor of , the Meadows Institute’s grief expert Julie Kaplow offers five suggestions for how parents and other caregivers can help their grieving children cope with the bereavement-related challenges of the holiday season.

https://mmhpi.org/topics/announcements/how-to-support-grieving-children-over-the-holidays-5-tips-from-a-child-psychologist

For many of us, the holiday season is a happy and joyful time that we look forward to all year. But after experiencing the death of a loved one, the holidays can be a very difficult time, particularly for children. Being a bereaved parent can be especially challenging because it…

11/19/2025

The Meadows Institute was proud to be part of .

Listen to this special episode of Kasich & Keller recorded live in Austin featuring Andy Keller, the president and CEO of the Meadows Institute, and Patrick Kennedy, a former Congressman who is the founder of the Kennedy Forum. They engage in a lively, wide-ranging conversation in which Kennedy discusses bipartisan opportunities at the federal level for mental health advances, his and his family’s own personal struggles, and why Fox News (sometimes) loves having him as a guest.

Listen to it here: https://mmhpi.org/learning-library/live-from-tribfest-2025andy-keller-and-patrick-kennedy/

11/14/2025

🎧 Episode Dropping TODAY - "Supporting Children Through Grief and Trauma" 💙

Our host Priscilla Bagley talks with Dr. Julie Kaplow, a leading expert in childhood trauma and grief, about helping children heal after loss.

Together, they explore:
💙 How grief and trauma overlap
👂 Why parents’ honesty and presence matter
🧒 Signs a child may be struggling
💬 The power of talking about loved ones
🕊️ Building supportive spaces for healing

👂Listen now: https://open.spotify.com/show/001S20dP4zpGcWr22P2tFC
🌐 Learn More: https://childbuilders.org/podcast
🎙️ Listen, Follow, & Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube, & Apple Podcasts: Building Pathways to Healthy Minds: A ChildBuilders Podcast