Mental Health Champions: Why & How Miriam Frankel Of Bloom Is Helping To Champion Mental Wellness
An Interview With Michelle Tennant Nicholson
I created a clear separation between my work and family life so that I have a balanced lifestyle and that I don’t get burnt out. So often, I get asked to do sessions outside of my work hours. I decline, in order to have a balanced home/work/self life balance.
As a part of our series about Mental Health Champions helping to promote mental wellness, I had the pleasure to interview Miriam Frankel.
Miriam Frankel (formerly Manela) is a highly sought-after Mental Health Occupational Therapist who founded the online learning platform- Bloom.
Bloom is an innovative online learning platform, offering video toolkits, blogs and free online resources of proven strategies to help struggling children and their families be it difficulties with anxiety, teen challenges, fears, ADHD, Sensory Processing Disorder, sleep, mealtime, developmental issues and more.
Miriam is also the author of the Parent-Child Dance, founder of The Thrive Group, and a Level 4 Tomatis Practitioner.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you tell us a bit about how you grew up?
I grew up with grandparents who started a school for special needs people, the first of its kind in America. Children with special needs would no longer be kept hidden in institutions or private homes. Rather, they trained in self help skills and how to become part of society at large. This school is called HASC.
I grew up in Brooklyn, NY and was very much involved throughout the year with children and adults with special needs. Many of them came over to our home and we had weekends together with them. During the summer months, I spent time in camp HASC, which was also founded by my grandparents for special needs children and adults. I played with them, took them for walks, and entertained them.
You are currently leading an initiative that is helping to promote mental wellness. Can you tell us a bit more specifically about what you are trying to address?
Bloom is an innovative online learning platform, offering video toolkits, blogs and free online resources of proven strategies to help struggling children and their families be it difficulties with anxiety, teen challenges, fears, ADHD, Sensory Processing Disorder, sleep, mealtime, developmental issues and more.
Bloom is unique in its combination of both hands-on techniques and demonstrations of physical exercises, to be used at home as remediation, alongside guidance and emotional support for parents so that they have tools, along with their own intuition, to deal with different behaviors and challenges.
At Bloom we support parents, caregivers, and educators, providing them with a chance to pave a path for their struggling child, with the unique remedial resources they can access from Bloom.
Can you tell us the backstory about what inspired you to originally feel passionate about this cause?
As an occupational therapist, I’ve created a method called The Thrive Method to help heal children, not just treat symptoms. It was founded on the notion that where behavior is understood, potential is nurtured. Then families and children thrive. I’ve seen many times, huge changes in children and families, which seem a miracle. Their happiness and resilience have improved vastly, after participating in the Thrive Method. The constant feedback I receive via email, texts, letters, and verbal comments, have ignited the idea to help as many children as possible reach their potential.
Many of us have ideas, dreams, and passions, but never manifest them. They don’t get up and just do it. But you did. Was there an “Aha Moment” that made you decide that you were actually going to step up and do it? What was that final trigger?
Covid was that final trigger for me. Until then, I knew I couldn’t reach as many people as I would have liked to, which is what prompted me to write my book, The Parent-Child Dance. But then, during covid when I couldn’t even meet people in person and I was only doing Zoom sessions, I realized that I would like to be able to reach more people all the time in a way that is most convenient for them. That was when I launched my online company Bloom, that can help teach my methods to people wherever they may live.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company or organization?
In my field, I see miracle stories many times.
Here is a glimpse of one:
Hi Miriam, it’s now been a year since my son has been coming to Thrive for OT. We sat together today, studying for 2 hours. We looked at material that neither of us had learnt before and the way he figured it out was unbelievable. He is happy and calm and he has so many friends, he doesn’t know what to do with himself. It’s for sure a part of your work and G-d should bless you with continued success and pride from your clients and children as I am reaping from my son now. Have a wonderful, meaningful summer. Mr. Y Grant.
None of us can be successful without some help along the way. Did you have mentors or cheerleaders who helped you to succeed? Can you tell us a story about their influence?
My husband is my biggest cheerleader. He’s the one that tells me every day if necessary how what I’m doing changes lives and changes the world. I share with him letters of appreciation, which I get quite frequently. He wants me to hang them up. My parents, my sister Yael and my nieces also cheer me on and give me feedback after they have used Bloom.
According to Mental Health America’s report, over 44 million Americans have a mental health condition. Yet there’s still a stigma about mental illness. Can you share a few reasons you think this is so?
Years ago there was a stigma surrounding mental illness, and that continues to evolve into less and less stigma. The thought process of generations ago has spilled over into current generations, and yet there has also been a lot of growth in understanding and accepting mental health conditions.
I think that many people think you could do something about a mental ailment. They think the person should just be able to get over it and be strong, unlike physical ailments where people understand that they are more helpless. However, those who have mental health challenges realize that they need help, just as a cancer diagnosis needs help..
Another reason for the stigma associated with mental illness is that mental illness can wreak havoc on a family and bring a lot of emotional pain along with it, whether for the person who has the mental ailment or the family, and people are afraid of that havoc.
In your experience, what should a) individuals b) society, and c) the government do to better support people suffering from mental illness?
Individuals can understand that a mental ailment can happen to anyone. If you really look at any trait that you don’t like in someone else, whether it’s a trait stemming from mental illness or some other dislikeable trait, and you examine yourself, you can find places in life where you have exhibited the exact same trait. Most traits are universal, it’s just some people have more of that difficult trait than others. Individuals can understand it may not be pleasant to deal with or work around, and they can still accept the challenge as a part of life.
Governments and communities can create more of a framework of financing and programs to support mental wellness and health, in addition to supporting those already suffering from mental illness. This can prevent mental illnesses from surfacing to such a high extent.
Occupational Therapists are a wonderful form of practitioners that support mental health and wellness because they are so focused on activities of daily living, so they are an excellent resource for the community.
What are your 5 strategies you use to promote your own well-being and mental wellness? Can you please give a story or example for each?
1 . I use a vibration plate when I’m feeling an intense emotion. I also use it to help me sleep because adequate sleep at decent hours of the night is a very big part of mental wellness. The other day I was angry at my sister, and went on the vibration plate and it calmed to a place that I was able to think rationally and put it aside and settle down for bed.
2 . I also use yoga, even if it’s only 10 minutes a day.
I have had multiple surgeries on my trachea and by the first one i didn’t do anything beforehand to prepare myself mentally. It was a very tense time for me and I didn’t make the time to take care of myself. I had an awful recovery.
The second time, I did Ping Shuai Gong for 30 days beforehand. I came out of the surgery, went home, organized one floor of my house, ate a big bowl of chicken soup and went to bed at 8.30 that night. I woke up the next day and was able to cook for the weekend.
The third time, I did yoga for 30 days beforehand, for 10 minutes a day. It was definitely better than the first time although not as good as the second time. I was able to come home and felt okay, but not to organize my house that night. Since then, I use ping Shuai Gong, before having surgery although I hope not to need it again.
3. I practice Ping Shuai Gong, which helps with worries and fears that I feel.
4. I socialize and that helps bring joy into my life. This is a necessity for me…its actually a zeitgeber that also helps people sleep well.
5. I created a clear separation between my work and family life so that I have a balanced lifestyle and that I don’t get burnt out. So often, I get asked to do sessions outside of my work hours. I decline, in order to have a balanced home/work/self life balance.
What are your favorite books, podcasts, or resources that inspire you to be a mental health champion?
Relationship Matters by Kimberly Barthel is a wonderful resource for me. I always like to hear new things so I tend to shift and change what I’m listening to. It can be anyone from Rabbi Shais Taub to Abraham Hicks to Glenon Doyle to Steven Porges to The Tomatis Method.
If you could tell other people one thing about why they should consider making a positive impact on our environment or society, like you, what would you tell them?
Because we each have something to offer. We all have our strengths and weaknesses which together give us what to offer. I believe that of every individual. I don’t believe I have more to offer than others, I’ve just taken it and jumped with it but we all have the capability to impact society.
How can our readers follow you online?
https://www.linkedin.com/in/miriam-manela/
https://www.instagram.com/bloom.and.thrive/
https://www.facebook.com/childrenbloom
This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success on your great work!
About the Interviewer: Inspired by the father of PR, Edward Bernays (who was also Sigmund Freud’s nephew), Michelle Tennant Nicholson researches marketing, mental injury, and what it takes for optimal human development. An award-winning writer and publicist, she’s seen PR transition from typewriters to Twitter. Michelle co-founded WasabiPublicity.com.
