OUR MISSION
Mental Fitness encourages open conversations about mental health and teaches healthy coping skills through engaging activities and artistic expression.
OUR VISION
We strive to build a community where all people manage their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in a healthy way.
OUR POSITION IN THE COMMUNITY
Mental Fitness considers prevention to include any skills or activities that strengthen a person’s ability to view life in a positive way, to feel encouraged, and to improve their overall well-being. Participating in sports, maintaining a healthy diet, creating an art project, playing music, journaling, reading, meditating or spending time with pets or loved ones all represent effective prevention methods.
As an organization, Mental Fitness does not provide any therapy, counseling or treatment of emotional or behavioral disorders. We do, however, connect individuals in need of treatment with qualified medical or mental health professionals through our partner organizations and other validated resources.
Our team strives to ensure that any signs of mental, emotional or behavioral distress are properly addressed and that the appropriate resources are available for experts to intervene in a crisis situation. While Mental Fitness teaches how to identify and respond safely to someone who may need treatment, we rely on mental health professionals to formally assess and address the needs of someone at risk and to determine the appropriate interventions.
OUR POSITION IN THE COMMUNITY IS TO:
- Encourage all members of the community to serve as mental health advocates
- Provide verified methods and tools to manage adversity and cope with stress
- Increase the prevention and early recognition of potential mental health concerns
- Connect individuals with the appropriate resources and agencies based on their needs
CORE VALUES
The core values for Mental Fitness serve as the non-negotiable, guiding principles that all MFI representatives, collectively and individually, practice consistently and believe to be true.
We, as individuals, believe in the following:
Altruism. We believe in putting the needs of others before our own.
Equity. We believe that all people are equal and deserve fair treatment.
Integrity. We believe in doing the right thing in a reliable and honest way.
Optimism. We believe that there is a solution for every problem.
Understanding. We believe in seeing the perspective of others despite uncertainty.
CODE OF ETHICS
The Mental Fitness Code of Ethics represents the set of rules used to determine how our organization operates. Our Code of Ethics serves as the driving force behind our mission.
We, as an organization, are fully committed to the following:
Transparency: to ensure critical information about the organization is readily and easily accessible.
Reliability: to deliver what is promised and expected both effectively and efficiently.
Unity: to promote community collaboration and collective impact.
Stewardship: to build strong relationships where the organization’s mission is appreciated.
Truth: to provide honest, dependable and accurate information.
OUR HISTORY
In 2006, Robyn Hussa Farrell, one of the producers of NORMAL, an Off-Broadway musical that addresses the impact of mental illness on a family, recognized a critical need among teens as they performed in schools across the country. Robyn began working with medical professionals and researchers to identify the most effective, validated prevention methods and established NORMAL IN SCHOOLS, a nonprofit organization that incorporates art, movement and other activities proven to build resiliency in youth. For the next six-years, the team traveled the nation performing the musical and introducing the Normal in Schools initiative to over 80,000 audience members through schools and communities until the company rebranded, and Mental Fitness officially emerged. Since its inception, the methods and models provided through Mental Fitness have been published in peer-reviewed medical journals due to their success at managing mental health disorders in schools and increasing resilience in youth. In Spring 2020, Mental Fitness launched a revised implementation structure that fully engages researchers and mental health professionals in a collaborative effort to incorporate healthy coping skills in existing community programs by providing easily accessible resources that improve quality of life.