Strategies to Sustain Mental Health in a Turbulent Time

Naseem Miller is the senior health editor at The Journalist’s Resource, a project of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School. Her work focuses on bridging the gap between academic research and journalism. In addition to covering health and medicine, Naseem writes about the intersection of journalism and trauma. She joined JR in 2021 after working as a health reporter in local newspapers and national medical trade publications for two decades. Immediately before joining JR, she was a senior health reporter at the Orlando Sentinel, where she was part of the team that was named a 2016 Pulitzer Prize finalist for its coverage of the Pulse nightclub mass shooting. Miller co-started and administers the Journalists Covering Trauma Facebook group and is passionate about speaking to journalists about self-care and trauma-informed reporting.

Elana Newman, McFarlin Professor of Psychology at the University of Tulsa, and Research Director of the Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma, is a journalist ally & PTSD/traumatic stress expert. Her research examines journalists’ occupational health and the effects of journalistic practices upon consumers and sources. She provides training about trauma science, interviewing survivors, self-care, resilience, interpersonal violence, disaster mental health, occupational health, online harassment, and trauma-related newsroom practices. Newman is a co-founder of the Dart Center, a founding staff member of the Journalist Trauma Support Network to train qualified therapists to care for trauma-impacted journalists team member. Newman is a Past President of the International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies. Her past work has examined the physical and psychological effects of trauma exposure upon adults and children (including meaning of such events), research ethics in studying trauma survivors, trauma competencies for psychology, assessment of trauma and its effects, and the developmental impact of prenatal substance abuse exposure.

Karen Blum, an ASJA member, heads ASJA’s Virtual Education Committee. A Baltimore-based freelance writer who covers health, medicine and science, her articles have appeared in the Baltimore Sun, CURE magazine, AARP.org, Fodors.com and numerous trade publications including Anesthesiology News, Pharmacy Practice News, Clinical Oncology News, Infectious Disease Special Edition, Clinical Laboratory News, Kidney News, Ophthalmology Management, Medscape and MedPage Today. She also blogs about health IT topics for the Association of Health Care Journalists.

Prior to freelancing, Blum spent 10 years as a media relations officer for academic medical centers including The Johns Hopkins Hospital. In those roles, she interacted with hundreds of journalists from around the world, managed press conferences and wrote many press releases and speeches. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.