Breaking the Silence on Mental Health – Exclusive Interview With Deborah Brown
- Brainz Magazine
- Jul 28
- 7 min read
Dr. Deborah Brown is an emerging leader in the field of mental health treatment. As the Founder and Executive Director of Brownstone Center, she has built a mental health services group that serves hundreds of people every week. Through her advocacy efforts, she is spreading mental health information to combat the stigma that still exists around openly discussing mental health and seeking treatment. Dr. Brown’s message conveys that hope and healing are possible, even in the darkest times, for those with mental illness.
Dr. Brown is a frequent guest on podcasts and radio and writes for several publications. Her ongoing podcast, My Session with Dr. Deborah Brown, shares information about mental health topics, along with anecdotes related to what she has learned from years of practice as a psychotherapist.
Deborah Brown, Psychotherapist and Behavioral Health Entrepreneur
What drew you towards a career in mental health?
As a person in recovery from mental illness, I believe that it is important to be visible. To stand up and share my story has been a powerful way to get the message across that recovery is possible, and that hope matters. Working with others who struggle with mental illness, as one who has been through it, makes me an effective and experienced guide for others. The standard line we often hear about psych professionals is that they went to school to figure out their own “stuff.” That is what I did! And after 2 Master’s degrees and a PhD, I was able to understand the “whys” of mental illness and became trained to guide others through their treatment experiences. My own recovery was instrumental in my belief in the power of good mental health treatment. No one should have to be alone when they are struggling. And those who ask for help should receive accessible and timely treatment, with quality interventions from dedicated, educated professionals. That’s why I created Brownstone.
What would you say is your greatest achievement so far?
In the height of my mental illness, I attempted suicide. Coming back from that level of illness, recovering from decades of mental illness and unresolved trauma was hard. Learning to live again and working on my mental health every day since that time has been quite an experience. I share that experience in an effort to reduce the shame many survivors of suicide feel. It is not a deep dark secret to be mentally ill, and it is an absolute triumph to get better.
Opening Brownstone Center to be a beacon of help and hope to those in need has been a living breathing manifestation of my growth in my mental health. Brownstone is also the culmination of the hard lessons learned working inside the mental health treatment system. In a field where there is no shortage of those in need, providers can become aloof and not focus on the quality of the patient’s experiences or on actual treatment outcomes. When another patient steps up, the one who has been lost becomes an afterthought.
We have created a business model that focuses on the patient’s experience from the very first call to us for help. A compassionate and trained person answers our phone; we find out enough during that first contact to match a new patient with the best therapist for their needs. Patients utilize a simple to operate telehealth portal, or come to our beautiful office, which feels more like a spa than a doctor’s office. We check in on patients and ensure that they have made a good match with their therapist. If not, they are offered an opportunity to switch to another easily. We have found that people often leave therapy before they receive a positive outcome if they do not feel that they are a fit. It’s hard for many to make the decision to come to therapy. Those who have had negative experiences are less likely to return. We want people to stay, to get better, and to grow.
What drives/inspires you?
Growth! Personal, professional, and being a part of the growth of others. It is incredibly rewarding to work with new therapists who are giving their all to be the best clinician they can be, to teach our non-clinical support staff about how to support those with mental illness and working in the community to educate others in all kinds of forums. Our favorite promotional tactic is to go to fairs and events and set up a couch, chair and carpet, and passersby are invited to “sit on the therapy couch” and ask any question at all about mental health. These experiences bring us to a whole new audience that maybe didn’t know much about mental health, or who don’t know what therapy is really all about.
The growth of our patients is also incredibly uplifting. The depressed parent who begins to feel better with therapy is more emotionally available for their children, their partner, their workplace and their extended family and community. The child entering treatment to address symptoms may experience resolution of those symptoms, and have the opportunity to live the rest of their life much differently than they would have if they were untreated. The ripple effect of recovery and wellness is astounding. Our patients become success stories and refer others to us; and we keep that ripple going outward with every new patient.
How did you choose the name Brownstone?
So, I am Dr. Brown, but that’s just the start of it! The vibe of our office is deliberately intended to be different than other mental health spaces. The image of a brownstone building, strong and tall, combined with the look of an urban rooftop garden, a plant-filled place strung with lights, conveys our brand in a way that suggests ease, comfort, quality and uniqueness. We know that when people feel more comfortable, they feel safer and more likely to return, to share, and to allow us to become a place for them to come to heal and grow.
What are some common misconceptions about mental health?
The biggest misconception is that it only happens to everyone else: that it does not exist in our families. Current statistics tell us that one in five Americans meets the criteria for a diagnosable mental illness. Therefore, it is more than likely that someone in your home, your family, your friend group and your workplace may be experiencing mental health symptoms. The secret shame of symptoms held quietly alone can be destructive, traumatic, and potentially life-threatening. Normalizing conversations about mental health could change everything. If more people don’t fear the conversation and talk about these things, more people would get treatment.
How are you working towards changing that?
At Brownstone, we start our executive meetings by asking about each other’s mental health. “How have you been?” has long been a question we have been taught to not answer honestly. By addressing the real stress of our work and discussing it, we can shift our expectations, help each other out, and create a safe space to share challenges, so that we can be successful and healthy, and enjoy this important work.
Also, entering spaces that are not having conversations about mental health can be wonderful! A recent appearance on a political radio show started a conversation about mental health among some folks who would not have likely encountered that information. We show up with a team of therapists and our table of information at local events and participate in every Pride event we can find. Our team is currently working with human services organizations, participating in their staff meetings to share information about how to take care of their own mental health as they do the work of serving others. We have extended our work into senior care spaces, to support patients with dementia, and to provide information to the caregivers and families on how to support the mental health of these folks, and themselves.
What’s next for you?
Our flagship office recently completed construction to double in size. We have added a group space to invite in more members of our community with a variety of social and clinical groups. We are having fun with friendship speed-dating, starting grief support groups in conjunction with the local funeral home, and offering teens a safe place to meet and socialize. We are also developing plans to open additional and larger locations. We are examining the techniques available to support therapy and considering adding ancillary services for patients to enhance their mental health. The addition of modalities like hypnotherapy, ketamine assisted therapy, red light treatments, medical massage, and therapeutic movement are of special interest.
Multiple locations and brand recognition go a long way to increasing our ability to normalize mental health treatment in our communities. Our goal is that going to your neighborhood Brownstone could be as readily discussed and attended as urgent care, physical therapy, or any doctor’s office. Stigma prevents treatment. Mental health untreated can ruin lives. We deserve more. I want to be the person that made mental health treatment more effective, but also more accessible and normalized. I am watching that grow to be a little more true every day.
Dr. Deborah Brown is a psychotherapist and behavioral health entrepreneur. Dr. Brown holds a BA in Secondary Education/English, an MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, an MPhil in Social & Behavioral Science and a PhD in Human Services with a specialty in Public Health. After dealing with her own history of severe mental health issues and learning to live again post suicide attempt, Dr. Brown became a strong advocate for ending mental health stigma and is a popular voice in the mental health community. She is considered to be an expert in the area of human behavior, relationships, and sexual health.
In 2023, Dr. Brown founded “Brownstone Mental Health Services”, a mental health counseling practice located in South Jersey. Brownstone represents her goal of duplicating efforts after
years of working individually with hundreds of patients to create improved outcomes in their mental health and overall in their quality of life.
Dr. Brown hosts her own podcast “My Session with Dr. Deborah Brown”, a biweekly podcast discussing an array of topics and how they pertain to the mental health world. In the coming years she hopes to open more Brownstone locations, write a series of books, and continue to end the stigma around mental health.
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