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Our mission

Did you know that 1 in 5 kids, teens, and adults face mental health challenges? Stigma and lack of resources keep many from seeking help. Together, we can change this.

Medicinal Media offers tools and resources to foster mental well-being—and shares inspiring content by and for young people and their families to help them heal, grow, and thrive.

Sharing mental wellness content with young people and families

Art-forward and science-backed, Medicinal Media provides accessible and enjoyable mental wellness strategies and resources through investigating, curating, creating, and celebrating beneficial media. We don’t pretend to have all of the answers–we have lots of questions, and believe in listening, sharing, and empowering.

• Explore our content by browsing and searching

  • Share your own content at our create tab

• Sign up for our monthly newsletter and reach out anytime at team@medicinal-media.org

Our programs

Events in the Field

The Hi, How Are You Project is a non-profit that educates young people about the importance of mental health and well-being through community-building programs. We’ve been producing with them, in collaboration with local college students, since 2023, hearing from celebrities as well as festival attendees about the healing power of music, community, and just speaking up.

Virtual Classes

Move for mental health, the first in a series of wellness practices with experts in their fields, was a 75-minute class with board member Adriene Mishler, designed to bring an awareness of stability and strength with a steady guide.

Online Gatherings

The Shift Foundation is a mental health nonprofit that envisions a world where all teens and young adults have access to mental health practices and resources that allow them to thrive. We presented the first episode in their new series and are developing more in tandem to keep cultivating community and advancing mental wellness in joyful, innovative ways.

Educational Collaborations

Peace in Schools is a nonprofit working in teen-centered transformative mindfulness education. We’re collaborating with their mentors and students to share and create compelling educational content across our platforms and communities.

We’re also working independently with other K-12 schools to hear from more kids and teens on crucial issues in our new peer-to-peer support series Stronger Together.

Documentary Productions and Journalism

Unlikely Collaborators is a nonprofit that believes most of the external conflict in the world is the result of unconscious, unresolved internal conflict in each and every one of us. As grantees, we’ve been working with them since 2024 on a series of documentaries and articles that explore mental health, perception, and personal transformation using their Perception Box™ framework

We also have hundreds of eclectic illustrated articles and short-form videos available across our site and channels designed to educate, inspire, connect, and spark new conversations about mental wellness.

Many other projects are in development or underway that we’ll share with you soon. Please reach out to learn more, or to collaborate with us yourself!

Our metrics

100%

of recent live stream community support participants felt a shift in their state

100%

of recent Gen Z interview participants said they left with new mental health strategies and safeguards

94%

of recent viewers felt better after watching our surveyed content on mindfulness practices

33+ million

content views since we launched in 2023

Our board

Our team

Mike Wilson

founder/executive director

Rob VanAlkemade

founding executive producer

Erika Paige Barnette

executive producer/ops/marketing

Jessi Cape

managing editor

Nahima Shaffer

producer

Grace Wartman

digital media specialist

Consultants

Deaven Wilson

founding ops/marketing director

Jennymarie Jemison

founding creative director

Airrion Copeland

executive producer

Medicinal Media has contracted over 220 creative collaborators from more than 22 countries

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We are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive creative environment, recognizing that a variety of perspectives enriches our mission. We encourage applicants of all races, genders, ages, abilities, orientations, and cultural backgrounds.

  • "What excites us about this collaboration is Medicinal Media's ability to turn scientific and psychological insights into something artistic, unexpected, and emotionally provocative," said Elizabeth R. Koch. "Each story nudges us to examine our beliefs and assumptions and to notice how they shape the way we experience ourselves and others."

  • "An online publication not quite like any other…exploring the intersection of art and science as it relates to wellness, with a focus on mental health. Digital media offerings, of one type or another, are at the core of what they mean when they reference Medicinal Media.”