Today’s Town Hall Meeting deals with Mental Health. This is a hot topic in the news right now. It seems as though, especially since the pandemic, more people are aware of what isolation, trauma, and illness can do to a person’s mental health.

Those of us living with congenital heart defects are all too aware of how we can feel isolated, how our physical health has been compromised at different times in our lives, and anyone who has undergone open-heart surgery has suffered from medical trauma.

In this episode, we have three Guests, 2 co-hosts, Annie Ulchak and Ayrton, and the producer is Anna Jaworski.

Richard Schwindt is a therapist, a social worker, and the author of Emotional Recovery from Congenital Heart Disease and 25 other books. He is also a father and a grandfather. He and his grandson have both had multiple procedures for their congenital heart defects. Richard’s career in mental health has spanned over four decades and he enjoys helping patients, especially congenital heart patients, manage their anxiety and live life to the fullest.

Jennifer Angelone is a tetralogy of Fallot (or TOF) patient, licensed mental health clinician, and an advocate with Young Mended Hearts. Jennifer works with ECHO Dance Collaborative.

Melissa Kottelenberg is a Certified Holistic Health Coach who helps women take control of their health and wellness by helping them prioritize nutrition, exercise, healthy lifestyle habits, and natural solutions so they can live focused and energized lives. She’s also a mom of five and ‘heart mom’ to 14-year-old Tyson, who was born with severe congenital heart defects which required three open-heart surgeries by the time he turned 2 years old.

The 2nd segment included Patrons of the podcast who interacted with the co-hosts and the guests.

In the 3rd segment, producer, Anna Jaworski, also joined the conversation.


Jennifer's Social Media Information:

Intagram: @doublenjenn16
TikTok: @doublenjenn16


Richard's Social Media and Book Information:

@rgschwindt (Twitter)
Richard Schwindt (LinkedIn)
All books on Amazon

Melissa's Social Media Information:

Website: http://www.essentiallivingwithmelissa.com
IG: https://www.instagram.com/essential_living_with_melissa
FB: https://www.facebook.com/essentiallivingwithmelissa
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissakottelenberg