When I was growing up in the early stages, parents and their children didn’t have a heart-to-heart about their feelings, and our view of mental health often came from the tabloids of Britney Spears publicly shaving her head. But the culture has changed drastically in the last two generations.

Until my General Alpha daughter was born, Mental health became the most important topic. They want to talk about it with their families, seek out doctors to help them understand their problems, and are more open, honest and vulnerable about their mental health than ever before.

That’s the environment in which actor Tyler Coe launched his new PBS show, How are we today? Aimed at audiences 11 and older, the sitcom-style show is guided by one core mission: to normalize mental health struggles, inspire people to treat each other with empathy and compassion, and educate viewers about how complex our minds are and how they work.

‘How are we today?’

The mission is deeply personal to the team behind the show. Ko, who is bipolar, worked through substance abuse issues and a suicide attempt. The rest of the cast, Barbara Dunkelman, Mariel Salcedo and Elise Willems, have experience with depression, anxiety and ADHD.

“One of the reasons I wanted to make this show is because the stories we hear, the fights we go through, how long it takes — we have to start shortening those years. We have to put a dent in that timeline,” says Coe. parents.

In other words, he wants to get help from people Early access to mental health resourcesIdeally when they’re still in their teens, before they’ve gotten over the trauma they’ve been through.

“It’s aimed at that danger zone, when about 50% of all mental health cases come online,” says Coe.

That being said, Coe wants to emphasize that How are we today? “Literally for everyone.”

‘How are we today?’ What can viewers expect from?

How are we today? Set in an apartment building where Coco’s character, Joe, and his neighbors live; Most of the action takes place in his living room, where friends feel safe and comfortable. The plot follows Coe and his friends as they work through their own mental health issues, and learn how to deal with them safely and effectively.

Each of the 7 episodes of the first season covers different mental health issues, how to handle panic attacks, The challenges of living with ADHDAnd how to do it The difference between feeling blue or sad and actual depression. These are heavy, difficult topics that even adults have trouble addressing in their own lives, but Coe thinks we shouldn’t hesitate to address them with tweens and teens.

“Kids these days can handle it,” he says. “They can handle it better than we can. They’re not stupid.”

Fred Rogers and Levar Burton (host of reading the rainbow), Coe says the core principles of the show are “compassion, education, science, and working together.”

How are we today?’ Can help people struggling with their mental health

Licensed Clinical Psychologist Dr. In collaboration with Erin Nevins, this program emphasizes the lived experience of mental health problems and how those problems can affect everyday life, as well as the science behind mental health and how it is treated.

Dr. Erin (as she’s known on the show) offers guidance on how the episodes are structured, what issues they cover, and what tools the show offers viewers to take apart their mental health. How are we today? A growing number of teenagers are using less rigorous research and vetted advice to self-diagnose.

“There are good people online who are influencers or content creators who focus on mental health, but it’s fragmented, which can lead to very dangerous things,” explains Coe. “It can diagnose you with what your sign is.”

What one feels is missing from the discourse around mental health is practical advice that anyone looking at this material can take away. Mental health advocacy, he says, is “through the roof,” but it’s enough to actually help people.

“I don’t think it’s enough to just talk about these things,” he continues. “The actionable stuff is completely missing. So Erin adds to that favorite piece, we’re giving you real-time stuff.”

‘How are we today?’ Provides audience with practical tools

For some families, discussing mental health with children or parents can be unfamiliar territory. To attract that audience, Dr. Erin doesn’t want to make your mental health work, scary, or embarrassing. Instead, she says she hopes it feels like a “fluid, very authentic, very friendly conversation.”

When it came time to develop mental health skills and activities that viewers could use at home, however, it was difficult.

Dr. “I’m very careful about people presenting information publicly,” says Erin. “I think the most important part is that we were very careful and deliberate about what we chose.”

Dr. Erin says she wanted the skills included in the program to be “someone who (would) be able to do no harm at any time.”

For example, in an episode of a panic attack, the actors do an awareness activity. Awareness activities encourage self-reflection and may include activities such as a Body scans, breathing exercises, or journaling. These are simple, practical exercises that families can do together, or encourage their children to try.

‘How are we today?’ Will inspire important conversations between parents and their children

The show is an especially useful resource for parents—not just parents with mental health issues themselves, or parents raising children with mental health issues, but any parent who wants to learn more. Open, candid conversations with their families about their feelings.

“The most important thing is to open the lines of communication, and I think that’s the hardest thing, because we are so focused on work as parents,” said Dr. Erin says. “We have things to do, lessons to teach.”

watching How are we today? Working with your children as a parent can help you figure out how to start the conversation.

“What this program offers is an opportunity to sit together while the conversation is happening,” said Dr. Erin explains. “And sometimes it’s literally as simple as. ‘Have you ever felt that way?’ That’s all you have to say. And then the door is open.”

While some parents may feel uncomfortable broaching a potentially sensitive topic with their already sensitive teen, or they may be holding onto a fear of failing a child who is struggling with their mental health, others may think that because they are not dealing with a serious issue, such as depression, its themes. How are we today? Do not apply to them or their families.

But like therapy, the show “isn’t reserved for broken people, like there’s something wrong with them,” Dr. Erin says. After all, “everyone has mental health.”

“If you’re going through the life” Coe chimes in, “That’s a good show for you.”