Women Who Lead in Mental Health: Altha Stewart of UTHSC

If there ever was a time for leadership, the pandemic and post-pandemic era has been that occasion.

For Memphis Business Journal’s next group of Women Who Lead, honoring mental health professionals seemed to be another logical choice. With ever-increasing recognition of the value of mental health across all areas of society, including business, highlighting those who are doing that important work locally seemed especially wise in a time of great change.

Within mental health, the nine Women Who Lead honorees support the well-being of individuals residing in the Memphis area and region.

Women Who Lead is an ongoing monthly feature in MBJ sponsored by Paragon Bank.

Altha Stewart

Senior associate dean for community health engagement; director, Division of Public and Community Psychiatry; and founding director, Center for Youth Advocacy and Well-Being, University of Tennessee Health Science Center

Dr. Altha Stewart has enjoyed many big career achievements, and her latest is creating the Center for Youth Advocacy and Well-Being. It serves as a therapeutic alternative for working with young people who commit delinquent or criminal behaviors, instead of seeing only one solution for addressing those actions. “We know that a more effective approach is to work on why these occur and address that as a part of a comprehensive rehabilitation program.”

Altha and team are also working to change the prevailing narrative of punishment rather than rehabilitation. She says the realization by some community members that “it’s not what’s wrong with you, but what has happened to you,” is a starting point for the type of collaborative community response to this issue, if safety and prosperity are the outcomes they seek.

Quotable

Next big professional goal: “Working to promote the implementation of targeted intervention strategies to address vulnerable populations — especially young Black males at the highest risk, and identifying opportunities to disseminate information regarding alternatives to address their unique and specific needs and reduce their involvement with the juvenile justice and child welfare systems.”