Episode Summary
What happens when trauma follows you home from the battlefield? In this gripping episode of Mental Health Trailblazers: Psychiatric Nurses Speak Up, host Indrias Kassaye sits down with Monique Swaby, a doctoral fellow with the MFP at the American Nurses Association, Navy veteran, and fierce advocate for behavioral health equity.
Episode Notes
From her firsthand experiences in the military to her work at the VA and Department of Defense, Monique shares deeply personal and professional insights on the urgent mental health needs of veterans, military families, and underserved communities. She opens up about how her own experiences with intimate partner violence and traumatic brain injury shaped her nursing journey—and why she believes psychiatric nurses must lead the charge in dismantling stigma, improving access to care, and making behavioral health support culturally relevant and family-centered.
Whether you’re a nursing student, behavioral health professional, or policymaker, this is a must-listen conversation about resilience, purpose, and reimagining care for those who serve.
Learn more about Monique Swaby at https://emfp.org/mfp-fellows/monique-swaby
Nurses can earn free Continuing Nursing Education (CNE) credits for listening to this episode. Full details will be announced at the end of the season.