Episode 98: Cindy Elkins and Dr. Martha Koo Part 1

Written By Susie Gurley

Don’t miss the first in a two-part series featuring Cindy Elkins and Dr. Martha Koo. I met Cindy at the 2024 NAMICon (https://events.nami.org/namicon/). Cindy shared some of her daughter’s story with me, which included being part of a clinical trial for Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, or TMS, and being featured on The Today Show (https://www.today.com/video/how-magnet-therapy-can-help-treat-depression-143573573760). Cindy is not only a business executive and mom, but she also serves on the Board of Directors for the Foundation for the Clinical Advancement of TMS (https://factms.org/), along with Dr. Martha Koo, a board-certified psychiatrist and addiction medicine specialist and Chief Medical Officer for Your Behavioral Health (https://yourbehavioralhealth.com/). In this episode, Cindy shares with us how her daughter, Chase’s, battle with depression started in early 2020. After talk therapy and “a carousel of antidepressants” did not help Chase’s depression, Cindy took to an internet search for answers. Cindy and Dr. Koo explain what TMS is, the advantages of TMS, and the science behind it. 

Susie Gurley

Susie Stapp Gurley was born and raised in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. She married her college sweetheart, Dan Gurley, shortly after graduating from TCU with a degree in advertising and public relations. In her first career, Susie worked in college admissions and academic advising. Simultaneously she pursued a master’s degree from The University of Central Missouri in sociology and then worked for the Sedgwick County, KS Department of Aging as a case worker. Susie stepped away from the professional world in 1997 to become a stay-at-home mom. She spent the majority of the last 25 years as a wife, mother, and volunteer, primarily in her church and her three children’s schools and activities.

Susie became a mental health advocate after her youngest son became a teen spokesperson about his battle with depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. In 2018, at the age of 15, Will founded the You Matter Festival, a music festival promoting mental health awareness and suicide prevention. Will shared his personal mental health struggles with the 1,000-person crowd, which started his role as a local KC teen advocate for mental health. Because of Will’s involvement, Susie recorded a video #Zeroreasonswhy (https://zeroreasonswhy.org), a Kansas City area organization working to end teen suicide in the Johnson County, Kansas area. This video was viewed over 10,000 times, which was the impetus of the Just A Mom podcast. Susie decided that she needed to follow the brave trail blazed by her son and became an outspoken advocate for parents of children who struggle with mental illness. The Just a Mom podcast launched in September of 2022 and encourages parents to know that they are not alone and there is hope.

Susie served as the Executive Director of the You Matter Festival and is currently on the Friends of Johnson County Mental Health Board. Susie has grown three children, two daughters-in-law, and a son-in-law.

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Episode 99: Cindy Elkins and Dr. Koo Part 2
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Episode 97: Diana Partington