Meet Danielle Batchelor | Mental Health & Social Emotional Well-being Coach/Educator/Researcher/Writer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Danielle Batchelor and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Danielle, how does your business help the community?
I once heard someone say: “You can do anything, but you can’t do everything.” So with that in mind, I am working to make a social impact, with the hope of helping people one blog post, group meeting, and coaching client at a time!

I have created a platform to offer services and resources toward improved mental health and social emotional well-being, including many free offerings. I think I am making an impact by translating science into approachable, practical information, and I am hoping to impact individuals and community members by encouraging a different model that integrates science and real-life–to educate people about the integral relationship between mind-body-brain and how this affects one’s well-being. The idea is to serve people (and communities) proactively, so that they have the tools they need when the *hit hits the fan! After all, we all suffer, but we can learn to “suffer well”.

It is my sincere hope that this leads to flourishing…even if for one person. And given what we know about family systems, epigenetics, and trans-generational behavior and trauma, if I can help one person, then I will be helping more than one person. I honestly think this model would serve children in school systems…we could scaffold learning about mental health and social emotional competencies, age-appropriately, one school year at a time! But there I go again…I have to remind myself to slow down and focus on what I CAN do, right now, which is to try to make a difference through neuroflourish…one blog post, group meeting, and coaching client at a time!

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I had a “former life” professionally that gave way to an “aha” moment in 2018. This directed me back to school. I realized that I wanted to shift to a helping field and to lean into my curiosity about human psychology and behavior, so I returned to [graduate] school in my 40s. There I learned about the complex relationship between brains, minds, and bodies, and importantly, that there is “no cognition without emotion.” This idea sort of spun my head around—it explained so much of what I knew from my own lived experience but had struggled to understand. Emotion is inherently part of thinking, feeling, survival…decision making…and choice!

What’s more, I came to appreciate that emotion is part of what moves us to act or retreat—to flight, fight, freeze, or fawn. Sometimes it protects us, and other times it can get in our way. It summons our nervous systems and affects learning, belonging and inclusion, feelings of safety, relationships, even professional outcomes.

Another thing came into focus as I studied: just how important it is to attend to strengths and what is working for a person—to extend positive experiences and emotions—rather than solely concentrating on what is broken or problematic. Taken together, social emotional well-being is directly related to one’s ability to thrive—academically, interpersonally, professionally, spiritually. It is an intimate part of our mental and physical health, and it can be nurtured!

Connecting this to neuroflourish, I knew I wanted to do something with this information in service to others and I started to notice three trends. First, like me, most people I encountered did not seem to know about these (evidenced) ideas, with many holding false assumptions such as: emotions and logic are two distinct and opposite things, rationality is more valuable, and emotions can and need to be readily controlled/dismissed.

Second, many did not appreciate the importance of social emotional skills in daily life; that these abilities can determine whether a job or relationship is successful, for example (research actually shows they are more important than IQ and other things we associate with success in adulthood).

Finally, I noticed that mental health services and opportunities to develop social emotional skills, are incredibly scarce in Houston and beyond. Sadly, they are limited by stigma, access, affordability—you name it. When accessible, they tend to be compartmentalized—reserved for people with “real problems.” And even for those in crisis, there are very few options.

With these observations in mind and holding what I had learned about neuroplasticity (i.e., brains get good/efficient through repetition), I started wondering why there aren’t more examples of proactive options for people to learn these skills and nurture their mental health along the way. We seem to wait until we’re in trauma or struggling before we begin to think about resilience-building or mental health supports.

I knew I could not solve these problems alone…they are complicated, systemic. They are deeply important to me, however, so I decided to focus on what I could do: find smaller ways to translate these nuggets into accessible, usable resources that support improved mental health and social-emotional well-being and encourage human growth and flourishing. I created an online platform—www.neuroflourish.com—that offers a mix of free and paid resources, curated to help people learn and grow, and to buffer folks in times of change or struggle. Offerings incorporate neuroscience, psychology, health, and learning science, and are delivered through four evidence-based channels: coaching, groups, a blog, and education.

I am passionate and dedicated to my work, and one of the challenges is in spreading the word and encouraging people to shift from a reactive approach to addressing well-being, to a proactive one. I also encounter the stigma and biases that people hold about mental health and social emotional abilities, though the pandemic has turned some of that on its head, and I do think that many people are more aware of the pervasiveness of mental health issues and importance of honoring the mind-brain-body connection these days. Building a business takes time and things move more slowly than you think they will! I learned this through my “former life” work experience, so I have kept that in mind in the building of neuroflourish, and attempt to stay focused, patient, and connected to my values and goals!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Houston is a vibrant and diverse city–I think it is the most diverse in the country, in fact! So that makes for a range of cultural, food, arts, and entertainment options that are as varied as they are plentiful! There is something for everyone.

For museum-ing, I love the Menil Collection & Rothko Chapel. They are both free-of-charge and surrounded by outdoor spaces where you can bring a book or a picnic to hang out. The Museum of Natural Science is also really great and has permanent and visiting exhibits that will intrigue all ages of visitors. It is also in a really pretty part of Houston near the Museum District, Texas Medical Center, and Rice University, so there are tons of things to see and do in this part of Houston.

If you want to be outdoors (and it isn’t too hot!) then checkout the Houston Arboretum & Nature Center, Memorial Park, Discovery Green, or Hermann Park (if you’re lucky, you’ll land at Hermann during the annual Kite Festival). The James Turrell Twilight Epiphany Sky Space on the campus at Rice University, is beautiful–make sure to arrive for sunrise or sunset to enjoy a truly spectacular visual experience!

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is an annual tradition that includes carnival rides and headliner musical shows. If you go, don’t miss the nightly “Mutton Bustin’.”

In the food realm, there are too many wonderful restaurants to name–from dives to fine-dining experiences. You can’t go wrong with the local Tex-Mex or one of the spots in Chinatown. One of our favorite go-to spots for neighborhood Italian is Giacomo’s Cibo e Vino on Westheimer, or on the same street, head to Paulie’s for a casual Italian café. Hugo’s, and sister-restaurant, Caracol, serve more traditional and coastal Mexican food (i.e., not Tex-Mex), and Lucille’s is a great option for southern cuisine. If you find yourself at the Menil Collection, try nearby 93’til for an adult beverage from their “cocktails and dreams” list. You might not want to leave Houston without eating BBQ. Two great choices are The Pit Room and Truth BBQ. Bludorn Restaurant is chic and elegant for elevated, new-American-style cuisine. You cannot go wrong with Goode Company Seafood for a Gulf Coast inspired menu. Finally, for one of the Texas Monthly rated “Top 10 Burgers in Texas” set amongst some of the oldest, prettiest, and largest Live Oak Trees you will ever see(!) take yourself to the Augusta location of Becks Prime. They have a full menu that includes salads, seared tuna, and a delicious black-bean veggie burger…so you don’t have to be a meat-eater to enjoy Becks Prime!

Can you tell we like to eat?!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have an amazing partner in my husband (and high school sweetheart!), who encourages me to lean into my curiosity every day. I learn so much in regular, lively family exchanges with he and our two teenage sons. We explore the world together and challenge each other, and it is through these important relationships that I am inspired to create and to be a lifelong learner!

I have also found support and inspiration through meaningful relationships with dear family, friends and colleagues who encourage me to dance at my growth edge, offer patience when I’m stuck, and share the humbling and exciting journey of “human-ing” with me! I would not want to do life without them, and I have a heart of gratitude for each of these dear souls. No one thrives in a vacuum or in the absence of supportive, caring relationships, and there is no such thing as “self made.”

Website: www.neuroflourish.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/neuroflourish/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-batchelor-1125633/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Neuroflourish

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100085663863908