Building your Hope “Muscle”

Counselor Mandy Eppley speaks with entrepreneur and founder of iFred and Mood-lites™, Kathryn Goetzke, as she shares her story of losing her father to suicide when she was 19. This eventually led her to wanting to find out how to move through the grief in a healthy way. She did extensive research on “mood states” and founded a company that creates products (lighting and scents) that can positively affect your mood. She also founded a non-profit, iFred, whose mission is to re-brand and destigmatize depression. They speak about how “Service,” Step 6 from the Model of Heart-Centered Grief, can give purpose to the pain, and about a program iFred developed for 6th graders that helps children learn how to build their hope “muscle.”

Kathryn Goetzke is the founder of the 501(c)3 iFred, the International Foundation for Research and Education for Depression (www.depression.org or www.ifred.org ). She is also the entrepreneur and innovator behind Mood-lites™ (www.themoodfactory.com), creating products that help people choose their mood through sensory engagement, with nationwide distribution in Lowe’s Home Improvement. She founded iFred based on research by the World Health Organization that less than 50% of people with currently diagnosable depression are receiving treatment due to stigma (or, as she calls it, negative brand or positioning), and is dedicated to increasing the number of those being treated to 100%.