Episode 120: Dr. Elisa Shipon-Blum, Mom, Physician, and President and Director of the Selective Mutism Anxiety and Related Disorders Treatment Center

Written By Susie Gurley

Don’t miss this inspirational episode with Dr. E, a family practice physician with a specialty in pediatric anxiety and depression.  Dr. E has four children. Her second child, Sophie, has Selective Mutism, a mental health condition where a person can’t talk in certain situations because of fear and anxiety. Dr. E says she knew something was off when Sophie was about 3 1/2 years old.  Sophie was super talkative at home, but became a different person when she was out of the house. Advocating for her daughter sent Dr. E on a quest to find Sophie the right help.  After several different diagnoses and even accusations of child abuse, Dr. E set out to figure out for herself what Sophie was battling. Through her research and work, Dr. E found the diagnosis of Selective Mutism and founded the Selective Mutism Association (https://www.selectivemutism.org/). Dr. E then created the Social Communication Anxiety Treatment (S-CAT) and the Selective Mutism Anxiety and Related Disorders Treatment Center (Smart Center) (https://selectivemutismcenter.org/), where thousands of people worldwide overcome Selective Mutism. Dr. E emphasizes the importance of parents trusting their guts, and how critical it is to be your child’s advocate. Dr. E concludes the episode by talking about the book Sophie wrote called Unspoken Words (https://www.amazon.com/Unspoken-Words-Childs-Selective-Mutism/dp/1467982598) at age 13. Sophie went to college and medical school and is now married and expecting her first child. Dr. E also hosts a podcast called Unspoken Words (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unspoken-words-a-selective-mutism-podcast-by-dr/id1621959774?i=1000732656789)

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.

Next

Episode 119: Libby Davis, Mom and Founder of The Cooper Davis Memorial Foundation