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Jim Sorrell, M.D. |
Two months ago, Omaha radio station KQCH (94.1 FM) launched a radio show that focuses on adolescent mental health issues. “Sunday Night Shrink Rap” is hosted by UNMC psychiatrist, Jim Sorrell, M.D., assistant professor, UNMC Department of Psychiatry, and on-air personality Damian Montez.
The show, which airs Sundays from 8 to 9 p.m., is part of Journal Broadcast Group’s ongoing effort to develop local programming that makes a difference in the community.
Station officials call “Sunday Night Shrink Rap” an innovative new radio program unlike any other. The locally programmed show offers teens and young adults an outlet to discuss issues they are facing.
Dr. Sorrell, who also is medical director of consult and liaison service for The Nebraska Medical Center, said his decision to do the show was two-fold: he wanted to have a broader impact in psychiatry and establish a public presence for psychiatry at a time when it’s being marginalized.
“Doing psychiatry in a public forum demonstrates the strength of the field and its relevance,” he said. “The adolescent age group is incredibly important to us. This gives them a chance to have a voice, look at their own problems reflectively and widen their point-of-view.to get a better perspective on how to deal with their problems.”
Dr. Sorrell said he is struck by the thoughtfulness and maturity of the adolescent callers. “These kids are dealing with tough issues,” he said. “Anything from bullying to parents who are drug addicted to coping with death and loss.
“The show has been energizing and it’s allowed me to rekindle some energy in what I do,” Dr. Sorrell said. “One discouraging thing about psychiatry is mental illness is stigmatized. Here, I can talk openly and kids are listening. I’ve heard even parents are listening with their kids. The show helps foster a discussion.”
Mental health services are so in demand the station’s three phone lines begin ringing before the show starts and often are jammed during the show.
“It shows the emotional and psychological needs of adolescents are not being met,” Dr. Sorrell said. “If we cared, we would do something about it as a society. This is a public issue. This isn’t just about private suffering. We have a responsibility to the public and society to help.”
Dr. Sorrell’s philosophy of psychiatry is simple: to allow others to see a broader picture and make their own decisions.
“We all have the capacity to construct our own decisions though many feel they have not been given the opportunity,” he said. “The consequences of what we do become who we are. I focus on getting people to make their own decisions and move ahead.not by telling them what to do.
“Each problem demands it’s own unique solution. I simply help pull people up to a vantage point where they can create meaning for themselves,” Dr. Sorrell said.
The show has redirected the calls Montez would get daily from listeners who had concerns and issues they wanted to discuss. “I couldn’t stop my show in the middle of the day to discuss them,” he said. “Co-hosting this show gives me the chance to have our listeners talk to someone who can help. It offers them the chance to call Dr. Jim and ask the questions they might not ask their parents, teachers, friends or counselors.”
“We knew there was a need for the program and have discussed doing it for over a year,” said Erik Johnson, program director of 94.1. “We wanted to develop a locally programmed show to give people the opportunity to call and ask questions or discuss their concerns.
“It was important to find a medical organization that recognized the need in our community and understood the impact potential of this show,” Johnson said. “In turn they had to have a doctor that could relate to our audience. We found that partnership with UNMC and Dr. Jim Sorrell.”
Dr. Sorrell graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1983 and earned his doctor of medicine degree from UNMC in 1998. He did an internship from 1988 to 1989, then residency training, from 1989 to 1990 at George Washington University, Washington, D.C. He also trained at Washington University, St. Louis, Mo., from 1990 to 1992. He is board-certified in psychiatry.
He is the recipient of the 2001 UNMC Department of Psychiatry Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching and University of Nebraska College of Medicine Nellie House Craven Fellowship in Academic Medicine.