Amy Kennedy Talks Mental Health 'Ebbs and Flows' in Her Family of 7 and Why Access to Care is Crucial (Exclusive)
The mom of five tells PEOPLE why joining forces with Little Otter is important to her continued work on making mental healthcare more accessible for all
Amy Kennedy/X
Amy Kennedy familyAmy Kennedy has joined Little Otter as a mental health advocate and advisor
Little Otter offers a unique approach to mental health care rooted in evidence-based practices and data-driven solutions, combining innovative technology with personalized care from licensed professionals
Kennedy, a mom of five, has championed mental health for years alongside husband Patrick J. Kennedy
Amy Kennedy — co-founder of The Kennedy Forum alongside her husband, Former U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy — is continuing her work toward making mental health and wellness care accessible for all families.
Speaking with PEOPLE, Kennedy discusses her latest position — joining Little Otter as a mental health advocate and advisor. Kennedy is excited to bring her unique perspective to the company dedicated to transforming mental health care for children and families.
"I started as a public school teacher in New Jersey, teaching middle school students. Oftentimes, that's when mental health challenges start to present themselves. I worked in the classroom for over a decade, and throughout that time, I saw a lot of kids struggling without a clear understanding of how I could help."
"It wasn't until I married my husband, Patrick, who was already very involved in mental health advocacy through his work in Congress, that I understood the connection between what I saw in the classroom and the youth mental health crisis," she shares.
The couple share sons Marshall, 6, and Owen, 12, and daughters Nell, 8, and Nora, 10. Kennedy is also mom to Harper, 16, from a previous marriage.
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Comparing mental health crises to a serious physical condition, Kennedy says it's important to intervene, "Before stage four."
"We let these things kind of metastasize and then we need even greater interventions when we finally act. But if we can get people early interventions and help as soon as they are sharing signs of struggling, then we can have better outcomes," she explains. "So I think those are some of the things I would recommend talking to educators and your friends who are parents about. And don't be afraid to ask young people themselves. That's not going to make it worse."
While that idea can be intimidating for some parents, Kennedy believes it's the beginning to lighten the load for all family members.
"One of the really good outcomes is the ability to improve mental health for the whole family. When you provide treatment for one member, it can make a difference for everyone," she shares.
"For me, having a range of kids from ages 6 to 16, it's true when they say little kids, little problems, big kids, big problems. One in five young people are struggling with mental health. I have five kids, so it is like, 'Who is it right now?' " the mom admits.
"Being able to recognize everybody needs help at different times and being able to focus on whoever needs a little extra support, a little extra love, some positive encouragement, and reinforcement is important to us. Some times call for therapy and other interventions, and we've done that too."
With her family growing up and each child going through their individual growth journey, Kennedy says the state of her family's mental health "kind of ebbs and flows."
"It's not always going to be the same, so we're conscious of really being vigilant," Kennedy says of herself and her husband. "There's a time to step in and a time when you can take a step back and let kids move through and develop and grow."
As a parent, Kennedy doesn't believe "you can check in with them too much," but notes parents also have to be careful of the toll it can take on them.
"I think, if you're starting to wonder if there's something going on with that young person, it's really important to have those conversations with your peers as parents, too," she shares.
"It can help. In talking to the teachers in the classroom, even though I didn't always know how to intervene or help because I didn't have that training, I definitely could identify kids who were struggling. Parents should be having those open conversations with teachers and asking not only how are they doing with their grades, but socially, what are you seeing?"
Kennedy points to one of Little Otter's many resources, including "a checklist with questions that you can ask your kids' teachers when you go in for conferences."
"Of course, being able to have those conversations directly with the young person who when asked directly, is more likely to open up. This shouldn't be a guessing game. We can talk about and share our own struggles," she points out.
"Then, they're more apt to share if they're having a hard time. It's not being afraid to ask because avoiding the subject delays the care. We know that on average, a young person, from when they first start showing signs till they actually receive care, is over a decade. So being able to shorten that timeline means that you're going to intervene earlier."
Part of the challenge many families face in intervening earlier is accessing care, Kennedy points out.
"We know that 70% of counties don't have a child psychiatrist. People are living in care deserts, so being able to have access is crucial. It can be really challenging to navigate for families, as well as making sure that there is coverage in the network. Not only do families have to understand what's going on with the young person in their life, but to then be able to get the help that they need and have it covered by insurance is a whole other challenge in and of itself."
She adds, "Many people have talked about stigma and we know that for young people, that's not the primary challenge anymore. It's just being able to access that care."
In her new role with Little Otter, Kennedy is looking forward to partnering with a woman-owned business that "understands what we do in our house with our kids and what the goal is for other families."
Kennedy recalls first encountering Little Otter while traveling the country to learn about the different mental health and wellness needs of different states on behalf of Governor Phil Murphy's Chair's Initiative.
"I ran for Congress back in 2020 and was really involved in having mental health as my platform during that race. I was unsuccessful in that election but had the opportunity to work with Governor Murphy. We went around the country, talking to different states about what's needed to address what we're seeing," she recalls.
"As we went around the country, Little Otter participated in one of those panels and shared some of their outcomes that really focused on the interventions for maternal health, starting at birth and building a foundation for young people, as well as the whole family, of health and well-being. So that really drew me to the work that they're doing because we're never gonna meet the workforce demand of this crisis unless we're doing these early interventions and really prevention."
Kennedy hopes to continue her work with both, in hopes that "regardless of whether you're in a big city or a rural area, that you can find access either in person or virtually — that there will be access at schools or in your community."
"Our hope is that there's parity, which has been our focus since Patrick worked on that in 2008 under President Bush, that your brain would just be covered like the rest of your body, like any other organ," Kennedy says. "Any time we can include mental health as a part of your overall health, we're going to see better outcomes by all of our indicators. When we talk about mental health, it shouldn't be isolated and separate. It really needs to be integrated into the rest of healthcare."
Kennedy is hopeful that as more Americans recognize the many ties our mental health has to other areas of life, that people will speak up for progress.
"With mental health, we've been really accepting of slow change instead of pushing for big progress. We want 90% of people in recovery. We want 90% of people to be screened. We want the same kind of success in mental health that we are seeing in other areas of medicine and healthcare," she says.
The Kenendy Forum does their part with Alignment for Progress, which breaks down what every federal official can be doing, on a policy level, to advance issues including, but not limited to, mental health.
"The idea of Alignment for Progress and of making commitments and setting goals. We have companies like Little Otter that have committed to what they're going to do to improve outcomes because we know it needs to be evidence-based. We provide information that's easily available online about these matters. Any Senator or Congressman could just grab it and have his office work with us.
In her downtime, Kennedy will be enjoying time with her family of seven.
"We're going to be in full-on summer mode here. Because we live at the Jersey Shore, we're really lucky to spend a lot of time at the beach and sailing," she shares.
"My oldest, Harper, is kind of figuring out what she's going to do for a summer job. Her passion is music, so she's teaching piano lessons and possibly either working on the beach patrol or scooping ice cream. So we'll figure that out in the next week or so."
Kennedy says her younger kids "are all doing different sports."
"Owen, who is 12-years-old, is into basketball. He'll play in a summer league and sail. The younger kids just love being outdoors in the summer. We also do go up to Cape Cod to spend some time with Patrick's family, as well, and so we'll plan on spending several weeks up with them. We're balancing our time between Massachusetts and New Jersey."
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