Well Mind Plus Founder

 Ruth C. White PHD, MPH, MSW

Ruth was born in London, England of Jamaican immigrant parents and grew up in Jamaica and Canada before moving to the west coast of the USA as an adult. She was an elite athlete competing in netball, swimming, field hockey and track and field and ranked nationally as a provincial champion in Canada in the latter. She is an avid traveler and loves being outside - hiking, kayaking and sailing. A professor for over ten years, Ruth is currently on faculty with USC. 

It all started when...

As a social worker, I was trained to help people transform their lives by changing their thoughts, behaviors and attitudes. With graduate degrees in social work, social welfare and public health from two of the top universities in the world, I helped people overcome life's most challenging problems such as addiction, incarceration, domestic violence and child abuse.

And, as someone who has thrived and succeeded despite a serious mental health challenge myself, I know what it takes to transform mental health and well-being.

My path to a career in coaching started when I was hospitalized for suicidality related to my bipolar disorder–I decided that would be my first, last and only hospitalization. I spent a week in hospital learning how it wasn't just my flawed neurochemistry, but also my thoughts and behaviors, that got in the way of my mental health and well-being. I was determined to change the way I lived to be healthier and happier.

Coming out of the hospital on a cocktail of medications with troubling side effects, and wanting to excel at my career despite my illness, I put my PhD-level research skills to work at finding holistic, science-based strategies to reduce medications and create a lifestyle that promotes mental health and well-being. I worked closely with my psychiatrist to wean myself of many meds by changing my thoughts and behaviors. My doctor suggested that I write a book to share what I knew and to inspire others to thrive despite their diagnosis.

Today, I am a mental health advocate who fights stigma and promotes mentally healthy lifestyles. I have been featured as a mental health advocate and expert in Woman's Day, Women's Health, Black Enterprise, Seattle Times, Slate, Trojan Family magazine and I maintain a blog for Psychology Today. I also sit on the editorial board of the American Journal of Public Health.

My passion is helping people be their healthiest, happiest and best selves, as an educator, social worker and public health professional. I bring this expertise, professional experience, and my own personal journey to my role as a coach, a consultant, a lecturer and a motivational speaker.

I will work with you to help you create a lifestyle of health and happiness for you, your clients and your organization.