Podcast Summary: Parenting in a Tech World

Episode: Finding Other Parents Like You: How to Get Help Raising Kids with Mental Health Issues
Host: Bark CMO, Titania Jordan
Guest: Casey Farriello, Co-founder of Other Parents Like Me (OPLM)
Release Date: January 15, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode is a heartfelt, honest discussion with Casey Farriello, co-founder of the support network Other Parents Like Me (OPLM). Casey recounts her personal journey facing her kids’ mental health and substance struggles, and shares how the lack of emotional resources for parents led her to launch OPLM — a thriving, international peer-support community for families experiencing similar challenges. The episode explores the importance of parent self-care, the value of peer connection, the impact of stigma, and the evolving role of support organizations in partnership with mental health and digital safety platforms like Bark Technologies.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Casey’s Family Journey & Motivation Behind OPLM

• Personal Story:
  • Casey’s eldest child struggled with severe anxiety from birth, exacerbated in the teens by a sibling’s increasingly severe substance use.
  • Trials included confronting substance dependence, running away, suicide attempts, partial hospitalizations, and arrests.
  • The family navigated challenging interactions with schools, social services, and insurance.
• Memorable Moment:
  • “My son had already changed it with a leave and overdose that night. Now he's alive, but he lost five days of his life.” (Casey, 08:29)
• Lack of Support:
  • Casey describes feeling unseen in existing resources like Al Anon: “I did learn self care there... but I didn’t feel seen as a parent.” (Casey, 11:24)

2. The Birth and Growth of OPLM

• Origin:
  • Beginning with small, virtual parent support groups during the pandemic, the community grew rapidly: “We went from 14 families to 350 in six months.” (Casey, 11:04)
• Structure and Approach:
  • OPLM now offers 18 groups, each led by two trained peer parents. Training is based on the SMART Recovery Facilitator Handbook.
  • Groups emphasize universal topics—communication, boundaries, self-care, and self-regulation—rather than problem silos.
  • “No matter what's happening behind your four walls, you can come together and talk about communication, boundaries, self care and self regulation and only have to go to one support group instead of like, I would have to go to 10.” (Casey, 12:35)

3. What Parents Experience in OPLM

• Key Features:
  • Warm, immediate sense of belonging—the “bobbleheads effect”—as others nod in deep empathy and understanding.
  • Opening meditations and diverse resources (videos, poems, articles) foster “aha” moments and peace.
  • Multiple group types (gratitude, neurodivergent kids, solo moms, men’s, book club) and over 200 recorded expert talks.
  • “For the first time, they feel not only everybody shaking their heads, but someone saying what they feel. And that's huge.” (Casey, 11:54)

4. Parental Self-Care: Fundamental Advice

• Importance of Self-Regulation:
  • “Number one is actually focus on you, take care of you, find help for you.” (Casey, 14:37)
  • The need to stay regulated so as not to compound children’s shame or distress.
  • Therapy for couples helped Casey and her husband “stay on the same page,” essential under extreme stress.
  • Restorative rituals: massage, hot tub, non-kid conversations, walks.
  • “Sometimes all you can do is go to a peer support group and have other people shake their heads. You know, that helps.” (Casey, 16:17)
• Releasing Self-Blame:
  • “This is not your fault. This is genetics. This is intergenerational stuff... You were doing the best you could.” (Casey, 15:33 and 16:51)

5. Addressing Societal Stigma & Gaps

• On Stigma:
  • “Culturally, it's...still so stigmatized, whether it's substance use, whether it's cutting, whether it's suicidal ideation, whether it's as simple as depression or anxiety...” (Casey, 17:42)
• Need for Change:
  • Parents are left out of both mental health conversations and decision-making.
  • The only high-profile acknowledgment: a U.S. Surgeon General’s study on parents in crisis.

6. The Future of OPLM

• Growth and Dreams:
  • OPLM currently serves parents in 11 countries, all 50 states.
  • Goals: grow to 24/7 access, support groups in more languages, offer 1:1 parent coaching, onboard more peer supporters, integrate into employer benefits.
  • “We want you to start before your kid is in a crisis like mine... by the time it really gets bad, they're already so overwhelmed.” (Casey, 19:55)

7. OPLM & Bark Technologies: Aligning Support

• Collaboration:
  • Both organizations partner with treatment centers to provide ongoing digital safety and parent support before, during, and after treatment.
  • “Having [safe phones] started within the treatment program so that the kid is used to having more restrictions before they head home. That aligns with us, and we are partnering with treatment programs.” (Casey, 21:00)
  • Vision: make educational support and digital safeguards seamlessly accessible and reduce repeat crises.

Memorable Quotes (with Timestamps)

• “For the first time, they feel not only everybody shaking their heads, but someone saying what they feel. And that's huge.” — Casey (11:54)
• “Number one is actually focus on you, take care of you, find help for you.” — Casey (14:37)
• “This is not your fault. This is genetics. This is intergenerational stuff...You were doing the best you could.” — Casey (15:33, 16:51)
• “There’s such pressure on us and there’s pressure on our kids to look Facebook perfect.” — Casey (18:20)
• “We want you to start before your kid is in a crisis like mine...” — Casey (19:55)
• “We believe that lived experience has value, because us as parents give everything away.” — Casey (19:16)

Key Timestamps

• [01:20–12:45] Casey’s family journey, challenges, and the founding story of OPLM
• [09:47–11:55] What new members experience in OPLM; unique features
• [12:54–14:25] Self-care strategies, couple dynamics, the toll on families
• [14:36–16:51] Life-saving advice for parents, the essential nature of self-compassion and regulation
• [17:31–18:48] Societal gaps, the stigma surrounding families in crisis
• [18:55–20:34] OPLM’s growth, future goals, and expanded access
• [20:43–23:17] The OPLM–Bark partnership supporting families through treatment and beyond

Final Thoughts

This episode is both raw and hopeful, shining a light on the hidden struggles of parents with kids facing mental health challenges — and the healing power of community, validation, and support. Casey’s vulnerability provides comfort to listening parents and points the way toward breaking cycles of shame and isolation. OPLM’s story exemplifies the profound impact of lived experience and parent-led advocacy in transforming family and cultural systems.