Leadership Award for Excellence in Mental Health
Dear Community,
I am writing with some great news. We recently received the USA National Leadership Award for Leadership Excellence in Digital Mental Health Implementation. The award was presented by the eMental Health International Collaborative (eMHIC) at the 9th Digital Mental Health International Congress. eMHIC honors excellence in digital mental health. I flew up to Ottawa to receive it on our behalf. It is a high honor for our community!
Here is my acceptance speech. If I can find a video then I’ll share it soon. (Edit here is the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgL5UERnQ4U&ab_channel=7Cups)
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Thank you for this significant honor!
I was talking to a friend about the mental health field and how challenging it can be; like a big puzzle.
I have 4 kids. I’ve put together a lot of puzzles. My favorite ones are the 4 piece wooden puzzles with big pieces. My kids graduated to 20, 100, and 1000 piece puzzles.
The bigger the puzzle the bigger the box. How big would the box be that holds the mental health puzzle? Is the puzzle 10 billion pieces, 100 billion pieces? The box would likely be the size of this room or bigger.
Events like this remind us that we are not alone. We are friends all working together to solve this giant puzzle. Some of you have been working on the corners. Some have been working on the challenging middle sections.
Sometimes we get lucky and we accidentally solve a part of the puzzle without realizing it. That happened with us on internationalization. We were one of the first free mental health services. Millions of people have come to 7 Cups and we likely have thousands of volunteer listeners in your country. If you go to 7cups.com and scroll down to the number of people helped you can see how many people we’ve reached in your country.
We will happily connect users from 7 Cups to your services. We are on the cloud and you are on the ground. Just reach out and let me know.
This is a big puzzle we are solving. A special thank you to Anil for bringing us together and helping us realize that we are not alone and can lean on one another for help, especially when we can’t find that piece we are looking for. It is likely that someone in this room has seen it and can point us in the right direction.
Thank you again!
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I wanted to take a minute and unpack what this means for all of us. We have been working on our part, the 7 Cups part, of the mental health puzzle together for 11 years now. Every single one of us has found pieces and slid them into place. Many of you have put giant sections together. I have spent months hunting for pieces only to find out that a few of you put together a 10,000 piece section in a small corner of the site. This has happened countless times. We are all excellent puzzle masters!
I could not be more proud of us (sorry for another metaphor); We built a shining city on the Internet (likely the toughest place to build a city as all the bad guys are just one click away). In the beginning, it was incredibly challenging but with time, we have gained more and more mastery. Now our gardens predictably yield fruit and vegetables and the trains run on time!
And we have made a lot of mistakes. We learn through failure. Innovation is another way of saying ‘I don’t know how to do it’ or ‘It hasn’t been done before’. Through following the problem is the path approach, solving one challenge after another, the path has revealed itself to us. We went from never being able to find enough listeners in the summer of 2013 to now being recognized as leaders in mental health implementation. We won this! Our community! What a great story!
On 7 Cups, we do an amazing job of collaborating and not competing. We know that when one person is lifted up, we are all lifted up. This is the essence of community. When a person succeeds, we all succeed. I would love for the broader mental health field to have this same approach. The pain and suffering is too much for people to be taking potshots at one another. We have timely and important work to do and we are all needed to help build the puzzle.
I’m imagining we are in a tavern in a Tolkien story. There is song and dancing. Lift up your mug with whatever you’ve got in it and share a toast in the comments below.
My toast to all of you:
Thank you for your trust, your love, your patience, and your dedication. You have held out lanterns in the darkness. You have healed deep wounds. You have taught me about community. I humbly thank you for walking with me on this path. Cheers! 
To help us celebrate, we ask you to share the word! Please share our press release link with family and friends via social media - this is a win for all of us!
@GlenM
Thank you Glen! 😊 ❤️
Thank you for this forum post and sharing with us, thank you for accepting this award on "our" behalf. Thank you for being such a giver to the world, giving more, taking less. Thank you for being "the example" of teamwork, what it means to be vulnerable, what it means to be humble and kind.
Thank you for sharing with us what true leadership looks like. It's "WE" and "US" and yes, we rise by lifting others up. Thank you for giving credit where credit is due and giving us something to feel proud of. You have been such a wonderful example of asking for help and support from all of us in a united front as well as coming right back and sharing our accomplishments....all shared! You have never once said "I did it" you say "we" did it.
Feels amazing to be a part of something so much bigger than yourself, 7 Cups! ❤️
Thank you for sharing your acceptance speech. It was beautifully written, incredibly profound and I would love if we could see the vid of you publicly speaking. Public speaking is such a hard thing for so very many to do and you make it look easy, seamless. I know I couldn't do it! I have seen you speak publicly on a few videos years back and it was great for me to see that. It's another thing for me to be proud of for being here.
Glen, thank you for believing in yourself as well as us. You rolled the dice, you took a risk so many years ago. You did it my friend! You have arrived! If more knew of the origin story of 7 Cups and what it took for you to bring this all to fruition, they might have an even deeper respect and deeper appreciation for being here. That's courage and monumental my friend!
I'm so happy and proud to be here. You know, I saved something from a previous forum post of yours. I kind of enjoy "whipping it out" from time to time if there is some "nay sayer" in my midst. I be like....."oh, us, no bueno.....? Well, if this may help to have a bit of confidence in what is that we are doing around here, I'll gladly provide it" ...
Awards: as of 2023
- StanfordMedX Award for Healthcare System Design Innovation
- Tech Pioneer Award for Transforming Mental Health
- VeryWell Mind: Best Online Group Therapy
- VeryWell Mind: Best Online Therapy for Postpartum Depression
- VeryWell Mind: Best Online Text Therapy Companies
- Best Online Therapy Platforms: Best for Free Services
- PsychCentral: Best Online Therapy Programs for Kids
- Very Well Mind Award for Best Peer Support for Cancer
- Healthline: Best Free Online Therapy Service for Teens
- PsychCentral: Best Chat Service for Bipolar Disorder
Thank you again for sharing with all of us Glen. ❤️ I'll be happily adding to the list today.
*high fives* 😊 *hugs* ❤️ and keep rockin' the house!
@SparkyGizmo thank you Sparky! 7 Cups is an US and a WE thing. I have a friend Victor that was dealing with an Ebola breakout. The experts came in and didn't have much impact. He helped all of the people there start sharing solutions and ideas. And, TOGETHER, they overcame and solved the problems. He is one of the only people that I have seen that deeply understands the importance of trusting community. Any one of us alone, unfortunately, is just not that smart. All of us together, we are brilliant!
I love this part of your comment: "Feels amazing to be a part of something so much bigger than yourself, 7 Cups! ❤️." Indeed it does!
@GlenM
The vid has been added today! 😊 ❤️ Grateful for you doing so! Hard for me to find the right words so, I'll just let it fly...
Most impressive! Brilliant! 💡
For me, that's what it looks like to speak from the heart, to truly care and not even try to impress anyone. All flow and no frazzle. Its beautiful moments like that when someone cares less about impressing others, but just feels it in their bones when they are speaking about something they care so very deeply about. Glen, you were sooooooo in the zone!
It was quite impressive and seemed to simply unfold that way, organically. You are a highly effective orator for 7 cups. You always have been. I sincerely hope that you will always be the one to speak on our behalf. It's as if the crowd and lights just fall away....just Glen and his love for everyone globally. ❤️
*high fives* 😊 and *hugs* ❤️
@SparkyGizmo thank you Sparky for those very kind words! I very much hope other see it in the same way. These things are always a little tough because you don't know how things will be perceived. I'm going to steal that "all flow and no frazzle" :). I love our community and our work and I'm super proud of us. I'm glad that shines through!
@GlenM
This award is a testament to the incredible work and dedication of our entire community and it's inspiring to see how our collective efforts have come together so beautifully. Every single one of you has played a vital role in making this possible. I can't express enough my gratitude for you all. I am so proud of us and privileged to be a part of this moment with you. Congratulations to our 7 Cups family!
@Heather225
I hope you will take a *bow* right now as well! You are our Community Director ❤️ . You lead the way for us all, day in and day out. I am most grateful! ❤️
*high fives* 😊 and *hugs* ❤️
Congratulations, Glen!
This is huge!
And it’s all your merit.
Yes, many many people have contributed a lot over the years, but you designed it, you did all the efforts to make it real and lead it, and all those contributions were so fruitful because they were made under an effective scheme you devised.
The award is for “Leadership Excellence in Digital Mental Health Implementation” and we all know who envisioned how the internet could be used for Mental Health support, and who did the Leadership of this adventure with such amazing Excellence.
By the way, while we all know 7 Cups is on the right path, it’s always reassuring that a group of experts confirms it with such a superlative validation.
I hope this award helps propel 7 Cups even higher, gaining visibility to enroll many more volunteers and reach more and more people with emotional support needs (that’s like everyone on this planet).
You are a hero of mental health support for the myriad of people who benefited from superb support they could not find anywhere else, and for the zillions more to come in the future.
Please accept that!
Congratulations again, Mr. Glen Moriarty, and all our gratitude to you in this time of joy and celebration!
@HealingTalk HT, thank you for your kind words! I appreciate it. One thing that is fascinating about 7 Cups is most of the the things that I think will work don't end up working. And some of the things that I think won't work end up working!
The best predictor of something working is the community naturally doing it. e.g., something organically starts developing and then the community picks it up and people start propelling it forward. There is deep wisdom in the community that isn't immediately obvious. You have to kind of look at the signals and then when you see them you try to design to give that impetus more voice.
And thankfully we have a great team, leaders, listeners and members! We try to listen and learn. If it wasn't for all of you we would have crashed many times. I get a lot of credit for 7 Cups, and I've definitely put my time in, but what we've done together is brilliant. And one thing I love is that we are getting collectively smarter too! The gains we are making are starting to compound.
Thank you again for your kind words and for being such a warm member of our community! You've got a deep understanding of what we do and I appreciate you looking out for others and championing our efforts!
@GlenM
oh.....my.....gosh.....😳
You see this, you know this ..."The best predictor of something working is the community naturally doing it. e.g., something organically starts developing and then the community picks it up and people start propelling it forward"
.
Here, all this time, I thought it was only me being able to see it. I underestimate the power of no one here. Oh, even "the flap of a butterflys wings could cause a tornado". - Edward Norton Lorenz Being small can be quite mighty with enough love in ones heart. ❤️
Weeeeeeeeeeee-weeeeeeeeee! 😊
*high fives* 😊 and *hugs* ❤️
Thank you Glen!
I agree that there is much collective wisdom and creativity in 7 Cups, and many activities that became important and got much traction have this grassroots origin.
And Cups is blessed with a superb leadership team of brilliant and committed people, who run Cups with much love, dedication, and intelligence.
The whole Community is awesome, Cups attracts and retains the most compassionate, clever and creative people around.
All of this is no coincidence, but product of the way Cups was designed and how it operates.
Being attentive and channeling the "wisdom of the crowd" in the organization, empowering the team, acknowledging the contributions of the whole community, and having the equanimity to give space to other people's initiatives instead of imposing your own, are the marks of a great leader, I think, and key ingredients of success.
Cups is about "Active Listening" after all! 😊
@GlenM
I am so very proud of all the work that we all do here,
we are changing the world in such a positive way.
By using our active listening skills, focusing on being a supportive
and a caring community, we are changing the world in a
wonderful way, just one chat at a time!
That's magic!
✨💙✨
@GlenM 👏👏👏 and none of this would be possible if it wasn't for you ❤ thankyou Glen ❤and thank you everyone, the only family and friends I've ever had are the loving people I've met here at cups, and I'm forever greatful ❤ now let's partttyyy
@Tinywhisper11 we are so glad you found us Tiny! Thank you for being a source of joy for our community!
@Tinywhisper11
I'm your annoying big sister. ;)
@jesusredeemedme2425 yes you are ❤😁❤
This is awesome and I like the puzzle metaphor.
Sometimes I'm off focusing on one area and later find out someone has put something cool together in another area that I didn't even know existed until tht picture comes together. Some of us are working on a section together and sometimes we're working on adjacent sections, passing pieces over when we realize they go to that neighboring section.
@GlenM Congratulations on this honor. As a volunteer for 3 years now (hard to believe) I have really grown from the experience of being a listener. My ability to provide a larger space of tolerance when interacting with people who at first seem "difficult" is probably the biggest benefit I've gained. It's a privilege to be part of the community and to observe the healing journeys of others. While the stories are private, they motivate my mission to spread kindness to others each and every day. My 7 Cups experiences even inspired me to start a podcast that explores loneliness and social anxiety. I hope that all the listeners out there understand and respect the enormity of the roles they play as they compassionately listen to people who are sharing the most vulnerable pieces of themselves, especially those who struggle feeling alone or without support. Keep up the good work!
@MidwesternCalmSeeker such a jam packed comment! Thank you for serving as a listener and for starting a podcast. I think you hit on something important. It is really hard for listeners to see and understand how much of an impact they are making. Some people come back and say, "hey, you really helped me when I was vulnerable and now I am in a better place. thank you!" but most people move on down the river of life. Our listeners provide touch points of light in all those very vulnerable moments that help people right when they need it. Not much better than that I don't think!