Our mission is to educate teens and advocate for mental wellness and accessibility to resources. We were initially assisted by the Youth Activism Project, which guided us in becoming what we are today.
Over the years we have advocated for mental health legislation, created an app and this website, and spoken with many amazing advocates. We built four teams — creative, fundraising, outreach, and policy — to make sure we address mental health the way it should be addressed: from as many angles as possible.
What Sophrosyne means
σωφροσύνη
A greek word for a healthy state of mind found when one is fully self-aware, which can lead to true happiness.
We apply the ideas of Sophrosyne to contemporary mental health to encourage self-reflection and promote compassion toward oneself and others.
Sophrosyne combats the stigma of mental illness through education, art, and legislation.
Why this matters to us
Mental health matters. For those struggling with a mental health condition, remember this: your diagnoses do not define you, but they do shape who you are today. However, mental health is a taboo topic because it is often not visible from the outside. Many communities of different demographics lack sufficient mental health and special education resources, and people in need of these accommodations are not able to access them. Our goal is to celebrate the beauty of our differences and to deconstruct the stigma. Let us stand up together and help raise awareness about mental health and neurodiversity.
Behind our logo
Sophrosyne’s logo is a rose as a metaphor for mental health. The thorns of the rose represent the struggles of mental illness, validating that in each person’s mental health journey there will be battles that feel prickly and painful. However, stronger than each thorn is a stem that persists relentlessly. At the end of every rose plant is a flower; whether that is a bud or a full blossom, we see it as growth and gratification. A rose is more than its thorns: you are more than your mental illness! We chose green as our logo color because of its ties to mental health.
Timeline
2018
- Fall — Sophrosyne Mental Health founded; started the website; began working with our Youth Activism Project advisor
- Winter — planning the Mental Health Rally; fundraising
2019
- Spring — Mental Health Rally 2019; Brave New Films documentary; advocacy for Bill S.244, mandatory mental health education in Massachusetts
- Fall — expanded the team; passed out ribbons for World Mental Health Month; presented Sophrosyne and screened our documentary at a local high school
- Winter — self-care cards; merch; the Help a Friend page; planning a bowling night, a documentary screening, and a mental health book display
2020
- Spring — virtual Mental Health Rally 2020; released our app; jewelry fundraiser; self-care Zoom calls during COVID; guest speaking with YAP on activist mental health
- Summer — opened a Depop shop; OpenFloor podcast
- Fall — Misconceptions series on Instagram; regular Zoom calls; became independent from YAP
- Winter — rebranded; expanded the team; opened our Etsy shop; Beyond the Stereotype series; Positivity with Jussi Padam podcast
2021
- Spring — planning our third Mental Health Rally
2021–2022
- Hiatus
2022–2023
- Winter 2022 — website redesign and rebranding
- Spring 2023 — website up and running; consistent social media posting
Director
Emily Weinberg — Founder and Executive Director
Emily Weinberg is the founder of Sophrosyne Mental Health, a youth-focused mental health organization she started at sixteen. Drawing on her own lived experience with mental health challenges, she saw how hard it was for young people to find resources that were informative, easy to understand and compassionate, so she set out to build them herself.
Sophrosyne began as a mental health Instagram page in 2017 and expanded beyond its original Instagram account in 2018. In 2019 it organized a mental health rally, which Brave New Films filmed as a short documentary. Today the site is a free resource hub for anyone looking for support.
That same mission carries into Emily’s current work. She is the founder and CEO of SkipItTech, Inc., where she is building Skipit. Skipit is a Chrome extension that lets streaming viewers skip scenes or read a summary instead, so people can enjoy what they watch without being blindsided by content that harms their mental health. Emily is a senior at Babson College studying Entrepreneurship (Class of 2027). She transferred to Babson from Middlesex Community College, and she has also studied international relations and psychology.
Curious about the rallies? Read the Mental Health Rally history.