Writing & Speaking
Katie has been writing and speaking publicly about mental health since 2011. Her story has been featured in publications like Women’s Health Online.
Writing for an international audience
Katie’s writing has been published by The Mighty, No Shame on U, MSN, Yahoo News, and other news outlets, and has been shared by the Schizophrenia & Psychosis Action Alliance (SPAA) (formerly Schizophrenia And Related Disorders Alliance of America (SARDAA)). She is also a part of The Mighty’s Super Contributor writing program and has recently partnered with Microsoft to have her writing published on Bing, MSN, and Microsoft Start. You can find her articles published on The Mighty, podcast features, interviews, and social media links below.
Katie has been writing for her blog, Not Like The Others, since March 2020. Not Like The Others and its social media accounts have caught the attention of advocates, mental health professionals, and individuals with and without mental illnesses across the globe.
Speaking to people from all walks of life
While a student as well as an alumnus, Katie has spoken for student groups and both undergraduate and graduate level classes at Northwestern University including Schools of Psychotherapy and Research Methods in Schizophrenia. She also recently spoke on a panel for a graduate psychology class at DePaul University
Katie has been an ambassador for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Chicago chapter since 2018, primarily speaking for law enforcement and correctional officers. In 2020 she was also invited to speak during Mental Health Awareness Trainings for Chicago community members provided by The Kennedy Forum Illinois, NAMI Chicago, and the Chicago Department of Public Health.
In 2022, Katie joined Students With Psychosis as an Advocate. In addition to speaking for their members at one of their Guest Speaker Tuesday events, she also joined several Executive Board members and another Advocate on a panel at the South Southwest MHTTC First Episode Psychosis Conference to discuss the college experience with psychosis. Video of that panel can be found here.
Crisis Intervention Training involvement
Katie has been involved in Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) in Cook County, Illinois as a speaker on a panel of individuals with lived experience through NAMI Chicago since 2018. On this panel, she’s spoken to recruits and officers from all over the county, as well as correctional officers at the Cook County Department of Corrections.
In 2020, she received a scholarship from NAMI to attend the virtual Crisis Intervention Training International 2020 Conference, and was also offered the opportunity to give feedback on course materials for the Chicago Police Department CIT program. Members of CIT classes for which she has spoken have used her story as inspiration not only to be more supportive in the line of duty, but also in their personal lives.
A uniquely multi-faceted understanding of schizophrenia spectrum disorders
Not only does Katie possess personal experience with schizophrenia spectrum disorders, she also received a bachelor’s in psychology with honors in her field from Northwestern University. During her time as an undergraduate, she directed the focus of her studies to clinical psychology and neuroscience. In her senior year she completed an ambitious honors thesis analyzing functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) data to study brain activity related to empathy in people with schizophrenia.
Her research experience extends beyond her coursework and thesis. Katie spent three years assisting with research on schizophrenia for Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. There, she worked with fMRI, eye tracking, and data processing.
To better her advocacy skills, she also completed an advocacy training course through NAMI Chicago in 2018.
Making schizophrenia accessible through social media
Not Like The Others is on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and, more recently, TikTok. Through these channels, Katie brings information and inspiration directly to the community. On these platforms, Katie shares her experience, expertise, and makes illnesses like schizophrenia more accessible and understandable. She does this through text, photos, video presenting, and humorous skits that break down symptoms and what life is like for people living with schizophrenia and other mental illnesses.
Welcome to the “Invalidation Super Store”
On April 19, 2022, Katie created a humorous video for social media to highlight the frequent invalidation that people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders face. In the skit, Katie goes to the “Invalidation Super Store” and purchases various invalidating statements for herself. Little did she know that this video would be the start of a series that would bring characters with a vast variety of illnesses, disabilities, and situations to this shop at the request of viewers, with an extensive list of requests yet to be turned into a video. Expressed through laughter, tears, and excitement, viewers from across the world have shared that these videos make them feel seen, connect them with others, and make them feel, well, validated. Many have shared these videos with those who have been inadvertently invalidating them. Others have expressed that the “Invalidation Super Store” has opened their eyes to things that they had been saying that they did not realize were invalidating. But above all else, the shopkeeper and customers at this imaginary establishment have brought people from all walks of life together to address the pandemic that is invalidation. You can find all episodes of the “Invalidation Super Store” on Katie’s TikTok feed.
Creating change
Katie is always open to writing and speaking opportunities as well as collaborations with other organizations or individuals. She believes that spreading messages of hope and empathy, along with education are vital to our society. In order to make a true change, we need to inspire not just those with mental illnesses, but also everyone around them, creating a society where symptoms and diagnoses are met with empathy and support, not fear and avoidance.
Click here to download Katie’s speaker sheet
For interview, writing, speaking, and collaboration requests, please email katie@katiesanford.net
See below for Katie’s interviews and podcast appearances, and articles on The Mighty You can find additional content on Patreon, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and Twitter.
Interviews and Podcast Features
- Revealing Voices Podcast, Guest Interview – February 14, 2022
- Schizophrenia: 3 Moms in the Trenches Podcast, Episode 28: Not Like The Others: Katie’s Story of Mental Illness and Recovery – October 29, 2021
- ACT in Perspective Podcast, Episode 4: Embracing Mental Illness with Katie Sanford – January 30, 2021
- Spooky Psychology Podcast: Schizophrenia – October 2, 2020
- Hallucinations – Managing them and sharing the story, Megan Elaine Pauly – August 30, 2013
- Northwestern student manages schizoaffective disorder with study innovations and horses, Megan Elaine Pauly – August 30, 2013
Published Works
‘I Have Schizoaffective Disorder, A Condition That Causes Hallucinations And Paranoia’
By Katie Sanford, As Told To Lauren Krouse
Originally Published August 13, 2020 on Women’s Health Online
Also Published on Yahoo Lifestyle and other news sources.
