About Us
The Psych Ward Gift Shop is on a mission to address the suicide epidemic head on.
We are here to:
- Normalize serious mental illness recovery
- Cultivate community through vulnerable storytelling
- Build psychologically safe spaces for people to speak honestly about their mental health
- Give back to our community by supporting nonprofits who dismantle the societal and political roadblocks of our broken mental health care system
The brand is the brainchild of Kate Speer, a mental health advocate and entrepreneur who just wrapped up 5 years as the CEO of The Dogist. Kate first experienced serious mental illness at 16 and as her battle with it evolved, her commitment to mental health advocacy grew alongside side it. Throughout Kate's struggles which involved a decade of psychosis, suicidality and disability, she found herself increasingly frustrated that there weren't psychologically safe spaces for people with serious mental illness. During one of her 21 psychiatric hospitalizations, Kate dreamt up this brand -- a way to wear solidarity and support on your sleeve.
The logo, a tilde, celebrates the tilde's medieval significance. In medieval times, scribes would write a '~' to hold space for letters, words, or ideas they did not yet know. The ancient tilde literally meant to hold space and curiosity, what this world needs most of right now. This meaning is also what is proven to help people with mental illness the most - cultivating psychologically safe spaces for a person to belong within and offering kind curiosity so a person feels seen in their whole truth. This is exactly what we aim to do here at THE PSYCH WARD GIFT SHOP.
Join us in building a world where everyone belongs, exactly as they are - where it is safe to share the whole truth out loud and when one does so, receive loving kindness, community and assistance.
To read the full origin story of THE PSYCH WARD GIFT SHOP, head here for an essay by Kate herself.