This is a picture of Dhrumil Shah. He is an Indian man who is wearing a Red flannel shirt. Behind him are a series of skyscrapers in Chicago.
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Dhrumil Shah: Promoting Visibility of Mental Health Disability

Written By:

Lacey Lyons

Dhrumil Shah works as a research assistant for Shirley Ryan Ability Lab. He demonstrates his passion for CROR projects by sharing knowledge gained at work with others. He has a history working as a rehabilitation technician. He also cares for his mother and grandmother, both of whom live with disabilities. He feels grateful to be working for Shirley Ryan after earning his master’s degree in public health from George Washington University.

Much of Shah’s time is spent working on a home and community-based services (HCBS) project. Recently, Shah sought treatment for anxiety and depression, which he has experienced since high school.   “I never really knew that I was considered a person with a mental health-related disability until I started seeking treatment,” he said. Shah said viewing disability in a new way, from the perspective of the self-advocate, rather than through a caregiver’s perspective, is a new experience for him. It has changed his personal and professional perspectives. “It challenges me to reframe my past experiences with work, productivity, and engagement with relationships,” he said. “It helps me practice self-compassion in challenging moments.” Shah’s supervisor, Lindsay DuBois, has already observed how this perspective is an asset to CROR, saying; “Dhrumil is both inquisitive and insightful in his research activities. He asks lots of questions to make sure he understands what is needed, and he offers a lot of support to his colleagues. He has a high degree of emotional intelligence and is a tremendous creative thinker.”

It challenges me to reframe my past experiences with work, productivity, and engagement with relationships...It helps me practice self-compassion in challenging moments.

Dhrumil Shah

Because his employer provides services to people with disabilities, he says, he has gotten supports with issues like caregiver burnout. Shah predicts the focus of HCBS will shift as the field recognizes there is a growing need to offer training and support for various types of caregivers. The ways caregivers are supported at work and in the health care system have to change, he said. But, he says, the modifications necessary for a workplace that supports caregivers are built into research already being done.

“You’ll start seeing more people who are caregivers for their parents or other family members, and as we see a broader definition of what ‘caregiver’ means, employers will have to adapt,” he said. “They’ll need to be accommodating to the changing dynamic of the family structure. No longer will it be folks working and taking care of only kids. It will be folks working and taking care of their parents, or aunts and uncles, along with their kids. It will be a broader definition of a person who offers support through the HCBS lens.” A September 2021 report from the Bipartisan Policy Center bears out Shah’s predictions. It revealed a waiting list of 800,000 Americans for HCBS services, with wait times averaging three years. “Congress should make HCBS available for individuals with long-term care needs who are ineligible for Medicaid,” analysts said.1

Often, mental health-related disabilities are stigmatized in the workplace. A good work environment in the future will provide psychological safety to it’s employees.

Dhrumil Shah

Shah is able to draw from both his academic and lived experiences at work. He knows that is not possible at every job. “Often, mental health-related disabilities are stigmatized in the workplace,” he said. “A good work environment in the future will provide psychological safety to its employees and a sense of camaraderie or social support within its network. These two aspects are necessary for workplaces to thrive and create the best impact, because the foundation of the company is being taken care of. The entire culture has to shape from that.”

Shah wants to help influence positive behavior change and improve long-term outcomes for people with chronic health conditions as the ultimate goal of his work. Because of his background in rehabilitation, he values physical activity as a means to recovery from stroke or other illnesses. He wants to examine the value of activities like yoga, and other types of non-traditional physical activity, on the health outcomes of people with disabilities, while taking into account the ability levels and resources of each individual. “Part of understanding the full scope of the problem and being a good researcher is to understand where people are with their abilities and support needs,” he said. One of his goals is “to develop a tool that can influence greater health outcomes for folks, depending on their backgrounds.”

Shah’s message for readers is that each of our experiences belong to us and don’t require justification to others. “People don’t need to have it all together,” he said. “That’s just a made-up story we tell ourselves. This has challenged me to dissociate my worth from my experience.”

Sources:

  1. Harootunian, Lisa; Salyers, Eleni; O'Gara, Brian; Wu, Kevin; Hayes, Katherine; & Hoagland, G. William. “Bipartisan Solutions to Improve the Availability of Long-term Care.” Bipartisan Policy Center. 14 Sep. 2021 from https://bipartisanpolicy.org/report/improving-ltc/
  2. Shah, Dhrumil. Interview. By Lacey Lyons. 25 Oct. 2021.