PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — There is a new type of vaccine out there, but no shots are required. It’s a series of videos called Emotional Vaccines, created by a Tampa psychiatrist to help families with everyday challenges.
Dr. Rahul Mehra, with the National Center for Performance Health, has made more than 200 videos, each three minutes long, covering 30 years of experience.
“The term 'vaccines' means prevention; we do something now to mitigate something happening down the line,” said Mehra.
The Boys & Girls Clubs Of The Suncoast is one of dozens of Tampa Bay organizations watching these videos daily.
“Being able to have the knowledge that is there and his years as a professional in the medical industry and being able to put it in a micro educational environment,” said President and CEO Freddy Williams.
Club Director, Megan Moran, has already implemented some of Dr. Mehra’s ideas.
“We got the idea of doing a sensory wall from one of the videos based off having really big emotions, redirecting kids, trying to get them to take a moment to cope with what they are feeling,” said Moran.
These Emotional Vaccines cover a wide range of topics, from stress to self-esteem, to relationships, and they’re not just for kids and parents but people of all ages.
“And these videos are just designed for education, for families and individuals to deal with everyday life challenges,” said Mehra.
The Boys & Girls Clubs says the videos are a great way to bridge that gap between the home and the classroom.
“The feedback has been great; the staff uses the content for themselves, and the content is also distributed to the parents,” said Mehra.
“One week, we were delayed a day of being able to send out a series of videos, and we got several emails from our staff asking where they were,” said Williams.
Dr. Mehra hopes these emotional vaccines catch on in other parts of the country and maybe even the world.
“Whatever little way I can move the needle to provide some innovation,” said Mehra.
