WHO IS HILARIOUS HUMANITARIAN

Whether discussing self-care, human connection, grief, trauma and tragedy, or just waxing poetic about life blunders, awkwardness, farts and baby poo, Deanna Silverman has developed a unique way of navigating the chaotic path of emotional regulation. Her approach to mental health involves difficult discussions, filtered through the lens of humor, and punctuated with emoji. It is the laughter that can be found hidden behind the discord, sadness, stress and pain of an epidemic. Hilarious Humanitarian is Deanna’s academic execution of psychology, distilled into a concise, contemporary format.

After earning her Masters degree in Social Work from the University of Southern California (USC), Deanna stepped into her Mental Health career, navigating emergency rooms, psychiatric hospitals and Social Service facilities across Southern California. She thrived as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Psychotherapist, but was ultimately discouraged by the red tape and bureaucracy. Channeling her inherent humor and her fascination with social media, Deanna launched the Hilarious Humanitarian Instagram account in October 2015. Her pop culture approach to traditional psychology resonated with people and she segued her career from on-call to online. In 2017, one of Deanna’s Instagram followers—fellow therapist Frances Echeverria, LMFT—contacted Deanna and proposed the idea of a Podcast. Always seeking new ways to challenge herself and broadcast her #HumorHeals message, Deanna replied with an emphatic “let’s go for it.” The Hilarious Humanitarians Podcast is available on Itunes and everywhere else podcasts are streamed.