Trust me.

I’ve been the kid falling asleep in mental health awareness assemblies in high school, as well as the speaker standing at the podium, watching almost everyone in my audience zone out.

I know firsthand what mental health advocacy looks like when it fails…

…as well as how powerful it can be when empty slogans are replaced with research-backed, no-BS communication.

With a PhD in health communication and a decade of experience on the frontlines, I transform how schools and organizations approach mental health advocacy by helping them:

Co-create mental health advocacy initiatives that last: No more one-off campaigns. I design initiatives rooted in community voices that sustain themselves long after we're done.
Diagnose and dissect ineffective messaging in existing initiatives: Let's be honest - those "just breathe" posters? They're not just ineffective, they’ve become part of the wallpaper. Time to change that!
Upgrade ongoing efforts: I deliver keynotes, workshops, and talks that merge rigorous empirical insights with lived-experience perspectives that hit home.

I don’t do ‘awareness’. I do action.

Let’s face it: no one was actually paying attention at last week’s mental health workshop.

Show me how

HI!

I’M STEPH.

Mental health struggles have shaped my entire life — as someone who’s lived through it, advocated against mental health stigma, and researched what makes advocacy actually work.

That’s why I created The Lending Language Lab. We give schools and organizations evidence-backed tools to build better mental health initiatives—or transform existing ones that aren’t hitting the mark.

With the academic acumen honed from a PhD in health communication and the empathy fostered from lived experience with mental illness, my consulting and speaking services don’t just inspire change—they demand it.

Join me in the lab

Think of me as your linguistic scientist. I don’t just talk about mental health — I test, analyze, and redesign how we communicate about it.

Let’s be honest, most of your students were definitely zoning out during last week’s “just love yourself” workshop.
I design and audit mental wellbeing programs for students, educators, and caregivers that are rooted in evidence, not empty encouragement.
Your EAP utilization stats are embarrassing. Let’s fix your messaging.
I dissect your internal comms, leadership trainings, and wellness initiatives — then rebuild them with language proven to reduce stigma, not just hit a KPI.
If your keynote speaker just made everyone cry (then left), you got robbed :/
My talks arm audiences with actionable tools, not just inspiration. Expect research-backed insights, lived-experience sharing, and zero sugarcoating.