Calm’s Chief Clinical Officer on Supporting the Mental Health of Cancer Patients  

Chris Mosunic, PhD, RD, CDCES, MBA, talks about Calm Health clinical programs and his experience behind the scenes of the BBC’s "Rewriting Cancer" film.

Dr. Chris Mosunic, chief clinical officer of Calm

The Calm Team

5 min read

Calm Chief Clinical Officer Dr. Chris Mosunic was recently featured in Rewriting Cancer, a new series by the BBC that shares people’s stories to encourage understanding, to champion research and advancements, and to rewrite the narrative on life with cancer. In the film, Dr. Mosunic speaks about Calm’s digital solution for supporting the mental health and well-being of people diagnosed with cancer. 

We asked him a few questions about Calm Health’s clinical programs for people with cancer and other chronic conditions, as well as his experience participating in the BBC film.

Calm Health has an ever-growing library of clinical programs that address life experiences and specific conditions. What was the process for creating the cancer program?

All of our Calm Health clinical programs are designed to help folks who would benefit from mental health programming specific to their chronic condition. The cancer program was one of our first and most important programs, because so many people struggle with cancer themselves, or have a loved one with cancer, and don’t realize that there’s psychological support that can be offered specifically for cancer-related issues.  

To offer that type of support, we needed to find a clinical psychologist who specializes in the psychology of cancer. We then asked her to write a script addressing the most common topics she works through with her patients dealing with cancer. From there, we asked our content team at Calm to take her doctoral-level script and turn it into something more engaging and palatable that people can easily understand and incorporate into their lives to support their mental health. 

The final step was having a narrator whose voice is not only engaging and appealing, but also matches the subject matter. We then record the narrator with the best audio methods available. 

How did you choose the subject matter expert who collaborated on the writing of the series? 

I’ve worked with psychological oncologists over the course of my career, so I’m familiar with the cancer psychology subject matter experts. I also worked at Yale New Haven Health and knew that they were very strong in supporting cancer patients with their psychological needs. I reached out to Dr. Jennifer Kilkus at Yale; she’s one of the world’s leading psychological oncologists and works at a global level on psychological oncology issues. I asked her if she’d like to collaborate, and she agreed. Dr. Kilkus wrote the script for the Tools to Cope with Cancer program, which has 13 digital sessions.

What are some of the other condition-specific programs in Calm Health that are making a positive impact on people’s lives?

We’ve received some very positive feedback on our hypertension program for African Americans, Hypertension and Health for Your Black Wellness. Participants note that they’ve never seen a blood pressure program specifically written for them and their community. 

We’ve received similar positive feedback about our teen ADHD program, resilience program for members of the military, and menopause programs. Participants told us that they knew there was something going on mentally, but not until they listened to the program were they able to really understand many of the issues related to their condition.

As Calm’s Chief Clinical Officer, you are the voice of Calm Health in the BBC’s Rewriting Cancer film. Why was it important to you to be part of this project? 

Despite my lack of Hollywood-level film skills, which define our Calm narrators, I wanted people to see that there’s a licensed mental health professional, a clinical psychologist, working behind the scenes making sure that all of Calm’s clinical programs are safe and support our users. I really wanted people to know that we take their life and condition very seriously, and we’re doing the best work we possibly can to reach out and hopefully support them in a way that they can trust.

The main subject of the film, Sara Machnik, is in the midst of long-term cancer treatment and engaged with the Calm Health cancer program before filming. How did you find Sara and why did you choose her?

We asked Dr. Kilkus to reach out to the oncologists she knows across the globe to see if they had any patients who would be interested in volunteering to tell their story to the BBC. We chose Sara because she volunteered but also because she is very aligned with our mission to support all those dealing with cancer, having founded The Bloom Club, a support group for women dealing with cancer.

As someone who is normally behind the scenes, what’s it like being on set and filming? How would you describe the process?

The process was eye-opening. Before that day, I had no idea how many hours of footage are filmed, walked through, and edited for just a few seconds or minutes of actual film. I felt very lucky to be working with a film crew who is deeply experienced with documentaries at the BBC level. They made sure that every fact and figure is checked to ensure the highest quality message is accurately delivered. I will certainly admit that it was nerve-racking and exhausting, but I’m so happy that I was able to participate.

What do you want people to know about Calm Health that you weren’t able to cover in this short film?

The most important thing people should know is that Calm Health supports people dealing with life experiences, mental health issues, and other chronic conditions besides cancer. What all our Calm Health programs have in common though, is that they’re serving the underserved. We’re trying to reach people who might not know that there are psychological issues related to the condition or life experience that they’re facing. We want to open people’s eyes to mental health being intertwined with so many aspects of our lives, such as our physical health. Mental health is not in a silo as it’s been so often erroneously depicted in mainstream American culture.

About Dr. Chris Mosunic

Chris Mosunic is a licensed Clinical Psychologist and Registered Dietitian specializing in starting, scaling, and managing integrated healthcare organizations.

Prior to his current role as the Chief Clinical Officer at Calm, Chris served as an executive healthcare leader at Yale New Haven Health, Johnson and Johnson, Rivermend Health, Advanced Recovery Systems, and Vida Health. 

He has authored numerous scientific publications, clinical programs, and presentations throughout his career on topics such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), mental health, integrated care, obesity, eating disorders, and substance use disorders.

Chris received his undergraduate degree in Biology & Psychology from Bucknell University, his MS in Nutritional Biochemistry from Tufts, his PhD in clinical psychology from Vanderbilt, and his MBA from Yale.

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