Today we’d like to introduce you to Mark Gilson PhD.
Hi Mark, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
WRFG FM 89.3 and www.wrfg.org is a community radio stations in Atlanta since 1974. I have been a volunteer air shifter and producer since 1976. It is strictly volunteer and a great place for progressive news and information. The show I produce is called “On Your Mind” and features weekly 30-minute programs hosted by four psychologists and a clinical counselor who rotate their local production of interviews and features on mental health. They are Rabia Subhani, Psy.D., Steve Ritz, PhD, Joanne Peeler, PhD, Betsy Gard, PhD, and Weston Robins, LPC. All are well-established psychotherapists in the Atlanta Community. Topics include understanding and treating emotional disorders, disability, immigration and mental health, and much more. We have thirty shows in archives so far. They can be streamed at any time on wrfg.org.
All of the co-hosts are giving to the community by volunteering to do this. My other program (What the Folk?!) I host. My mentor was Pete Seeger and I try to stay true to topical music with meaning with the intent to enlighten. I see myself as a curator of both musics of the past and present. Show topics have included – Dreams – Come Trance with Me, Men Behaving Badly, interviews with Pete Seeger, Phil Ochs, Leonard Cohen (and many others), Holocaust, War and Peace and lots more. One show I did recently was one song with thirty versions for two hours (Wild Mountain Thyme). Most of the shows in the past two years are also on archive/streaming at wrfg.org. There are literally hundreds of programs since 1976. I took time off to get my degree from 1982-2010 to get my degree, work as faculty at the University of Pennsylvania Center for Cognitive Therapy with a well-known psychiatrist, Aaron T. Beck, M.D., and start Atlanta Center for Cognitive Therapy. But I have been doing WTF continuously since 2010. Here is a recent link for a program I did just before the Ukrainian invasion by Russia: https://www.mixcloud.com/WRFG/peach-state-festival-what-the-folk-mark-g-22-february-2022/ war and Putin.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
A community volunteer radio station is by definition, a struggle. We rely of donations, grants and the goodness of volunteers. But we have maintained since 1974, so there is a reason for pride in the accomplishments of the station. It is also progressive in content, which does not always fit in this state. Since the music and topics go out to those who don’t always get a voice, we keep a growing audience. The music and useful information often is a reason people of all perspectives in life keep tuning in.
As you know, we’re big fans of Atlanta Center for Cognitive Therapy. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
My practice as a Psychologist is not the focus of the invitation from your publication. It is WRFG FM and the shows – On your Mind and What the Folk?!
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
The station, WRFG FM has changed due to the pandemic and to the growth of online participation. We have a studio in Little Five Points, but we also stream shows online and archive programs (i.e. Podcast).
Our technology has changed and we are transitioning with new, younger people who volunteer and create for the station.
Pricing:
- Free to volunteer as a member of the community who is interested in making a difference.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.wrfg.org
- Other: www.cognitiveatlanta.com
Image Credits
Mark Gilson and Pete Seeger- photo by Gary Wolfson Mark Gilson 2019 cell phone photo
