Social Justice

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Neurodiversity and Suicide -- A Mother's Search for Answers: Interview with Dr. Jessica Revill : Episode 123

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Neurodiversity and Suicide -- A Mother's Search for Answers: Interview with Dr. Jessica Revill : Episode 123

Each year, the sobering statistics remind us of the heartbreaking reality: autistic individuals are six times more likely to die by suicide than their non-autistic counterparts.

In our latest episode, we delve into the powerful narrative of "Find Him Among the Living," a poignant memoir by Dr. Jessica Revill. Through her deeply personal account of her son Gregory Chew's life and tragic loss to suicide, Dr. Revill sheds light on the urgent need to address the disproportionate number of suicides within the autistic community.

Autism, a developmental condition impacting communication and sensory processing, often intersects with mental health challenges such as anxiety and depression. Shockingly, 90% of autistic individuals who die by suicide have a diagnosed mental health disorder, compared to 40% in the non-autistic population.

Join us as we navigate these critical issues, striving to create a world where every individual, regardless of neurodiversity, feels seen, supported, and valued. Tune in to my conversation with Dr. Revill and visit her website for further insights and resources on suicide prevention and autism advocacy.

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The Long Tail of Trauma -- Adverse Childhood Experiences and Suicide: Interview with Corey Jones | Episode 116

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The Long Tail of Trauma -- Adverse Childhood Experiences and Suicide: Interview with Corey Jones | Episode 116

The research on ”Adverse Childhood Experiences” is clear — The CDC Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study has identified ten types of childhood trauma that can affect people later in life. Five types of trauma are personal, such as physical abuse or neglect, while the other five are related to family members, such as having a parent who is an alcoholic or experiencing the divorce of parents. Each type of trauma counts as one, so someone who has experienced physical abuse, has one alcoholic parent, and a mother who was a survivor of domestic violence has an ACE score of three.

The study revealed a strong link between childhood trauma and chronic diseases that people develop as adults, such as heart disease, lung cancer, and diabetes. It also showed a link to social and emotional problems such as depression, violence, and suicide.

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Teacher Burnout is a Mental Health Crisis: Interview with Dr. Natalya Bogopolskaya & Dr. Kendrea Hart | Episode 115

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Teacher Burnout is a Mental Health Crisis: Interview with Dr. Natalya Bogopolskaya & Dr. Kendrea Hart | Episode 115

Anyone who has been a teacher knows the work is hard, and at the same time — when work is working well — immensely rewarding. The work can be purposeful and filled with close relationships a vibrant communities.

No one enters the teaching profession to become rich and famous — they enter for the difference they will make.

And yet, our nation is facing a mental health crisis among our educators; one of burnout and demoralization. Many are operating in survival mode due to complete emotional exhaustion. The stressors they face are significant:

  • Safety concerns related to mass school shootings and drug use

  • Funding deficits

  • Labor shortage

  • Meeting escalating physical and emotional needs of students

  • Unrealistic expectations from districts and parents

  • Just to name a few…

Teachers’ well-being is something most communities overlook in their intention to always put students first. In this episode I speak with two school psychologists who express grave concern about educators’ psychological health and safety — and also make concrete suggestions on what we can do to help them.

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The Pause - Rebooting after Reflection | Episode 111

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The Pause - Rebooting after Reflection | Episode 111

I took a pause.

Sometimes life forces you to pause. In this episode, I talk about why I took this four month break from the podcast and what I have learned. Life threw a couple of challenges and transitions that I needed to be present for, and gave me an opportunity to recover, to create space so I could reflect and learn by asking myself key discernment questions:

  • ·What do I need to refuel the tank?

  • What am I learning in this moment? What am I avoiding? How would I like to grow?

  • When it comes to the work…What is missing? How can I help fill the gaps? Build bridges?

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Opportunities in Intersectionality - Race, Gender, Sexuality, Ability & Mental Health: Interview with Emily Unity | Episode 107

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Opportunities in Intersectionality - Race, Gender, Sexuality, Ability & Mental Health: Interview with Emily Unity | Episode 107

We all have multiple identity markers that make us uniquely us and that shape our lives and experiences. When it comes to understanding our experiences with mental health, appreciating these influences helps us better understand our strengths in well-being, our disparities in exposure to harm, and differences in barriers to and opportunities for support. When we see mental health in this context, new frameworks and needs emerge:

  • Intersectionality is an identity strength rather than being an “other” or “not being enough” of one identity

  • Representation in and accessibility to mental health services and supports matter greatly>

  • Exploration and self-investigation into identity is often key to personal and community resilience.

  • When people identify as “bi” (e.g., biracial, bisexual) or “multi” or are moving in between identities (e.g., immigrants, refugees, gender transitioning) can also have unique challenges and opportunities to well-being. When they sometimes find themselves in a “betwixt/between” state, they find they are not fully embraced by one identity or even rejected outright. This experience of disconnection can cause distress.

In this podcast, Emily Unity invites us to sit in the in between and get comfortable being uncomfortable.

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People with Disabilities and Suicide Prevention -- A Human Rights Conversation: Interview with Sheryl Boswell and Lisa Morgan | Episode 106

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People with Disabilities and Suicide Prevention -- A Human Rights Conversation: Interview with Sheryl Boswell and Lisa Morgan | Episode 106

People who live with disabilities (e.g., physical, intellectual, mental health and neuro-divergent) often face a range of social and economic adversaries including discrimination and prejudice that impacts their ability to work, get educated, and live in safe homes and communities. These disadvantages consequently impact the mental health and well-being of this diverse community. In this episode I interview two international leaders in the conversation on suicide prevention among people living with disabilities. Sheryl Boswell, from Toronto, is the Director of Youth Mental Health Canada and Lisa Morgan is the Co-Chair of the Autism and Suicide committee of the American Association of Suicidology.

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A Different Drummer -- Mental Health, Diversity and Inclusion and Corporate Wellness: Interview with Mike Veny | Episode 101

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A Different Drummer -- Mental Health, Diversity and Inclusion and Corporate Wellness: Interview with Mike Veny | Episode 101

Did you know?

9 our of 10 employers are investing more in mental health benefits than they ever have before (source: https://www.aihr.com/blog/workplace-wellness-trends/).

Concerns about burnout, employee churn, and psychological emergencies have led workplaces to developing a more comprehensive and proactive mental health and suicide prevention strategy.

Benefits like coaching, tele-mental health, personalized wellness plans and stress management tools are becoming increasingly popular for large employers.

In addition, workplaces are starting to shift away from reactive, downstream approaches to more proactive prevention. They are focusing on building caring cultures and psychological safety and they are connecting the dots between DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) work and mental health.

In this conversation, I speak with Mike Veny, a man who has been living these connections and is now training workplaces on how best to support their workers.

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Honoring the Legacy of Dr. Allison Milner: Interview with Professor Tony LaMontagne | Episode 100

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Honoring the Legacy of Dr. Allison Milner: Interview with Professor Tony LaMontagne | Episode 100

For this milestone episode of the “Hope Illuminated” podcast, I wanted to celebrate a hero to many of us: Dr. Allison Milner. Allison was a fierce and mighty leader whose work in suicide prevention and social justice was shifting the world’s views when she died tragically in an accident on April 12, 2019. In this episode Professor Tony LaMontagne and I share stories about her global impact in the areas of:

  • Workplace suicide

  • Unemployment and mental health

  • Psychosocial job hazards

  • Interventions that help people live through suicidal intensity

  • Socio-economic determinants of suicide

  • Women in research

  • People with disabilities and social justice

  • Indigenous people and social justice

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Healing is More than Talk Therapy -- Expanding Our Models of Care as We Look to Better Serve Our AAPI Communities: Interview with Dr. DJ Ida | Episode 91

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Healing is More than Talk Therapy -- Expanding Our Models of Care as We Look to Better Serve Our AAPI Communities: Interview with Dr. DJ Ida | Episode 91

In this conversation, I meet with a nationally recognized expert, Dr. DJ. Ida, Executive Director of the National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association about how these issues and many more impact the wellbeing of the AAPI communities, and what are some additional approaches -- beyond traditional talk therapy — that may promote healing.

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On Being Fearless -- Intimate Partner Violence, Women Empowerment & Well-Being: Interview with J'Anmetra "JoJo" Waddell | Episode 90

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On Being Fearless -- Intimate Partner Violence, Women Empowerment & Well-Being: Interview with J'Anmetra "JoJo" Waddell | Episode 90

“I can breathe. I can think.”

When J’Anmetra was imprisoned in her home under the threat of her husband, this was her mantra. One that kept her alive and ultimately allowed her the ability to escape.

According to SAMHSA (Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration) survivors of intimate partner violence are twice as likely to have multiple suicide attempts, according to a study published in the Journal of Injury & Violence Research, intimate partner problems were identified as a precipitating circumstance in 30% of all suicide cases in the National Violent Death Reporting System. And yet, the connection between intimate partner violence and suicide is under-addressed on many fronts.

In this episode, we bear witness to the inspiring story of J’Anmetra Waddell and her courage to break free from the bonds of her abuser — her husband and the Pastor of her church. She shares her how her near-miss with suicide transitioned to her journey to becoming an advocate for other survivors of domestic violence.

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Historical Trauma and Historical Healing: Interview with Abigail Echo Hawk | Episode 87

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Historical Trauma and Historical Healing: Interview with Abigail Echo Hawk | Episode 87

Historical trauma is often understood to be multigenerational wounding caused by the cumulative impact of major events inflicted upon a specific cultural, racial or ethnic group. When it comes to research about health and well-being, Western modalities of understanding human experience are limited and biased, further driving disparities and truncated views that can cause even more harm. By contrast, a strength-based, Indigenous framework of understanding resists the narrow view and on-going trauma of colonialism and focuses on restoration and healing. In this interview I speak with a “Storyteller of Health” and epidemiologist Abigail Echo Hawk about her vision of an anti-racist approach to data collection and recovery among tribal communities.

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The Gaming Community and Suicide Prevention: Interview with Fenway Jones | Episode 86

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The Gaming Community and Suicide Prevention: Interview with Fenway Jones | Episode 86

While many non-gamers might have only heard of some of the potential negative consequences of excessive (mostly video-based) gaming (e.g., desensitization, sleep deprivation, and neglect of other life priorities like academics, work and exercise), those inside the gaming community (especially board and role play-based games) have come to realize there are many well-being benefits:

  • Often radical acceptance and unconditional regard

  • A virtual community that is highly accessible and inclusive

  • A reprieve from the toxicity of bullying, harassment and discrimination

  • Opportunities to learn and excel in problem-solving and communication

  • A chance to envision and experiment with ideal versions of themselves

In this episode, I speak with the amazing Fenway Jones, a high school student who is changing the world. We talk about the psychological benefits of being a part of a positive gaming community. We also discuss how she has made meaning after losing two friends by engaging the gaming community in suicide prevention.

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Turn Off the Alarm Bells -- How to Prioritize Civility in a Divisive World: Interview with Sejal Thakkar | Episode 79

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Turn Off the Alarm Bells -- How to Prioritize Civility in a Divisive World: Interview with Sejal Thakkar | Episode 79

At the heart of civility is respect. Respect and dignity are essential for psychological safety, especially when others have diverse experiences and viewpoints. Civility is not about complacency or placating. It’s not about denying or pushing away strong feelings that can emerge when conflict emerges. It’s about temporarily suspending our alarm bells for a period of time so we can do the hard work of “climbing the empathy wall” to better understand the deep stories behind those we see as “the other.”

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Intersectionality & Historical Trauma -- 3 Insights for Resilience: Interview with Dr. Tammy Sanders | Episode 78

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Intersectionality & Historical Trauma -- 3 Insights for Resilience: Interview with Dr. Tammy Sanders | Episode 78

How we see ourselves often is shaped by the many voices of our experience —- intersecting identities, some which may be aligned, others in conflict with one another. The voices we internalize may come from our parents or other influential adults from our childhood, or our religions and cultures more broadly. Still, other voices may be those of our ancestors, whom we have never met, but whose experiences have been imprinted in our bodies.

In this conversation I speak with the inspiring Dr. Tammy Sanders, a self-identified, Black, gay woman raised in the Black Baptist Church of the deep South. She realized at an early age that in order to survive, she needed to escape parts of herself or perish. Come listen to her incredible journey to wholeness — a holistic approach towards uncomfortable growth surrounded by deep connection with others.

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Critical Suicidology -- Why Our Traditional Approaches in Suicide Prevention Have Failed: Interview with Jess Stohlmann-Rainey | Episode 72

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Critical Suicidology -- Why Our Traditional Approaches in Suicide Prevention Have Failed: Interview with Jess Stohlmann-Rainey | Episode 72

Critical suicidology is an emerging area of scholarship and advocacy that brings together expertise from diverse perspectives to re-examine all that we have believed to be “true” about suicide prevention. Critical suicidologists question the highly medicalized framework of understanding a suicidal person and see suicide in context by understanding how other frameworks — like social justice — expand our imagination on what is possible in prevention, intervention and postvention.

In this conversation with Jess Stohlmann-Rainey, we talk about the ways traditional efforts in suicide prevention have failed us including:

  • Forced treatment

  • Fear-based approaches of restraint and isolation

  • Trying to predict suicide risk

And instead explore alternative, creative and upstream approaches to suicide prevention such as transformative justice work, mutual aid peer support, and accountability in making reparations for histories of harm done to communities.

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Crisis Services & People of Color -- We Can Do Better: Interview with Vic Armstrong | Episode 71

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Crisis Services & People of Color -- We Can Do Better: Interview with Vic Armstrong | Episode 71

Centuries of discrimination and brutality have led to historical trauma impacting generations of people of color in the United States. Add to this significant current trauma of racially fueled violence the fact that communities of color experience disparities in access to qualified care, and it’s not surprising that we are seeing increased despair among BIPOC people. We are also seeing incredible resilience — at the individual and communal levels — and creativity as people of color find ways to cope. In this interview, Vic Armstrong and I talk about many hot topics:

  • Complex trauma in Black communities

  • Systematic racism and the treatment gaps in services

  • The trends in Black suicide rates

  • The shifting role of the Black church in suicide prevention

  • Distrust, crisis services and communities of color

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Psychosocial Hazards on the Job -- Listening to the Voices of Suicidal Workers: Interview with Professor Sarah Waters | Episode 70

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Psychosocial Hazards on the Job -- Listening to the Voices of Suicidal Workers: Interview with Professor Sarah Waters | Episode 70

In this podcast, I have the honor of interviewing Professor Sarah Waters from the UK. She is a leading global researcher on the topic of work-related suicides, and a driver of legislation to improve working conditions and help make suicide prevention a health and safety priority at work. Here we discuss a number of large employers who have been held accountable for the suicide deaths of their employees in criminal court.

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Suicide in a Global Context -- Perspectives from the President of the International Association for Suicide Prevention: Interview with Dr. Murad Khan | Episode 69

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Suicide in a Global Context -- Perspectives from the President of the International Association for Suicide Prevention: Interview with Dr. Murad Khan | Episode 69

I have the tremendous privilege of traveling internationally to do the work of suicide prevention and suicide grief support. On hand, it’s very humbling to see how this tragedy shows up all over the globe. On the other hand, it’s very inspiring to see how different countries and cultures find innovative approaches to address suicide. In this podcast, I interview the current President of the International Association for Suicide Prevention, Professor Murad Khan. We discuss some of the important cultural and social determinants of suicide as we look at why some countries’ suicide rates are going down, and why others — like the United States — are going up. We also share a number of ways that we can regain our humanity in a global cooperation effort in suicide prevention.

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Building Bridges at the Crossroads of Suicide Prevention -- Leadership Call to Action: Interview with Dr. Jonathan Singer | Episode 68

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Building Bridges at the Crossroads of Suicide Prevention -- Leadership Call to Action: Interview with Dr. Jonathan Singer | Episode 68

Leadership is tested during times of crisis, controversy and social unrest. The best leaders rise to the occasion and can create opportunities for meaningful and lasting change. In the world of suicide prevention, voices of activists are challenging established ways of doing things, and in many ways the field is at a crossroads. Many are finding themselves re-examining the questions and methods of our research, the protocols of some of our “treatments” and crisis services, and the systemic racism and other social determinants of suicide that have not received enough attention.

In this interview, I have the honor of interviewing Dr. Jonathan Singer, the current President of the American Association of Suicidology, who has weathered many transitions and challenges during his leadership tenure with grace and significant impact. He shares his story of how he became the leader he is today and invites others to find their voices to change the field to be more inclusive and effective.

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Storytelling in Community -- Lifting Up the Voices of People with Lived Experience: Interview with Jennifer Marshall | Episode 67

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Storytelling in Community -- Lifting Up the Voices of People with Lived Experience: Interview with Jennifer Marshall | Episode 67

Community activism is built on a cycle of trust, undergirded by stories. Synergy is achieved by weaving together purpose-driven and authentic voices that together represent a community as a whole. When the collection of stories is shared publicly, the advocates have an easier time enrolling others into the movement. When people listen to stories, communities are formed and pull together. Shared experiences become a profound source of validation and consolidation of learning. We are co-constructed by relationships in the community and the stories that arise as a result.

It is no wonder, then, that a number of collective storytelling initiatives about suicide prevention and mental health promotion have emerged, including “This is My Brave.” In this interview I interview Jennifer Marshall, founder of this nonprofit storytelling organization.