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Suicide & The Workplace : Interview with Dr. Allison Milner | Episode 30

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Suicide & The Workplace — Globalization, Job Strain, and the Dark Side of the New Economy: Interview with Dr. Allison Milner | Episode 30
NOTE: This podcast will air on 2/26/19 at 10:00AM ET https://soundcloud.com/user-225414284-842732102
Overview
Too often when we talk about mental health promotion and suicide prevention in the workplace, the main message is about how to get workers who are suffering to counselors. Not enough attention is paid to the environmental aspects of the workplace that may be contributing to despair and what peers, managers and leadership can do to solve these problems. The research is clear — job strain is connected to suicide risk (Milner, et al, 2017). In particular certain types of job strain are related to suicide attempts and death:

Low control (limited decision-making)

High demand (pressure, workload)

Effort-reward imbalance (e.g., high pressure/expectations with little reward — income, respect or security)

Job insecurity

Bullying/harassment (Leach et al)

On this podcast I interview an international authority on workplace suicide and mental health research, Dr. Allison Milner. Join us as we explore some of the social determinants of suicide through a social justice lens in the world of work.

“Suicide prevention doesn’t just magically happen on the psychiatrist’s couch…It happens peer-to-peer. We need the day-to-day interactions to support mental health services and help resolve issues when they are smaller.”

About Dr. Allison Milner
Allison Milner
Dr. Allison Milner is a Deputy Director of the Disability and Health Unit, Melbourne School Population and Global Health, the University of Melbourne. Her current areas of research interests include the influence of gender, employment characteristics, quality of work, and occupation as determinants of mental health and suicide. Allison also focuses on specific employed groups that may be particularly likely to face disadvantage, such as blue-collar workers in the manufacturing and construction industry. Allison’s work ranges across a number of externally-funded etiologic and intervention projects. She works with key policy stakeholders to promote research on the link between work and mental health, and is the co-chair for an international panel of researchers aiming to promote workplace suicide prevention. She has been awarded the Victorian Health and Medical Research Fellowship for her work on gender, employment and mental health. In this work, she is progressing the concept of “gendered working environments” as a cause of health inequalities. For more information on this and every episode go to https://www.sallyspencerthomas.com/hope-illuminated-podcast/30

Resilience and the Transgender Community Living Out Loud: Interview with Iden Campbell | Episode 13

41% of adults who identify as transgender have attempted suicide (versus 4.6% of U.S. general population and 10-20% of LGB adults). The issues driving this despair are usually best understood through a lens of social justice.

Discrimination, trauma and the consequences of minority stress are often at the root of suicidal despair within the trans community (AFSP). Rejection by friends and family is common among people who identify as transgender, and conversely when trans people have strong support they are significantly less likely to die by suicide. Harassment and assaults are common for trans people at work and at school and can even lead to internalized transphobia. All too often, people trying to “help” others who identify as trans force reparative or conversion “therapy” upon them, which is experienced as traumatic and is considered unethical. Thus, in order to “fix” the suicide issue among transgender people, we need to look beyond the individual and shift culture. We must fight injustice and advocate for safety.

Iden and me.jpg
Iden and I have become friends through our service together on the Consumer/Survivor Committee of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. In this podcast, Iden and I talk about his incredibly inspiring journey into activism and some take-away messages about building resilience.

About Iden Campbell
Iden Campbell was born biologically a female, raised as a female, and later in life transitioned to living as a male. He was first diagnosed with depression in the third grade and has lived with depression and suicidal thoughts for much of his life.

Iden Campbell.jpeg
Iden spent most of his adulthood living androgynous, as neither male or female, dressing and behaving as genderless as possible in order to — in his words “hide and survive.” Iden has lived through his own suicide attempt and also survived the loss of his partner to suicide.

Then in 2007 he read the 2007 Newsweek article entitled; “The Mystery of Gender” , and the article gave him a new outlook on living. Now he finally feels hope that his life could now be less painful, living as the gender has always felt inside.

“The transgender community is extremely resilient,” said Campbell in an Op Ed piece for the New York Times. “We have lived through some horrific shared experiences. I’m thankful to all who came before me, those who made it possible for me to now live out loud in my skin. I’m grateful to be here at this amazing turning point in the history of the trans community.”

Today, Iden is a nationally known activist in the transgender community, speaking on suicide prevention, transgender health and wellness. He is the Founder and Executive Director of The Campbell Center, a peer-run agency in Washington, D.C. for individuals living with mental health and addictions challenges.

Among many other acknowledgements of his leadership Iden also won the 2013 National LGBT Leadership Award at the Alternatives Conference in Austin, TX.

You can connect with Iden on Twitter and Instagram @IdenCampbell and on Facebook @TheCampbellCenter. For more information on this and every episode go to https://www.sallyspencerthomas.com/hope-illuminated-podcast/13

The Role of Arts in Healing A Conversation with an Indigenous Trauma Survivor; Swil Kanim Episode 36

5 Ways the Arts Can Play a Role in Healing
While you may know me as a psychologist, what you may not know is that I was also a Studio Art major in College, and the arts have always played a big role in my life. Over my career, I have continually tried to connect the dots between emotional recovery and the power of the arts, sometimes downplayed by researchers who claim there is a lack of evidence to show a connection. The American Journal of Public Health, however, published a meta review of the literature looking at the connection between healing and music engagement, visual arts therapy, movement-based creative expression and expressive writing and concluded that there are “clear indications that artistic engagement has significantly positive effects on health.” (p. 261)

The arts come in many forms — painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, music, dance, theater, poetry, creative writing and so much more — and throughout the ages, art has played a unique role in individual and community healing from trauma and suffering. Here are five ways art helps us transform our wounds into sources of power:

Connection — art brings people together and builds community and the connection we feel through our shared experience of the art helps us feel like we belong to something greater than ourselves.

Indirect communication — if I am suffering, but I cannot share with you directly what I am going through, I can talk about a piece of art I admire related to my suffering, and we can have a conversation about my experiences as a first step in expressing vulnerability.

Positive attraction — for most people the arts are compelling and intriguing, we lean in to experiencing them, even when (especially when?) the focus of the art is dark or taboo. We open a door and draw people in to explore the unspeakable through the language of the arts when otherwise they would run away.

Brain stimulation — when we communicate theory or statistics through our words, only a small part of our brain lights up. When we stimulate the brain through music and stories and poetry, we engage more areas of the brain and have a much richer experience, one that is more likely to be remembered later.

Transcending and transforming — there are some experiences that cannot be captured by words and the arts give us the tools to expand our ability to communicate to a more fuller picture and be changed by the experience of that expression in ways regular talk therapy can fall short.

In this interview, I speak with Swil Kanim — my “new friend in the canoe,” as he likes to say. I met Swil at the Four Directions Problem Gambling and Health Awareness Conference put on by the Evergreen Council on Problem Gambling in Washington State, and as I sat in the front row experiencing Swil’s gift of storytelling and musical performance, I was transfixed. You will be too. Swil is an indigenous man and a trauma survivor who credits his ability to overcome racism and suffering and become a student of honor to his discovery of the violin in the 4th grade. Join us as he shares his path of finding that healing was his responsibility and the way he would be true to his journey was through expressing himself musically.

About Swil Kanim (from www.swilkanim.com)
Swil Kanim.png
Swil Kanim, US Army Veteran, classically trained violinist, native storyteller and actor, is a member of the Lummi Nation.

Because of his unique ability to inspire audiences to express themselves honorably, Swil Kanim is a sought-after keynote speaker for conferences, workshops, school assemblies, and rehabilitation centers.

He travels extensively throughout the United States, enchanting audiences with his original composition music and native storytelling. His workshops, The Elements of Honor, are attended by people from all walks of life.

Swil Kanim considers himself and his music to be the product of a well supported public school music program. Music and the performance of music helped him to process the traumas associated with his early placement into the foster care system.

Swil Kanim’s compositions incorporate classical influences as well as musical interpretations of his journey from depression and despair to spiritual and emotional freedom. The music and stories that emerge from his experiences have been transforming people’s lives for decades. For more information on this and every episode go to https://www.sallyspencerthomas.com/hope-illuminated-podcast/36

Character Matters: The Character of Healthy Relationships with Drs. George and Sherry Simon

Two PhD’s in Psychology, Dr. George Simon and Dr. Sherry Simon, one who well known for the study of character disorders and the other for her work with those in relationship with the character disordered. Our host, Kristin Sunanta Walker, could not wait to start the first of many of these conversations on our series: Character Matters.

Dr. George Simon is an internationally-recognized expert on manipulators and other problem characters and the author of 3 bestselling books: In Sheep’s Clothing (which has been translated into 12 foreign languages), Character Disturbance, and The Judas Syndrome. He’s made appearances on several major television (Fox News Network, CNN, CBS 48 Hours).

Until recently, Dr. Simon maintained an active private practice dedicated to assisting individuals develop character and helping empower victims in relationships with disturbed characters. In addition to providing psychotherapy services, he specialized in anxiety and anger management, comprehensive personality assessments, mental health professional training, and consultation to businesses and organizations on how to deal with problem characters. Dr. Simon also recently retired as a supervising psychologist for the Arkansas Dept. of Correction. For 6 years he provided clinical oversight to the community risk assessment program for registered sex offenders, and more recently provided similar oversight for the newly expanded and re-vamped prison-based sex offender treatment program. He has given numerous workshops on the various sex offender typologies and offender treatment and management strategies. He helped secure a DOJ grant through Center for Sex Offender Management, and is a member of the grant’s standing committee.

www.drgeorgesimon.com

Dr. Sherry Simon is a veteran independent practitioner. She is an excellent writer, advocate, and clinician that we are coaxing into more of the spotlight with her husband. We see incredible workshops and healing facilitation with both she and George together on what the fundamentals of a healthy belief system around relationships look like.

She is also the President of www.paxchristilittlerock.wordpress.com, a peace and social justice movement. Pax Christi Little Rock is a chapter of Pax Christi USA, the national Catholic peace and social justice movement. Our members are guided by the spirituality of nonviolence, advocating and providing leadership for disarmament, human rights, and the care of all creation. Through prayer, study, and mindful social activism, we work to align organizational structures, policies and practices with the teachings of Christ to end violence, racism, economic oppression, and all forms of social injustice.

“Social justice is part of my ethical code”: Licensed clinical social worker and psychotherapist Andrea Schneider brings cutting edge trauma recovery information to Mental Health News Radio Network.

The Savvy Shrink hosted by Andrea Schneider MSW, LCSW, interviews leading experts in the field of trauma, narcissistic abuse and maternal mental health.

The Savvy Shrink joins Mental Health News Radio Network as one of its thirty six podcasts dedicated to mental and behavioural health and well-being.

Continue reading

Real Teens, Real Sex

Aaron Huey of Firemountain Residential Treatment Center and the amazing people at Y.E.S., Your Empowered Sexuality talk about the current state of Sex Ed, rape culture, Consent Education and how to talk to your kids about sex.

Rebecca is a co-founder and workshop leader for Your Empowered Sexuality. She was inspired to pursue sexuality work through YES after realizing the lack of current and inclusive sex-ed she and her peers had received when they were in high-school. She has facilitated workshops for students of all ages, from pre-k into late adulthood, which covered topics such as “Body Parts & Boundaries,” “How to talk to your teens about sex,” “Diversity and Identity,” and a variety of consent workshops. Rebecca has been quoted in Vice as well as other local and national publications on her work with YES and her advice regarding coercion, consent and sexuality. 

Isy Abraham-Raveson, one of the co-founders of YES!, is a Philadelphia preschool teacher and sexuality educator.  She is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in sexuality education at Widener University. In addition to her work with YES!, she facilitates trainings for parents on how to talk to their children about sexuality at a variety of locations, including the Trans Health Conference and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Recently, she facilitated a workshop about body image and thin privilege at Haverford College.  She has been quoted in Teen Vogue as an expert on consent and her workshops for Kindergarteners have been featured in national publications.  For Isy, sexuality education is social justice; she does this work because every child has the right to grow up with respect, bodily autonomy, high self-esteem, and accurate information.

www.yestoconsent.org

African American Mental Wellness: An Interview with Counselor Steven Welch 3.2

Steven Welch is a seasoned psychotherapist with over 27 years of experience in the areas of addiction, HIV, LGBT, adult and adolescent care.

As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and Credentialed Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselor (CASAC), he is able to adapt his clinical knowledge to support clients in a wide spectrum of life stressors.

Some topics of discussion on the show are below and the full blog article can be found here.

Why do men avoid therapy/counseling?

How does imagery impact African- American male identity/wellness?

What are some themes of African-American men that are barriers to seeking help?

What are some environmental factors to consider?

Why physical wellness can be a gateway to a conversation?

Why do you think trauma is at the root of many African American male well-being issues?

What is COLORISM and is this an issues impacting African American (AA) wellness?

What are some factors AA men face when coming to terms with same sex attraction?

How do I create a safe space as a clinician?

Why are you a therapist and why this topic?

Steven P. Welch LCSW-R, ACSW, CASAC

Psychotherapist

 

Mental Health News Radio Network Announces Coverage of Major Mental Health Conference in New York City to Promote Public Knowledge About LGBTQ People of Color Mental Health

Mental Health News Radio Network is proud to announce their coverage of The In My Mind: LGBTQ People of Color Mental Health Conference created by DBGM: Depressed Black Gay Men which is taking place in New York City, Oct. 5-6th. Mental Health News Radio Network, commonly known as MHNR network, based out of Asheville, North Carolina, is a network of podcasts focused on mental health and how it affects all aspects of individuals’ lives: Emotional, Physical, Financial, Spiritual, Entertainment, Sports, Politics, Technological, and more. By covering such a comprehensive conference discussing the many different issues that gay Black men face, MHNR endeavors to further educate the public about taboo conversations. The In My Mind conference hopes to make these topics mainstream, remove stigma and shame, and encourage embracing healing methods and therapies.

Read more…

DBGM In My Mind Conference: HIV and Mental Health

Antoine Craigwell joins our host Kristin Walker again to discuss his upcoming event: In My Mind: A LGBTQI+ people of color mental health conference and Mental Health and HIV.

As a journalist, Antoine Craigwell wrote for Out In Jersey magazine, The Bilerico Project, FORTUNE Small Business magazine, The Bronx Times Reporter, The New York Amsterdam News, was the assistant editor with The Network Journal, and a contributor to mainstreet.com. He graduated from Bernard Baruch College of the City University of New York, and in 2008 he earned awards from the New York Association of Black Journalists for a public policy series about NYC’s Riker’s Island, and on healthcare in NYC. He produced the documentary “You Are Not Alone” in which Black gay men speak about their struggles with depression and facilitates discussion forums on depression and HIV in Black gay men. he presented a poster exhibition “Examining Depression and HIV in Black gay men” at the 2012 International AIDS Conference in Washington, DC. Antoine founded and is president and CEO of DBGM, Inc.a non-profit organization committed to raising awareness of the underlying factors contributing to depression in Black gay men, to prevent their suicides. The organization has hosted several community discussion forums on depression affecting Black gay men nationwide.

www.dbgm.org

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