Leaving The Valley

In episode 53: Jay’s Journey, Part I, we discuss prescription mood stabilizers like anti-anxiety medicines. You can’t even turn on the TV without being bombarded with ads for all sorts of medical remedies. To me, the most interesting part of these commercials is when the voice in the background quickly goes over potential side effects, sometimes including fatal conditions.  Sure, I would like to make myself look younger, improve my vitality, cure my toenail fungus, …

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Episode 52: The Science Behind Suicide focuses on some of the important theoretical and empirical findings that form our understanding of suicide.  You might think that suicide, a human response to great psychological stress, recorded even in ancient literature, has long been studied by mental health professionals. This actually is not true.  Psychiatry and clinical psychology long neglected this topic. As with the general public, the discussion of suicide was largely avoided, even in professional circles.   Enter …

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In Episode 51 : What Have We Learned About Suicide Prevention? we reviewed some of the most important things that we have learned about the prevention of suicide.  The episode is partly a celebration of how much we have addressed since launching the podcast. It is also a pause to reflect on some of the most important lessons we have learned. As we have repeatedly say in the podcast, good mental health is the best prevention …

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In episode 49: Juvenile Justice & Suicide, Part I and episode 50: Juvenile Justice & Suicide, Part II, we discuss group therapy as a form of treatment for incarcerated youth. Our guest, Dr. Leah Saulter describes some of the topics that come up in this group therapy format.  For example, participants are required to discuss the negative impact of their crimes on the victims.  Dr. Saulter describes these moments as some of the most powerful tools …

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During episode 49 : Juvenile Justice & Suicide, Part I, we discussed the negative effects of ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences). Adolescents who suffer adverse events such as homelessness, abuse, or absent parents become more likely to have severe problems later. Incarceration is one of the devastating consequences related to experiencing ACEs.  ACEs Are Common Among the Incarcerated It is commonly held that we should protect kids from bad things.  However, research indicates that about one third of …

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