Sally Spencer-Thomas
Suicide as an Existential Issue — Not Just the ...

When I talk with people who have lived through suicidal despair, I’m struck again and again by something that doesn’t fit neatly into a clinical checklist.

Suicide as an Existential Issue — Not Just the Consequence of Mental Illness
Stacey Marquez
Five Game-Changers from Construction’s Mental ...

Construction shows us how to go from awareness to infrastructure.

Five Game-Changers from Construction’s Mental Health Playbook - Part 4
Sally Spencer-Thomas
Five Game-Changers from Construction’s Mental ...

Nothing kills momentum faster than a shiny new “mental health initiative” that feels like it was written by a committee of robots. Real people want real buy-in, real responsiveness, and real results.

Five Game-Changers from Construction’s Mental Health Playbook - Part 3
Sally Spencer-Thomas
Five Game-Changers from Construction’s Mental ...

Construction is teaching us to flip the script: don’t just expect leaders to hold everyone else — build systems that hold them. That’s how culture change sticks.

Five Game-Changers from Construction’s Mental Health Playbook - Part 2
Sally Spencer-Thomas
What Construction Can Teach Us All about Mental ...

What Construction Can Teach Us All about Mental Health at Work - Lesson #1

What Construction Can Teach Us All about Mental Health at Work - Part 1
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Election Eve -- Taking Care of Ourselves and Each Other

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Election Eve -- Taking Care of Ourselves and Each Other

In the United States stand on the eve of a high-stakes, tight election. It’s natural to feel emotions running high. For many, this moment brings a sense of urgency, uncertainty, and even strain as we navigate a deeply divided time. This division can challenge our relationships and our sense of belonging, sometimes even driving wedges between cherished loved ones.

Tonight, let’s remember that regardless of outcome, our shared humanity remains. Practicing civility can help keep us grounded and connected during this challenging time.

The Papageno Effect: Harnessing Positive Storytelling for Hope and Recovery in Suicide Prevention

The Papageno Effect: Harnessing Positive Storytelling for Hope and Recovery in Suicide Prevention

Earlier this year,  I attended the European Symposium on Suicide and Suicidal Behavior (ESSSB) in Rome. One of the plenary presentations by Prof Thomas Niederkrotenthaler, of the Medical University of Vienna,  illuminated the powerful impact of the “Papageno Effect” on suicide prevention. 

Want to combat mental health stigma? Don't say ‘stigma’!

Want to combat mental health stigma? Don't say ‘stigma’!

It seems that any time we hear the words “suicide” or “mental health”, the word stigma follows right after.  The word “stigma”, according to the Oxford Dictionary, means a “mark of disgrace”.

Instead of talking about stigma incessantly, let’s stop to consider how by focusing on it, we ensure it stays in place, forever associated with mental health challenges. The net result is that people who are struggling are all too often reluctant to seek help, since they are constantly reminded that having a mental health issue is a mark of disgrace. 

What if we reframe stigma as a form of bias, rather than something to be ashamed of? Doing so would help normalize help-seeking for mental health concerns, creating the expectation that getting help is reasonable and even preferable.  

Addressing Mental Health Challenges: H.O.P.E.’s Encore Performance

Addressing Mental Health Challenges: H.O.P.E.’s Encore Performance

Encore Electric is a Denver, Colorado-based industrial electrical contractor with over 1,200 employees at sites across several states in the West. When Cathy Emerson, Encore’s benefits manager, noticed a trending increase in Encore employees requesting mental health help during the pandemic, she began to rethink the resilience strategies the company already had in place.

“I’d been noticing and wondering what to do about the increase in mental health issues and requests for help,” Emerson says. “I'm sure with COVID, everybody had noticed this, but we were seeing it even though employees were still working from home. We knew we really needed to act on it.”

Three Ways Employers Can Stop Worker Suicide

Three Ways Employers Can Stop Worker Suicide

Launched in April 2024, the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention calls on US employers to integrate suicide prevention into their company's health and safety plan. Of the 15 goals in the strategy, one is dedicated to the workplace.

Goal #5 of the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention states: "Integrate suicide prevention into the culture of the workplace and into other community settings."

Companies that already are driving a culture of care and psychological safety are, therefore, at the front of a growing movement to stem the alarming rise of suicides and fatal overdoses nationally—exactly what the strategy was designed to address. For those still seeking to build a culture of care, there has never been more support for your aims.

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Leveraging Lived Experience for Impactful Suicide Prevention and Recovery: Research Findings from the European Symposium on Suicide and Suicidal Behavior in Rome

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Leveraging Lived Experience for Impactful Suicide Prevention and Recovery: Research Findings from the European Symposium on Suicide and Suicidal Behavior in Rome

Last week, I found myself deeply inspired by the symposium at the European Symposium on Suicide and Suicidal Behavior (#ESSSB20) in Rome, where profound discussions unfolded about the critical importance of integrating the wisdom of those with lived and living experiences into every aspect of suicide prevention and recovery. 

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7 Key Reasons Why Lived Experience Matters in Suicide Prevention, Intervention and Postvention

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7 Key Reasons Why Lived Experience Matters in Suicide Prevention, Intervention and Postvention

Lived experience is the heartbeat of suicide prevention, breathing life into data and transforming theoretical strategies into real-world impact. By centering the voices of those who have navigated suicidal thoughts, behaviors, or grief, we gain insights that go beyond statistics—insights that are rooted in the emotional, social, and personal realities of the human experience. Incorporating lived experience ensures that suicide prevention efforts not only address the complexities of mental health but do so in a way that is empathetic, adaptable, and truly person-centered. These voices bring richness to our understanding, fostering innovative, humane approaches that lead to genuine healing and change.

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From Awareness to Action: Changing Culture to Prevent Physician Suicide

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From Awareness to Action: Changing Culture to Prevent Physician Suicide

Every day, physicians help improve and save lives. But when it comes to their own mental health struggles, they often don’t address the symptoms of trouble until they are in full-blown crisis. Sometimes, their mental health crisis turns deadly. Physicians have one of the highest suicide rates of any profession in the US. Federal data show an estimated 400 physicians die by suicide per year. More than half of physicians know a physician who has either considered, attempted or died by suicide in their career, according to Vital Signs, a nonprofit aimed at ending physician suicide. They also report an estimated one million persons in the U.S. lose their physician to suicide each year.

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How MINES & Associates Turned Their Commitment to Mental Health into a National Movement with the H.O.P.E. Certification

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How MINES & Associates Turned Their Commitment to Mental Health into a National Movement with the H.O.P.E. Certification

When the behavioral health crisis assessment and referral team at Banner Health’s Northern Colorado campus in Greeley heard about H.O.P.E. Certification, a program that is helping build resilience and wellbeing in industries facing acute suicide and other mental health crises, they were intrigued. The team knew that workers at their hospital were exhausted and traumatized, and needed a variety of mental health supports.

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I Didn't Get the Jock Genes—Why I Still Find Running an Important Part of My Self-Care Strategy

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I Didn't Get the Jock Genes—Why I Still Find Running an Important Part of My Self-Care Strategy

Growing up in a family of natural athletes, I always felt like the odd one out, struggling to find my place in the world of sports. But when I discovered running, everything changed. This blog explores how running became more than just exercise for me—it became a powerful tool for self-care, resilience, and finding peace.

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Are you looking for personalized mental health support apps?

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Are you looking for personalized mental health support apps?

Discover the top cloud-based mental health apps of 2024, categorized into resilience, early intervention, and intensive support. Explore SaaS solutions like Calm, Talkspace, BetterHelp, and more, offering personalized care for individuals and employers to enhance mental well-being anytime, anywhere.

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Spreading H.O.P.E.: A Case Study from Banner Health in Northern Colorado

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Spreading H.O.P.E.: A Case Study from Banner Health in Northern Colorado

When the behavioral health crisis assessment and referral team at Banner Health’s Northern Colorado campus in Greeley heard about H.O.P.E. Certification, a program that is helping build resilience and wellbeing in industries facing acute suicide and other mental health crises, they were intrigued. The team knew that workers at their hospital were exhausted and traumatized, and needed a variety of mental health supports.

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Recovery-Supportive Workplaces: A New and Important Trend in Workplace Wellbeing

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Recovery-Supportive Workplaces: A New and Important Trend in Workplace Wellbeing

Creating a recovery-supportive work environment helps enhance your organization’s overall health and safety, while moving the solutions to mental health concerns in your workforce from the individual level to the environmental one, which is easier for an organization to control for optimal outcomes. Doing so promotes psychological safety, team cohesion, and a wellness-oriented climate. For more information or to register for the workshop, contact Chase Plank: chase@sallyspencerthomas.com 

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Suicide on the frontline: how one nurse turned his pain into purpose Providing H.O.P.E. to the healthcare workforce within the Zero Suicide framework

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Suicide on the frontline: how one nurse turned his pain into purpose Providing H.O.P.E. to the healthcare workforce within the Zero Suicide framework

Following the death of his friend and colleague, a critical care nurse becomes inspired to end the stigma against mental health help-seeking in healthcare workers, becoming a leader in suicide prevention efforts in the healthcare workforce. 

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“Everyone knows I’m struggling”: The Death of Emergency Room Physician, the Mental Health Crisis of the Healthcare Industry and a Call to Action for Systemic Change – The Story of Lorna Breen, MD

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“Everyone knows I’m struggling”: The Death of Emergency Room Physician, the Mental Health Crisis of the Healthcare Industry and a Call to Action for Systemic Change – The Story of Lorna Breen, MD

Due to a combined lack of crisis preparation by a hospital administration, a “suck it up” culture among hospital medical staff, when a time of relentless exposure to trauma provoked a mental health crisis for an emergency physician, her fear of being stigmatized ended in suicide. Since then, a movement has evolved to remove systemic and discriminating barriers to mental health help-seeking among healthcare workers and to create healthcare workplace environments that promote a holistic approach to well-being.

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Zero Suicide Global Summit Highlights and Insights on the Healthcare System and Suicide Prevention

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Zero Suicide Global Summit Highlights and Insights on the Healthcare System and Suicide Prevention

Last month I attended the Zero Suicide Global Summit in Liverpool, England with 110 global attendees from 22 countries and all continents (except Antarctica). The event is part of an international movement to transform healthcare systems and to aspire to “zero suicides.”

INTRODUCTION America’s Healthcare Workforce in Crisis: Integrating Zero Suicide Framework with HOPE Certification to Support Healthcare Workforce Wellbeing

INTRODUCTION America’s Healthcare Workforce in Crisis: Integrating Zero Suicide Framework with HOPE Certification to Support Healthcare Workforce Wellbeing

The healthcare workforce plays a critical role in saving lives by providing essential suicide screening and treatment. Ironically, healthcare workers themselves face significant mental health challenges and suicide risks as the frontline to tragedy. This is due in part to their own collective nature which compels them to just “suck it up” and hide their suffering, and in part due to a culture that tacitly condones this code of silence, often penalizing them for breaking it. 

Overcoming Loneliness: Social Connections at Work Can Be a Beacon of Hope Against Suicide

Overcoming Loneliness: Social Connections at Work Can Be a Beacon of Hope Against Suicide

Perhaps by now, you have heard the statistic that people who lack meaningful social connections are at the same level of risk for premature death as those who smoke 15 cigarettes daily. Loneliness also was associated with higher rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide. In fact, over 100 years of research indicate that social isolation is the most reliable predictor of suicidal ideation, attempts, and lethal suicidal behavior across a variety of demographics and clinical cohorts.

Lived/Living Experience Community -- You Are Invited to Share Your Ideas at the Listening Session on July 26th at 8PM ET

Lived/Living Experience Community -- You Are Invited to Share Your Ideas at the Listening Session on July 26th at 8PM ET

The University of Rochester Center of Excellence and SafeSide Prevention are exploring the potential and feasibility of implementing Community-Led Safe Spaces…(as) an alternative to conventional supports like emergency departments and crisis stabilization units for individuals experiencing a suicidal crisis.

We are seeking your input and ideas around this initiative at an upcoming listening session…