1/7/25- Our special guest is music therapist Dahlia Pollack who authentically shares her mental health journey of ADHD, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Bipolar II Disorder, suicidal thoughts, and experiencing suicide loss. She describes in detail how music therapy offers help for both physical and emotional disorders. See www.musictherapy.org for the American Music Therapy Association. See www.resonatewithinmusictherapy.com to learn more about Dahlia and hermusic therapy services. Watch here.

1/14/25- Our special guest Dr. Michael Acton is a world-renowned psychologist, relationship expert and author. He is a mental health advocate with special expertise in preventing suicide that comes from relationship distress. His most recent book, "Weathering Relationships: Making Up Moving On," empowers individuals to be in healthy relationships. Dr. Acton shares on his life journey as well as topics of shame, toxic relationships, triggers to suicide in relationships, safety planning, and the need to understand most importantly, that in a relationship we are "committed to the commitment" and this has definite "rules and boundaries." Learn more about Dr. Acton at www.mpamind.com. Watch here.

12/3/24- Our special guest Azucena Ferrusca shares on her lived mental health experiences of self-cutting, suicidal thoughts, and how she learned better ways in her thinking and behaving to better cope with and overcome her emotional pain. Azucena, who lost a friend to suicide, shares authentically and with heartfelt vulnerability in the hope that her story can help others. Watch here.

12/10/24- In today's Talking Back 2 Suicide we debut "In Despair I Pray," a prose poem video animation which is on questioning why one is alive and that leading into having suicidal thoughts. The voice artist is Nathaniel Goodwyn, video animator is Lucia Martinez Rojas, music by Anastasia Kir, and poem prose author Diane Kaufman, MD. Further topics discussed are self-love, tough love, taking accountability, being proactive, and reaching out for help. Watch here.

12/17/24- Our special guest, Ashna Sharan, is the writer, actress, and producer of the award-winning short film, Shame, which is about the trauma of rape. Ashna discusses how being a victim of rape increases the risk for suicide and what steps we as individuals and as a society should take to be of help. She urges us to believe the person who says they have been raped and not be in judgment telling them they are wrong. The events of what happened will unfold in time. The first thing to do is to listen with compassion and have the person receive the help they need. If you are a victim of sexual violence, please see the RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) website. The National Sexual Assault Hotline is 800-656-HOPE. Watch here.

12/24/24- Special guest, Nzondi (Ace Antonio-Hall), is a Bram Stoker award-winner for "Oware Mosaic," and is the first African American to win the award for Superior Achievement in the Young Adult Novel category. He is a two-time honorable mention recipient of the Writers and Illustrators of the Future Award. Nzondi is a songwriter, and his music combines hard rock, alternative punk and funk. His experiences include being an educator of youth. Nzondi deeply shares on the tragic loss of his wife who died in an accident five days after their wedding, and what helped him survive the thoughts to end his own life by suicide. Nzondi speaks eloquently on the power of art to help transform pain into healing for self and others .Watch here.

11/05/24- Our special guests are the inspirational music artists twin sisters Isabelle and Corinna Cott who discuss lived mental health experiences and how the powers of vibrational energy, attention, love, gratitude, and spirituality bring healing. Learn more at their website: http://www.OurTruthMusic.com. Watch here.

11/12/24- Listen to the internationally award-winning "Holding the Heart When It Breaks" song and learn about ways we can "hold our heart" when it's broken such that we do now act on suicidal thoughts. The conversation goes into how to shift from negative to more hope inspiring thoughts, how to resist turning to alcohol and drugs, and becoming empowered through acts of kindness to ourselves and others. Watch here.

11/19/24- Our special guest today is Dr. Denise McDermott who is an Adult & Child Psychiatrist from California. Amongst her many recognitions, Dr. Denise, as she likes to be called, received the Outstanding Physician Award from UCLA in 2000 and was a guest speaker at the Dali Lama's Tibetan Medical Society in 2018. Her Dr. Denise Show was a finalist in 2022, 2023, and 2024 for the People's Podcast Awards in the category of skeptics guide to science and medicine. Dr. Denise shares passionately on gratitude, self-awareness and emotional self-regulation, energetic knowing, uniqueness of our experiences including that of grieving, the need to tend our inner garden by self-care practices, and how to be of help to those having suicidal thoughts. Learn more about Dr. Denise at http://www.drdenisemd.com. Watch here.

11/26/24- Today's Talking Back 2 Suicide Podcast is all about the Power of Sleep. We must not ignore the quantity and quality of our sleep because sleep is fundamental and essential to our physical and emotional well-being. Our special guest is Dr. Oleg Chernyshev who is both an MD and PhD. He is a Professor of Neurology and Sleep Medicine at the Department of Neurology at LSU Health Shreveport. Amongst his many professional roles, he is Chief of the Division of LSU Health Sleep Medicine and Director of the Ochsner LSU Health Sleep Medicine Center. He is also founder of USleep America, a non-profit dedicated to "engage all levels of society in a systematic promotion of sleep as a human right for all, help educate, advise, and advocate for the effective use of advanced information technology that serves humanity and helps improve all aspects of protected sleep, and promote the life-balance formula: 8x3=24 (8 hours of sleep + 8 hours of work + 8 hours of rest=24)." See: https://usleepamerica.org for more information. Watch here.

10/01/24- The "Talking Back 2 Suicide" debut podcast on 10/1/24 with hosts Diane Kaufman, MD (retired child psychiatrist who is acclaimed in arts & healing, suicide attempt and loss survivor with Bipolar II Disorder is the founder/director of the Hold On Campaign) and Kino Isaac (DJ, music producer/entrepreneur, and advocate for independent artists' mental health) discuss their inspirations and goals for the Talking Back 2 Suicide podcast and discuss a wide range of topics pertaining to mental health well-being. Watch here.

10/8/24- Guest Amalfi Samol shares her life experiences of childhood trauma, domestic violence, addiction, depression, suicidal ideation, suicidal behavior, and her road to inspired recovery. She's a "walking miracle" who wants to lift others up knowing there is real hope and they can be survivors, too, who love life rather than wanting to kill themselves. Watch here.

10/15/24- Our special guest Marija Ticic, a psychologist, psychotherapist, and singer-songwriter from Croatia, speaks on the heartfelt need for authentic and vulnerable human to human connection, the role of acceptance even when we are in despair, how to generate hope and find balance when our thoughts grow dark, and the role of art in her life. Watch here.

10/29/24-Join hosts Kino Isaac and Diane Kaufman, MD as they discuss a wide range of topics starting with the Voices Rising Film Festival where the Hold On Campaign's suicide prevention songs "For You My Lovely" and "Holding the Heart When It Breaks" were featured, and then go on in depth to discuss the impact of being in toxic relationships and experiencing gender based violence as risk factors for suicide, and how to seek help. Watch here.