Do you know how many teenagers use AI chatbots for companionship? It’s more than you think. Today, Robbie Torney, Senior Director of AI Programs at Common Sense Media, tells us about his research and why his organization rates the use of chatbots by teens as "unacceptably risky,” in part due to cases that have led to suicide. He also shares practical advice for parents who want their kids to maintain a healthy relationship with AI chatbots.

Check out Common Sense Media’s most recent risk assessment on AI chatbots here: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/ai-ratings/ai-chatbots-for-mental-health-support

To learn more about AFSP, visit https://afsp.org

The podcast is produced by Hueman Group Media.

The views and opinions expressed are those of the interviewees and do not reflect the positions or opinions of the producers or any affiliated organizations.

We’ve all heard the saying: “men don’t cry.” In today's Elevating Voices roundtable, we hear from three men who prove that being vulnerable and showing emotion is not only acceptable, but healthy.

Dan Egan, who lost his father to suicide, sits on AFSP’s National Loss & Healing Council; Anthony Gaddy, a passionate guitar player, is the President and CEO of the Upstate New York Black Chamber of Commerce; and Eh Doji Kyi is a recent college graduate who encourages other male students to share their feelings.

Each of these men come from different backgrounds and generations, but they share a safe space called Brotherhood United, where they can open up, ask for help and shed some tears with other men. It sounds simple, but as you’ll hear, the results are transformative.

To learn more about AFSP, visit https://afsp.org

The podcast is produced by Hueman Group Media.

The views and opinions expressed are those of the interviewees and do not reflect the positions or opinions of the producers or any affiliated organizations.

The podcast is produced by Hueman Group Media.

The views and opinions expressed are those of the interviewees and do not reflect the positions or opinions of the producers or any affiliated organizations.

A few years ago, Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman learned that a growing number of young, Black people were dying by suicide. To learn more, she and the Congressional Black Caucus empowered a working group of experts to publish a landmark report titled “Ring the Alarm: The Crisis of Black Youth Suicide in America.” Today, we discuss its findings and recommendations for supporting young Black people’s mental health.

You can read the report at https://watsoncoleman.house.gov/suicidetaskforce

To learn more about AFSP, visit https://afsp.org

The podcast is produced by Hueman Group Media.

The views and opinions expressed are those of the interviewees and do not reflect the positions or opinions of the producers or any affiliated organizations.

When Dr. Jill started researching suicide 40 years ago, the consensus in the scientific community was that suicide could not be prevented. Now we know that this is false. In this episode, Dr. Jill and AFSP Senior Manager of Research and Dissemination Chris Munden discuss some of the research that has shown suicide may be prevented, at least sometimes, and they also share some of the practical methods that may help someone in a crisis.

Check out Chris’ TikToks at tiktok.com/@afspnational

If you have a question you’d like to hear discussed on the show, please submit it here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe2wy8RwP5bwy2FG5KVRTYYtdtiucvtBCX47XvuWM0OG9Svhg/viewform

To learn more about AFSP, visit afsp.org

The podcast is produced by Hueman Group Media.

The views and opinions expressed are those of the interviewees and do not reflect the positions or opinions of the producers or any affiliated organizations.

Most of the mental health care provided in the United States is in English. Yet many people in the US don’t speak English fluently. So, what happens when they need help? That’s the problem our guest, Dr. Pierluigi Mancini, has been solving since he created Georgia’s first Spanish-speaking mental health clinic back in 1999. But it’s not just about language. As Dr. Mancini explains, if you want mental health care to work in a specific community, you can’t just translate it word for word. You also have to properly adapt it to that community’s culture.

Check out Dr. Mancini’s website at www.eldoctormancini.com

To learn more about AFSP, visit afsp.org

The podcast is produced by Hueman Group Media.

The views and opinions expressed are those of the interviewees and do not necessarily reflect the positions or opinions of the producers or any affiliated organizations.

Join the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention's Vice President for Health Equity and Engagement Victor (Vic) Armstrong, MSW, for a conversation with Founder and Executive Director of Wellness Action Recovery, Inc., Fonda Bryant. In this episode of Strong Talk podcast, Vic talks with Fonda about her history with suicidality, and how lived experience has informed her suicide prevention advocacy and education efforts.

Strong Talk is a podcast dedicated to the discussion of equity, diversity, and family as it relates to mental health and addictions. We started this podcast because we believe that we are at a pivotal point, as it pertains to access to mental health services for historically marginalized communities. We wanted to create a space, not only to talk about challenges, but to explore and to create space for solutions.

In the latest episode of Strong Talk podcast, AFSP Vice President for Health Equity and Engagement Victor (Vic) Armstrong, MSW, talks with AFSP Minnesota Chapter volunteer Ray Stenglein about mental health and suicide prevention in the construction industry. In 2016, Ray lost his 16-year-old daughter Annika to suicide. In his conversation with Vic, Ray shares how he has transformed his tragic loss into lifesaving advocacy, especially for the construction industry in which he has worked for 40 years.

The podcast is now in session! Join the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s Vice President for Health Equity and Engagement Victor (Vic) Armstrong, MSW, as he speaks with Judge Ginger Lerner-Wren about her role as the pioneer of America’s first Mental Health Court in 1977, creating a human rights model dedicated to the decriminalization of persons living with mental illness.

Throughout the discussion, Vic and Justice Wren – who serves as the presiding County Court Judge of the Misdemeanor Mental Health Court of the 17th Judicial Circuit in Broward County, Florida, and is a Judicial Representative for the Executive Committee of The National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention – will discuss her motivation for creating a mental health court, its impact and how the initiative of mental health courts have grown, and their role in a national strategy for suicide prevention.