The Therapist Thrival Guide 38. How to Cope When You Lose a Client or Supervisee to Suicide
September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, and we are highlighting this important topic throughout the podcast this month. As we work together to de-stigmatize the societal beliefs around therapy and increase access to outpatient care, we recognize there's a LOT we can do to bring this often taboo topic into a new light while raising awareness about suicide as a public health concern, educating about prevention, and by supporting the healing of those affected by suicide.This week Keith Myers, LPC joins the podcast to discuss his personal experience with losing therapy clients and a clinical supervisee to suicide. He provides advice for how he coped with these losses and offers support to therapists that might be going through similar experiences.Keith Myers has worked in clinical mental health for almost 20 years. He received his PhD in Counselor Education & Supervision at Mercer University and his Master’s in Community Counseling at Southeast Missouri State University. He is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Approved Clinical Supervisor. Much of his clinical practice and research is about traumatic stress and military issues and resulted in his first book, Counseling Veterans: A Practical Guide (2021). He works with couples, survivors of interpersonal violence, and trauma therapists who are experiencing secondary trauma. He is an adjunct professor with both Walden University and Richmont Graduate University.OUR HOSTS:
Miranda Barker, MSW, LICSW, has been practicing as a therapist for several years. She previously worked as a child protection investigator, adoption social worker, case manager, and the Director of Brand Content at Ellie Mental Health. Follow her on LinkedIn.
Dr. Lucas Volini, LMFT, has been practicing as a marriage and family therapist for over ten years. He has worked as a couple's therapist, a graduate and undergraduate professor, researcher, author, and the Senior Director of Innovation at Ellie Mental Health...But he mostly sees himself as a professional recreational golfer.
The Therapist Thrival Guide is a podcast by Ellie Mental Health. We want to move therapists beyond surviving and into the realm of thriving by covering all the things that graduate school didn't teach you! This mental health podcast is hosted by Miranda Barker, LICSW and a rotating cast of seasoned therapists. Each episode features a therapist speaking to their areas of expertise to help us learn how to thrive as therapists.
Ellie is a national mental health brand organized around community-based outpatient mental health clinics. It all began with a single office in St. Paul, Minnesota back in 2015, and has expanded to an explosive number of locations across the country.