HEALING WITH HOPE | A Journey of Mental Wellbeing, Resilience, and Connection Welcome to PROTECT, a transformative podcast dedicated to nurturing mental well-being, building resilience, and fostering hope. At its core, PROTECT is about the power of human connection—exploring how values like compassion, belonging, and loyalty can become lifelines for those facing challenges. Founded on the principle of Relational Safety, this podcast moves beyond traditional perspectives, asking not “what’s t ...
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Manaan Kar Ray Podcasts

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72 | The Weaving Resumes: The FLOW of Life in Motion
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36:59Would love to hear your thoughts... In this episode, we return to Ari a month after her attempt — not at an ending, but at a continuation. This is FLOW, the phase of living in motion. FLOW does not promise smoothness. It promises awareness. It helps us notice how life breathes after survival — imperfect, uneven, yet alive. We explore the four stran…
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Would love to hear your thoughts... MEND – After the Rupture, the Reweaving Begins After a suicide attempt, survival is not the end of the story — it’s the fragile beginning of another chapter. In this episode, we explore the MEND phase of the STEPS framework: Meaning-Making: searching for fragments of understanding in the aftermath. Emotions in Mo…
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70 | Moment of Action: TIP Breaks Through
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31:05Would love to hear your thoughts... Action - We enter the fourth phase of the STEPS model — TIP — the moment when suicidal thought becomes action. TIP is an acronym for: T – Tension Builds – the lead-up to the act: the events, emotions, and pressures that coiled the thread so tight it broke. I – Impact Unfolds – the act itself: whether impulsive or…
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Would love to hear your thoughts... Intention and the Quiet Planning of Death When risk tightens, our questions must soften. This is where the thread turns sharp. Sometimes the thread of suicidal thought sharpens—quietly, steadily—until it points toward a plan. This is the NEEDLE phase of the STEPS framework, where risk is no longer just emotional …
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68 | Tangled Thoughts: Following the THREAD
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24:35Would love to hear your thoughts... Ideation. It doesn’t always arrive loudly. Sometimes it starts with a whisper—“I’m just tired.” Other times, it circles silently, gaining strength beneath the surface. In this episode, we explore THREAD, the second phase of the STEPS model. Here, suicidal ideation begins to take shape—not yet a plan, but not just…
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Would love to hear your thoughts... Predisposition and the Invisible Unravelling Where suicide risk begins — quietly, invisibly. This episode explores the earliest, often overlooked signs of emotional unraveling through the metaphor of FABRIC: Fragile sense of self, Alienation, Burdensomeness, Repetitive rumination, Inescapable circumstances, and C…
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66 | From Sunny to Ari: The Story Behind the Song
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27:04Would love to hear your thoughts... STEPS 4 HOPE: Suicide Prevention Through Story, Song & Meaning Welcome to PROTECT (Season 4), a podcast where suicide prevention meets story, values, and the quiet power of music. Hosted by Dr. Manaan Kar Ray, psychiatrist, educator, and creator of the STEPS and HOPE frameworks, this series blends narrative, meta…
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Would love to hear your thoughts... Explore Sunny's Values Scouts Wrapping Up The Courage to Explore In this heartfelt final episode of 2024, the PROTECT Podcast explores the profound value of inner strength as Sunny meets his new guide, Goro the Gorilla. Through a challenging climb up a rocky hillside, Goro teaches Sunny that true strength isn’t a…
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Would love to hear your thoughts... Explore Sunny's Values Scouts In Episode 64 of the PROTECT Podcast, Dr. Manaan Kar Ray and Mahi explore the transformative value of Wonder. Building on last week’s theme of curiosity, this episode dives deeper into the magic of noticing and appreciating the beauty around us. Wonder isn’t just about grand, life-ch…
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Would love to hear your thoughts... Explore Sunny's Values Scouts In this heartwarming episode of the PROTECT Podcast, we explore the transformative power of curiosity. Join Dr. Manaan Kar Ray and his daughter, Mahi, as they dive into Sunny’s latest adventure in Sunny’s Values Scouts. Guided by Milo the Meerkat, Sunny discovers how curiosity can un…
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Would love to hear your thoughts... Sunny's Values Scouts on Amazon In Episode 62 of the PROTECT Podcast, Mahi and Dr. Manaan Kar Ray explore the thrilling value of adventure. From small steps like taking a new route on a morning walk to daring feats in the unknown, adventure is about embracing life’s possibilities with courage and curiosity. Sunny…
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Would love to hear your thoughts... Sunny's Values Scouts on Amazon In Episode 61, Courage in the Savanah, Mahi and Dr. Manaan Kar Ray dive into courage—the strength to move forward, even in the face of fear. With Sunny’s new guide, Leo the Lion, the duo explores how courage is a value that empowers both children and adults to face life’s uncertain…
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Would love to hear your thoughts... Sunny's Values Scouts on Amazon Join hosts Mahi and Dr. Manaan Kar Ray for a heartfelt exploration of loyalty in Episode 60 of the PROTECT Podcast. As they celebrate reaching listeners in 98 countries, Mahi and Manaan share their excitement and gratitude for their global community, with hopes of soon completing t…
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Would love to hear your thoughts... Sunny's Values Scouts on Amazon The Value of Family: Roots, Resilience, and Dolphin Dreams Welcome to Episode 59 of the PROTECT Podcast! Today, hosts Mahi and Dr. Manaan Kar Ray dive into a topic that resonates with every listener—family. Families shape our well-being, build our resilience, and are a pivotal elem…
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Would love to hear your thoughts... Sunny's Values Scouts on Amazon Exploring the Value of Connection The Essence of Inter-being: A Lesson from Oliver the Octopus In this episode, Mahi and Manaan dive deep into the concept of Inter-being, a powerful idea introduced by mindfulness master Thich Nhat Hanh. Inter-being teaches us that everything in lif…
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Would love to hear your thoughts... Sunny's Values Scouts on Amazon Exploring Acceptance: Lessons from Sunny’s Value Scouts In this episode of the PROTECT Podcast, we continue our journey through the world of Sunny’s Value Scouts with an exploration of the value of Acceptance. Dr. Manaan Kar Ray, our content expert, and host Mahi Kar Ray take us th…
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Would love to hear your thoughts... Sunny's Values Scouts on Amazon In this second episode of Sunny’s Value Scouts on the PROTECT Podcast, Dr. Manaan Kar Ray and Mahi Kar Ray introduce listeners to the heartwarming world of Sunny, the golden retriever, as he embarks on magical adventures in Terra Vale. The goal of this series is to explore essentia…
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55 | S000 | Sunny’s Values Scouts: Building Resilience in a Changing World
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31:56Would love to hear your thoughts... Sunny's Values Scouts on Amazon In this insightful podcast episode, Mahi sits down with Dr. Manaan Kar Ray to explore the essence of the Sunny’s Values Scouts series, a collection of children's stories designed to teach foundational values to children aged 5-8. With youth mental health issues on the rise globally…
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54 | G017 | An Hour with Dr Stan Steindl, Why Professionals Need Self-Compassion?
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59:09Would love to hear your thoughts... Using Compassion-Focused Therapy for Staff Wellbeing in Mental Health Settings In a podcast hosted by Dr. Manaan Kar Ray, Dr. Stan Steindl discussed Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) and its potential to enhance staff well-being in high-pressure mental health environments. Mental health professionals often face em…
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53 | G016 | An Hour with Caroline, Daddy Blackbird is Set to Fly
1:15:27
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1:15:27Would love to hear your thoughts... In this special episode for World Suicide Prevention Day, Caroline Roodhouse shares an intimate and powerful reflection on her journey through grief following the loss of her husband, Steve, to suicide in 2018. With raw honesty and deep vulnerability, Caroline recounts her path from the darkness of despair to a p…
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52 | G015 | An Hour with John Bell, Rolemodelling Self Love to Send a Message to Jake
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1:05:30Would love to hear your thoughts... In the lead up to World Suicide Prevention Day, we present an hour with John Bell in which he shares his journey of post traumatic growth. In July 2020, John became a bereaved parent through the accidental suicide of his 15 year old son, Jake. He coped with the mental trauma of this experience by taking time out …
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Would love to hear your thoughts... This is a continuation of the 50th special episode of the PROTECT podcast. We are still giving away a beautiful PDF of all the key messages and images from the 17 PROTECT chapters. All you need to do is email us at [email protected] or leave a comment or ask a question. In this episode we cover ASPIRE and this…
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50 | 50th Special - Key Messages from CORE and ASSESS
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43:20Would love to hear your thoughts... This is a special episode in which we are celebrating 50 episodes of the PROTECT podcast with a give away of a beautiful PDF of all the key messages and images from the 17 PROTECT chapters. All you need to do is email us at [email protected] or leave a comment or ask a question. In this episode we cover CORE a…
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G014 | An Hour with Ally Kelly, holding space for courageous conversations...
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1:06:55Would love to hear your thoughts... In this hour Ally shares insights from her personal journey, and messages that she might have given to her younger self and others in her life with the benefit of hind sight. Ally also talks about Mind Blank's innovative approach to Mental Health literacy, Wellbeing promotion and prevention efforts using their in…
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G013 | An Hour with Dr Stan Steindl, what is Compassion Focused Therapy?
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1:04:40Would love to hear your thoughts... Dr Stan Steindl shares his wisdom on Compassion Focused Therapy in conversation with Manaan. The talk provides a broad overview of what CFT entails including little nuances that you can introduce in your practice today. Stan is a Clinical Psychologist, respected author of books on compassion, Ted ex speaker and a…
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35 | Recording of Presentation at APAS, Accra, Ghana
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33:58Would love to hear your thoughts... Given we have been very busy with our week long suicide prevention training in Malaysia, we have provided a recoding from the presentation at the 1st African Health Summit. The content might feel repetitive, but it is a good recap. If you have already downloaded the app and have worked through different sections …
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G012 | An Hour with Paul Vittles, how far can we go TOWARDS ZERO?
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1:02:40Would love to hear your thoughts... Paul Vittles is the Founder of Towards Zero Suicide CIC and the Chief Facilitator of Zero Suicide Society. Over an hour Paul shares personal insights from his journey of bringing together people on a journey and engaging them in the conversation TOWARDS ZERO. He shares innovative technological advances as well as…
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Would love to hear your thoughts... Key Message: "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" ~ Laozi. It is time to live your values through actions in the here and now. Download SAFE Life Guide from Apple App Store and Goolge Play Store. Also there are details for our Instagram page which has #KISS; Key Images Simple Statements The…
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33 | Safe Life Guide - People and Pursuits
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22:00Would love to hear your thoughts... Key Message: Underpin "What Matters to You" with Values. Align life goals with your core values using Safe Life Guide's HOPE Framework. Download SAFE Life Guide from Apple App Store and Goolge Play Store. Also there are details for our Instagram page which has #KISS; Key Images Simple Statements Think about the p…
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Would love to hear your thoughts... Key Message: Values foster hope and healing, values gender joy and meaning. Explore your core values using Safe Life Guide's HOPE Framework. Download SAFE Life Guide from Apple App Store and Goolge Play Store. Also there are details for our Instagram page which has #KISS; Key Images Simple Statements When the fog…
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Would love to hear your thoughts... Key Message: Reflect on what helps and what harms, its a simple but powerful technquie that will make you pause before taking action. Download SAFE Life Guide from Apple App Store and Goolge Play Store. Also there are details for our Instagram page which has #KISS; Key Images Simple Statements As a principle, wha…
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30 | Safe Life Guide - Hope Overview - ACCEPTANCE
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26:36Would love to hear your thoughts... Key Message: If we did respond to adversity through acceptance of reality, we have the power to transform unbearable suffering i.e. what reality feels like back into bearable pain. Download SAFE Life Guide from Apple App Store and Goolge Play Store. Also there are details for our Instagram page which has #KISS; K…
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29 | Safe Life Guide - Download from App Store or Play Store
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21:00Would love to hear your thoughts... Celebrating Men's Mental Health Month with the launch of - Safe Life Guide. Download from Apple App Store and Goolge Play Store. Also there are details for our Instagram page which has #KISS; Key Images Simple Statements Also a huge thank you to Adamosoft. The episode provides and overview of the 5 sections: Hope…
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28 | Healing for Healers Launch ~ World Suicide Prevention Day 2023
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26:57Would love to hear your thoughts... Connection You may have picked up Healing for Healers because you are supporting a colleague who has lost a patient to suicide. Do not forget to offer your unconditional support. I am here for you, you can call me any day anytime if you want to talk things through or just a shoulder to lean on. Saying something d…
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G011| Recap of STEPS and B4Now for ESF, Hong Kong - With Tracey Chitty
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32:45Would love to hear your thoughts... In the third recap episode for ESF, we cover the STEPS model, the Validity techniques of Shawn Shea, the Narrative method and the B4Now approach from PROTECT. Connect with Assoc Prof Manaan Kar Ray on Linkedin Follow us on www.progress.guideBy Manaan Kar Ray, Tracey Chitty
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G010 | Recap of AWARE Framework for Clinical Decision Making
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42:30Would love to hear your thoughts... In conversation with Tracey Chitty, the AWARE framework has been contextualised into the educational setting in this podcast episode. The recap begins with a discussion on rational vs rationalising and then goes into each of the factors: Anxiety Weighting Agenda Resources Experience In particular the agendas of p…
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G09 | Humor Heals - World Suicide Prevention Day Special with Mallori and Lodge
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1:36:30Would love to hear your thoughts... A special episode to mark the 10th of September - World Suicide Prevention Day. Humor Heals #LOL @the Sound of Hope provides 3 exercises of therapeutic humour. Pile ‘o Punchlines The Comedy of Complaints The Comedy of Contradictions Its a collaboration with Mallori DeSalle and Lodge McCammon. By brining humour to…
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G08 | Recap of CORE Module - in Conversation with Tracey Chitty
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36:20Would love to hear your thoughts... In the second of the Recaps we go through the four chapters in the CORE module and pin down the key messages: Care Compass - Risk vs Recovery - without risk there is no recovery, with the right care the person has more control Optimise Pain Relief - Dig deep to establish the need and interests that lie beneath th…
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G07 | Whole of School Approach to Suicide Prevention - in Conversation with Tracey Chitty
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36:07Would love to hear your thoughts... In the first of this sequence of guest episodes with Tracey Chitty, we share ESF's (Hong Kong) whole of school approach to suicide prevention after an intensive four days of training for school counsellors and teachers. In the upcoming episode, we will be summarising the key messages from the training for the att…
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27 | Suicide Prevention for Health Regulators - Finding Common Ground
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27:56Would love to hear your thoughts... A unique perspective to establish common ground between the Health Regulators and the practitioner under investigation is the basis for this episode. It builds on the previous episode of why Health Regulators need to be trained in Suicide Prevention and how Doctors and Nurses and Allied Health are an ultra high r…
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26 | Suicide Prevention for Health Regulators - Joiner's Model
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13:32Would love to hear your thoughts... Joiner's model of desire and capability is used to explain the high risk period that health practitioners face when they have had a notification to AHPRA (any health regulator for that matter). Manaan explains the training that is on offer for health regulators in this episode. We also take the opportunity to wel…
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25 | Borderline Conversation AWARE - Short vs Long Term
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29:30Would love to hear your thoughts... In the third of the 5 Critical Crisis Conversations, Manaan explores how the person's agenda of ensuring short term safety through admission may be quite different to the long term focus of resilience for the professional. Both want safety but the route to it is different. Being able to show the similarity of the…
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24 | Borderline Conversation AWARE - Empowerment vs Containment
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26:44Would love to hear your thoughts... The second of the Borderline AWARE conversations relates to Weighting (Diagnosis, Course, Social Causation - how these factors may influence the weighting that we put on a person's suicidality). The conversation is named Empowerment vs Containment. The episode builds on the Advice vs Action conversation and goes …
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23 | Borderline Conversation AWARE - Advice vs Action
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33:35Would love to hear your thoughts... In this sequence of nuanced conversations, listeners will be guided through some of the most sensitive issues that they will have to navigate while supporting a person in suicidal distress. This episode captures the essence of Advice vs Action. The advice we give - face your fears, applies to us as well when we m…
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22 | Decision Making in Borderline Crisis - AWARE Case Simmulation
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32:07Would love to hear your thoughts... Jill presents to the Emergency Department in a suicidal crisis, she has Borderline Personality Disorder and believes that the only way her safety can be maintained is through an inpatient admission. This is not an infrequent occurrence for those working in an ED setting. Dr Kar Ray talks you through the different…
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21 | Borderline Personality Disorder ~ The Shadow of Splitting
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29:12Would love to hear your thoughts... Understanding splitting is essential to supporting people in Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), particularly when they are in suicidal crisis. In this episode Dr Kar Ray shares some foundational constructs as well as some practical tips that can help a health care professional or even family members provide t…
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G6 | 7 SAFE Steps - Post-Simulation Actor's Debrief - Tegan, Sami, Charlie, Kyra
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29:11Would love to hear your thoughts... Following two days of 7 SAFE Steps training, we caught up with our four professional actors who brought to life Sandeep in the simulations. They are the fabulous 4: Tegan Braithwaite, Charlie Baz, Sami Afuni and Kyra Thompson. This is an opportunistic recording of the debrief and the feedback they provided. 7 SAF…
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20 | Personality Disorder ~ Clusters A, B and C
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29:12Would love to hear your thoughts... In the lead up to a case study, Manaan delves deep into Personality Disorders and talks about all 10 conditions covering clusters A, B and C in this episode. Cluster A These personality disorders are characterized by odd or eccentric behaviour. People with cluster A personality disorders tend to experience major …
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G5 | Yvette Bonilla - Transitions in Care
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55:52Would love to hear your thoughts... Yvette Bonilla, LMSW, is the Owner and CEO of Suicide Care Consulting Services. She has seen firsthand the fateful effects of the revolving door effect and how it can rattle the lives of clients, the work and motivation of providers, the cost labor for leaders, and the reputation of the hospital system. Mrs. Boni…
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Would love to hear your thoughts... Building on the qualitative theme of Experience in the AWARE framework is the phenomenon of Creep Crash Crawl. The episode describes how risk taking gradually creeps up due to suicide being a rare event, rare events cause confirmation bias, what I decided clinically was the right decision... This results in a Cre…
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