Smart Talk 10th anniversary: Suicide prevention

Looking back at memorable Smart Talks from the last 10 years.

 

This Smart Talk program in September 2015, may have actually saved a life. 

During that show, as Smart Talk focused on suicide and the mental illnesses that most often are contributing factors in suicides, a listener emailed to say he had recently lost his wife, was lonely and was thinking about ending his life.  Appearing on the program were Brandon Marsico, the Board Chair of the South Central Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and Dr. Ahmad Hameed, a psychiatrist and Director of the Adult Residency Program at Penn State Hershey’s College of Medicine.

The guests encouraged the listener to seek help in the form of telling someone about his suicidal thoughts immediately and offered suggestions to him.  Host Scott LaMar followed up with emails.  The listener sought treatment and replied that he was being treated and was in a better state of mind.