COVID-19 is testing all of our limits as we encounter loss, economic instability, and an uncertain future. Brian Stefan, a social worker and suicide prevention counselor, describes what it's been like working on the front lines of the mental health response to COVID and shares practical tips on what to say when somebody confides in us.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
Phone and crisis chat available 24/7
1-800-273-8255 (TALK)
www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org
www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat

Go to www.erasingthestigma.org and:
Watch a video of this year’s Erasing the Stigma Awards presentation
Join the STIGMA hand-washing campaign #ErasingTheStigma/#StoppingTheSpread
Make a gift to support their lifesaving services

Visit Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services: https://didihirsch.org. 

Guest Info
Brian Stefan is a proud social worker in Los Angeles and suicide prevention counselor, trainer, and consultant.

He currently works at Didi Hirsch Suicide Prevention Center as a shift supervisor and Suicide Response Team (SRT) member. He serves in the Los Angeles Mayor's Office Crisis Response Team (CRT) as a responder, on-call manager, and follow-up counselor for families bereaved by suicide. Brian previously led adult grief support groups for Our House Grief Support Center.

He earned his Master of Social Work (MSW) from UCLA, as well as graduate degrees from the London School of Economics and Political Science and the National Intelligence University. He was a former intelligence officer with the US Department of Defense and an intelligence analyst with the FBI-LAPD Joint Regional Intelligence Center-Regional Terrorism Threat Assessment Center in Los Angeles. He currently serves as a Defense Council member at the Truman National Security Project focusing on suicide awareness and prevention for first responders and public safety officers.

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-- This episode is sponsored by GoGyft - the gyft that keeps on giving. To create your GoGyft, visit https://www.gogyft.com/covid.

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