When Therapists Die by Suicide | Honoring April Wilkner | June HOPE Group

💌 Dear Friends of the California Grief Center,

In a world that urges us to shut down, shrink back, or just keep going—we choose another path.
We come together to feel.
To speak the pain aloud.
To remind one another we belong.

This week, we lift up the voices of those who speak truth and tend to others. We mourn what’s changing—and create spaces to find our footing in the waves.

🔦 In This Issue:

• 🕊️ April Wilkner: A Light That Speaks the Unspeakable

• 💔 When Therapists Die by Suicide & Provider Wellness Survey (Call to Action)

• 🕯️ June HOPE Group on Mindfulness, Deep Suffering, and Silent Pain

• 🌊 What We Offer at the California Grief Center

🕊️ April Wilkner: A Light That Speaks the Unspeakable

Some people walk into a room and the temperature changes. April Wilkner is one of them.

Actor. Host. Mental health advocate. A woman who’s lived ten lives and still makes space for yours.
April is not just a performer—she’s a lighthouse.

From the runway of America’s Next Top Model to the midnight stillness of the crisis line, she has chosen a life of service and depth. Since 2019, April has answered thousands of calls to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline through Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services.

She’s the calm voice many hear at 3 a.m.—when hope feels far away.
She’s the pen behind Let’s Talk About Suicide, a Substack that doesn’t flinch.
She’s the rare kind of advocate who stays.

She helps others, as E.B. White once said, “wind the clock.”

This week, we honor her soul-deep work—and her courage to be seen and to see.

👉 Let’s Talk About Suicide
🔗 Follow: YouTube | Instagram | IMDb

Keep going, April.
You are the kind of story that helps others stay.

💔 When Therapists Die by Suicide: A Wake-Up Call

Last week, we lost a male therapist in Washington State to suicide.

In 2024, we lost Dr. Josephine McNary in Los Angeles—a brilliant psychiatrist, a respected colleague, and a deeply compassionate human being.

These aren’t isolated tragedies.
They’re signals—urgent ones.

Signals that something is profoundly unwell in the very systems meant to support healing.
Signals that those who carry the pain of others often carry their own in silence.

We grieve them not just as professionals—but as people.
People who gave, who cared, who mattered.
And who, in the end, may not have found space to be held with the same care they gave.

If you are a therapist or healer quietly struggling, please—reach out. Let someone witness your story. You don’t have to carry it alone.

📊 What We Know:

• Mental health professionals face elevated suicide risk—especially psychiatrists and psychologists

• Burnout, vicarious trauma, isolation, and stigma all play a role

• One study found that over 60% of psychologists reported clinical depression

• Nearly 30% of mental health providers have experienced suicidal thoughts; close to 4% have attempted

❓Why This Is Understudied:

• Fear of career repercussions

• Misclassification in obituaries and reporting

• Institutional silence to protect reputations

🔧 What We Need:

• Peer support, meaningful supervision, and time off that’s truly restorative

• Safe spaces to feel and fall apart

• Systems that normalize vulnerability—not punish it

We cannot lose more of each other.
We cannot lose ourselves.

🛠️ Help Us Create Change: Provider Wellness Survey (Call to Action)

We’re launching a Provider Wellness Survey to better understand what clinicians are facing—and what they truly need.

This is a volunteer-led, not-for-profit project.
Your voice is anonymous. Your story can help shape policy, practice, and support.

👉 Take the 2-minute survey: https://tinyurl.com/MHproviderSurvey
📧 Questions? Email [email protected]

Led by:

• Renee Garett, LCSW – Researcher & educator (UCLA, UCI)

• Saba Harouni Lurie, LMFT, ATR-BC – Founder, Take Root Therapy

• Brian Stefan, LCSW – Founder, California Grief Center

• Carl Fleisher, MD – Child & adolescent psychiatrist, Boston Child Study Center

We’ve lost colleagues. We don’t want to lose more.
Please share this survey with anyone who might benefit—or contribute.
No more suffering in silence.

🌿 June HOPE Group: Healing Ourselves through the Present Experience (Virtual)

HOPE for all.
Since 2020, HOPE Group has been a quiet harbor for sorrow—a place where silence is sacred and presence is enough.

This month, we gather to look at loss, change, and transition.
Not to escape grief, but to meet it—through breath, honesty, and care.

🗓 Saturday, June 28
🕐 10–11:30 AM PT | 1–2:30 PM ET
💻 Zoom | Donation-Based | All Are Welcome
👥 Facilitated by Brian Stefan & Mariela Bravo
👉 Register Here

🌊 What We Offer at the California Grief Center

Grief is not a problem to fix.
It’s a presence to honor.

We offer:

• 💬 Individual Therapy & Support

• 👥 Healing Groups

• 🎭 Catharsis Theater — our signature experiential workshop for grief, trauma, and emotional release

📞 Schedule a free 20-minute consult or refer someone today
🌐 Learn more: www.caligrief.com

With heart,
Brian Stefan, LCSW
Founder, California Grief Center

🕊️ Facing the hurt—together.

P.S. Know someone who could use this? Forward it along.
They’re not alone either.