Why the Media’s Portrayal of Murders and Suicides is Setting the Convo Back

TAUNTON, MA, UNITED STATES, May 25, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Eric Kussin started his career in professional sports and never expected to become a mental health expert, but he did, and he is. He has become an outspoken champion for those whose voices are still unheard. In an April blog titled “Mental Health is a Combination of Many Factors,”https://samehereglobal.org/blog/4-8-21-mental-health-is-a-combination-of-many-factors/ on the “Mental Health Perspectives” page of his #SameHere The Mental Health Global Movement web sitehttps://samehereglobal.org/, Kussin shared his continued frustration with the too quick and simplified way social media, national press and society still want to stamp labels on tragedies such as the April story around former NFL CB, Phillip Adams. Yet another multiple death shooting followed by a suicide. The term is “murder-suicide.”

Link to USA Today article: https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2021/04/08/phillip-adams-football-ex-nfl-players-mental-health-degraded-fast/7146442002/

Kussin continued the blog praising USA Today journalist Josh Peter (4/8/21) for taking what is an all too uncommon approach to reporting these tragedies. Kussin noted that it was “great reporting that USA Today did speaking to Adam’s sister and being able to shed light on what had happened to Adams” throughout his life. In the blog, Kussin noted that he was not writing it “for (social media) likes” but rather to offer different perspectives that might help tear down the barriers around how society discusses these very real events and in doing that, can help improve education and understanding around the complexities of mental health. Kussin often states that “mental health lives on a continuum and everyone is impacted at varying levels.”

The producers of this groundbreaking 8-part series on murder-suicide from A Voice at the Table/Impacted Family & Friends were in the final stages of planning when they saw Kussin’s outspoken blog post and immediately reached out to him to join the platform. “I connected with Eric last fall about his L.I.F.E Saver program and as I read his blog on the media coverage of suicide and murder-suicide, knew that we needed his voice at the table,” producer Annemarie Matulis said, “And pairing Eric with Dr. Bart Andrews came naturally.” Two voices that may reflect differing views and each will challenge the status quo.” Kussin and Dr. Bart Andrews, Chief Clinical Officer at Behavioral Health Response in Missouri, will take on the topic of “Why the Media’s Portrayal of Murders and Suicides is Setting the Convo Back” in a YouTube livestream on Thursday, May 27th at 7:00 pm EDT/4:00 pm PT. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VKeQCH9vhk

The series began with Dr. Thomas Joiner, an expert in the field of suicide prevention, presenting a two-hour webinar on “The Psychology of Murder-Suicide” on May 6th. Dr. Kathleen carterMartinez followed with a livestream on “Trauma: The Great Equalizer, on May 15th and Stephanie Willard brought the rare voice of a survivor of murder-suicide to the webinar series on May 21st. For more details information about the entire series go to http://www.avoiceatthetable.org/tapestryofvoices.html. Four more sessions will follow stepping into June.

Eric Kussin is an in-demand public speaker on mental health ranging from media and professional sports teams/league offices to corporations and colleges/universities, including CNBC, On The Money, USATODAY, Los Angeles Clippers, Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Mets, New York Yankees, NBA, JP Morgan Chase, USC, Michigan, Cornell and more. He spent 18 years in the industry, including five years with the NBA League Office followed by many years of senior management positions with a number of professional sports teams, including the expansion Chicago Sky, Phoenix Suns and New Jersey Devils. By age 33, Eric was Chief Revenue Officer of the Florida Panthers.

Then, a debilitating mental health crisis stopped Eric’s career and life in its tracks for more than two and a half years. After many failed treatment modalities – including trying over 50 combinations of psychotropic drugs, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) as well as Electro-Convulsive Therapy (ECT or “Shock Therapy”) – he was lucky enough to learn healing practices that enabled him to dig out of his abyss, and found a higher calling. In 2017, he launched The #SameHere Global Mental Health Movement, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit to normalize society’s perception of mental health and make it part of our everyday conversation.

Kussin ended his blog with, “If we want to deny Mental Health and a combination of ALL these factors above (referring to the Phillip Adams story) because it’s cleaner to say - TBI/CTE flat out was the sole cause, we can...but then we never learn from these tragedies. We don’t get closer to stopping the next ones. We can be better than that. We NEED to be better than that.”

This series is produced by A Voice at the Table, Inc. a grassroots movement for families and close friend emotionally impacted and traumatized by the suicidal experiences of their loved ones. http://www.avoiceatthetable.org/index.html


For the Media: Responsible reporting on suicide, including stories of hope and resilience, can prevent more suicides. Please visit the Suicide Reporting Recommendations for more information. For additional information, please visit SuicideReportingToolkit.com.

About A Voice at the Table: A Voice at the Table http://www.avoiceatthetable.org/index.html was founded in 2014 as a companion to the documentary, A Voice at the Table, a call to action to bring the lived experience voices of suicide attempt survivors to all tables within suicide prevention, intervention and postvention. As a grassroots movement, it has since expanded and become the national "home base" forum for the family & friends emotionally impacted & traumatized by the suicidal experiences of loved ones. A movement: a group of people working together to advance their shared ideas. A forum: a place, meeting or medium where ideas and views on a particular concern can be exchanged, in this case, nationally and internationally. For more information: director@avoiceatthetable.org

About The #SameHere Movement: The #SameHere Movement, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit to normalize society’s perception of mental health and make it part of our everyday conversation, provides in-person events and long-term group programming for schools, businesses, sports teams and first responders/military to build open and safe environments. Championing the message that mental health lives on a continuum and everyone is impacted at varying levels, The Movement has gathered celebrities, advocates, practitioners and the world’s leading experts in STARR (Stress & Trauma, Active Release & Rewiring) Exercises to empower individuals to share and build their own mental health routines. A directory of Integrative Practitioners from across the globe is also available for anyone in search of total patient care.

Annemarie Matulis
A Voice at the Table
director@avoiceatthetable.org
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