Épisodes

  • Lorna Breen’s Legacy: Why Policy Change Saves Lives at Work with Corey Feist

    Lorna Breen’s Legacy: Why Policy Change Saves Lives at Work with Corey Feist
    Sep 23 2025
    When it comes to workplace mental health, culture and self-care matter, but policy is the game-changer. In this episode, I sit down with Corey Feist, a healthcare leader who turned personal tragedy into national reform. After losing his sister-in-law, Dr. Lorna Breen, to suicide, Corey co-founded the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation, leading a movement to remove systemic barriers that keep workers from seeking mental health care.Today, their advocacy has reached more than 1.5 million healthcare workers nationwide, influencing laws, licensing, credentialing, and insurance practices across the country. Corey shares why changing applications and legal protections is a matter of life and death.Policy is prevention. Listen in as Corey Feist makes the case that changing systems saves lives and learn how your organization can take the first step this quarter to remove barriers and protect your workforce. for more information on this episode go to sallyspencerthomas.com/headspace/75
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    16 min
  • What Executives Can Learn from the 12 Steps About Healing, Humility, and Hope at Work with Brad Anderson

    What Executives Can Learn from the 12 Steps About Healing, Humility, and Hope at Work with Brad Anderson
    Sep 16 2025
    In this episode of Headspace for the Workplace, I sit down with Brad Anderson, executive at IMA and proud leader in long-term recovery, to explore how the wisdom of recovery can transform workplace culture.Brad opens up about breaking through bias, navigating the paradox of anonymity, and showing how qualities like humility, accountability, and service to others are just as essential in boardrooms as they are in recovery rooms.The conversation digs into the leadership lessons embedded in the 12-Step model. for more information on this episode go to https://www.sallyspencerthomas.com/headspace/74
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    24 min
  • Going Upstream: What Leaders Can Learn from Proactive Mental Health Promotion with Scott LoMurray

    Going Upstream: What Leaders Can Learn from Proactive Mental Health Promotion with Scott LoMurray
    Sep 2 2025
    Most workplace mental health efforts don’t start until someone is already struggling—crisis lines, EAP referrals, or stress leave. But what if we moved earlier?In this episode of Headspace for the Workplace, Scott LoMurray shares upstream wisdom and shows how these same strategies can transform the workplace. Leaders will learn how to bake strength-building and trust into everyday leadership practices, and why focusing on culture and connection today prevents tomorrow’s burnout, turnover, and disengagement. for more information on this episode go to https://www.sallyspencerthomas.com/headspace/73
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    19 min
  • From Rock Bottom to Rock Solid: Building a Sober, Stronger Workforce with Dave Argus

    From Rock Bottom to Rock Solid: Building a Sober, Stronger Workforce with Dave Argus
    Aug 20 2025
    What if your drug-testing program actually kept more people safe and employed? In this conversation, Dave Argus (Director of Operations, Karas & Karas Glass) shows how his team turned testing into early detection + a bridge to care, and why structured multiple-chance agreements outperform zero-tolerance for real-world safety and retention. In Dave’s words, “We don’t give up on them after they make a mistake — we get them more support.” You’ll hear how workers in recovery proactively request testing to catch slips before they “go over the waterfall,” and how clear guardrails, peer allies, and treatment partners make recovery part of safety, not separate from it. For more information on this episode go to https://www.sallyspencerthomas.com/headspace/72
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    28 min
  • Lost in Translation: Why Mental Health & Safety Resources Must Speak Everyone’s Language with Loretta Mulberry

    Lost in Translation: Why Mental Health & Safety Resources Must Speak Everyone’s Language with Loretta Mulberry
    Aug 12 2025
    What happens when critical safety and mental health information is only in English? Imagine stepping onto a job site where you can’t fully understand your supervisor’s instructions, can’t ask questions without fear of embarrassment, and can’t connect with your coworkers because the language barrier feels like a brick wall. For many Spanish-speaking workers in high-risk industries like construction, this is reality. And the stakes impact mental health, safety, and survival.In the U.S. construction industry—and many other high-risk sectors—Spanish is often the first language for a large part of the workforce. Yet too often, training, safety manuals, and mental health resources are only available in English. The result? A growing number of workers face avoidable risks of injury, fatality, and even suicide. for more information on this episode go to https://www.sallyspencerthomas.com/headspace/71
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    22 min
  • Psychological Safety Is a Leadership Strategy – How to Create Cultures Where People Thrive with Dr. Charlie Cartwright

    Psychological Safety Is a Leadership Strategy – How to Create Cultures Where People Thrive with Dr. Charlie Cartwright
    Aug 5 2025
    In our brain-based economy, where innovation and human connection drive success, psychological safety is no longer a “nice to have”—it’s mission-critical.This episode of Headspace for the Workplace features Dr. Charlie Cartwright, a nationally recognized leadership strategist and culture whisperer. We explore how workplace leaders can create environments where trust runs deep, communication flows freely, and people feel safe to show up fully, especially when things get hard.We unpack why psychological safety is the foundation of mental well-being at work, and the unexpected “four-letter word” that can transform your leadership approach. for more information on this episode go to https://www.sallyspencerthomas.com/headspace/70
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    24 min
  • Trauma, Work, and the Courage to Stay Connected: Building a Trauma-Informed Workplace with Eli Embleton

    Trauma, Work, and the Courage to Stay Connected: Building a Trauma-Informed Workplace with Eli Embleton
    Jul 22 2025
    We don’t always recognize how trauma shows up at work. Sometimes it is hiding in the shadows. The quiet withdrawal. The anger that simmers just below the surface. The exhaustion that no amount of sleep can fix.In this moving and honest episode, Eli Embleton shares his story of how a life-threatening trauma in his family sent him down a path of depression, rage, and emotional disconnection. Work became his survival strategy, a place to avoid the pain, to push through, to appear “fine.” But under the surface, he believed he was a burden.What saved him wasn’t just time or treatment; it was connection. Through storytelling, community, and purposeful work, Eli learned the art of what he calls “muscular vulnerability” -- the ability to share pain with strength. Today, as Dream Manager at Zachry Construction, Eli walks alongside others with similar stories, helping people reach instead of retreat.In this podcast, we discuss:
    • What are the signs of unresolved trauma showing up at work?
    • How can workplace leaders support employees with trauma histories?
    If you’re a workplace leader, this episode is a guide to understanding trauma not as a personal weakness, but as a human experience that deserves compassion and care.
    For more information on this episode go to https://www.sallyspencerthomas.com/headspace/69
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    28 min
  • Leaders Go First: How Executive Vulnerability Transforms Workplace Mental Health with Adam Nemer

    Leaders Go First: How Executive Vulnerability Transforms Workplace Mental Health with Adam Nemer
    Jul 15 2025
    In this powerful episode of Headspace for the Workplace, Adam Nemer, former CFO and Operations Executive at Kaiser Permanente, shares how a personal collapse became a catalyst for healing, connection, and leadership transformation. Adam takes us through the moment he decided to “go first” by publicly sharing his struggles with undiagnosed depression and anxiety. That choice set a cultural shift in motion across his entire organization.for more information on this episode go to https://www.sallyspencerthomas.com/headspace/68
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    31 min