Take It From Us with Kent Johns

Asha Munn: On the healing power of creativity

Asha Munn is an art psychotherapist, EMDR therapist and founder of Breathing Space Charitable Trust.At university, Asha got unwell and didn't think she'd return for her final year. Art healed her - she made work every day, figured out her future, and decided to become a therapist.Asha's approach: no assumptions, no judgment, no analysis. Art therapy isn't about analysing work - it's about turning up, sitting alongside, and creating safe spaces where people can be seen without words.Creativity is ordinary and human. It's accessible to us all.We'd love to hear from you. Send us a text by clicking here.If you need support, here are helpful links, phone numbers and resources: https://ember.org.nz/resources/in-a-crisis/

Lynda Hills: Suicide survivor on the research that's her new purpose

Lynda Hills is a suicide researcher studying for a PhD at Auckland University, and her lived experience is informing her research.Seventeen years ago, Lynda tried to take her own life. She was left with critical injuries and has undergone nearly 50 surgeries. She had to learn to walk again.Lynda's research focuses on akathisia - a side effect of antidepressants and antipsychotics that research has connected to suicidality. Reading the research through the lens of her own experience was confronting.Lynda's personal conclusion: indigenous approaches to wellbeing are safer than Western approaches. She's found healing through Havening, a psychosensory therapy involving touch.Resources mentioned in this episode:David Healy - Information on akathisia and medication side effects https://davidhealy.org/Anders Sørensen - Crossing Zero https://crossingzero.substack.com/Dr Robin Youngson - Havening https://neuroscienceofhealing.com/We'd love to hear from you. Send us a text by clicking here.If you need support, here are helpful links, phone numbers and resources: https://ember.org.nz/resources/in-a-crisis/

Rose Heta-Minhinnick & Arohanui Minhinnick: From recovery to empowering the next generation

Rose Heta-Minhinnick and her daughter Arohanui Minhinnik run Te Waa Charitable Trust, helping young people and their families in Waiuku, southwest of Auckland.Rose is 12 years in recovery from alcohol and gambling addiction. She knows the progression - the buildup of disappointment, the rock bottom, the fear of losing her children. That fear was enough. Now she advocates for law change in New Zealand's gambling industry.Arohanui facilitates health and wellbeing programs for rangatahi, creating spaces where young people can speak up without judgment.Together, Rose and Arohanui are goal smashers who believe in hand-ups, not handouts.We'd love to hear from you. Send us a text by clicking here.If you need support, here are helpful links, phone numbers and resources: https://ember.org.nz/resources/in-a-crisis/

Anna Ashton: Online harm - the crisis no one's trained to handle

Ten years ago, online harassment followed Anna Ashton everywhere - she couldn't escape by changing schools or moving homes. She became agoraphobic, was misdiagnosed with social anxiety, and eventually attempted suicide.Her clinician didn't understand digital harm. There were no assessment tools, no training on grooming, catfishing, or sextortion. Anna had to teach her clinician the terms.These days, Anna is doing important work as a lived experience advisor in Canterbury working on digital harm reduction. She's developing crisis plans for young people and a screening tool - because you can get screened for domestic violence at your GP, but not for digital harm.We'd love to hear from you. Send us a text by clicking here.If you need support, here are helpful links, phone numbers and resources: https://ember.org.nz/resources/in-a-crisis/

Dom Huxley: How surfing is helping farmers combat isolation

Dom Huxley is the General Manager of Surfing for Farmers, a grassroots organisation helping the rural community through surf therapy. Since 2018, over 8,000 farmers have taken part across 25 beaches around New Zealand.Dom is a former professional mountaineer who spent years in corporate roles before finding his calling in the charity sector. Dom's vision is to expand to all coasts, move inland to lakes and mountains, and drive better research outcomes to truly understand what farmers need.We'd love to hear from you. Send us a text by clicking here.If you need support, here are helpful links, phone numbers and resources: https://ember.org.nz/resources/in-a-crisis/