Grief is an intensely personal experience, which can look very different from one person to the next. There is no "right" way to grieve. In this episode of the Classroom Café podcast, we are joined by Ashley Groesbeck, a clinical social worker, and Alain Metellus, the UFT's director of crisis intervention, for a discussion of ways we can validate the experience for the bereaved and help them, or ourselves, to accept and move through the grieving process.

What does addiction look like, and how can our personal biases, experiences and judgments affect the way we view this illness? In this episode of the Classroom Café podcast, we are joined by Steven Sulzer, a licensed clinical social worker, psychotherapist, educator and credentialed substance use disorder counselor. He will share his own experience as well as tools and resources we can use when a family member or loved one may be dealing with substance misuse.

Learn ways of identifying students at risk of substance use and how to support them. In this episode of the Classroom Café podcast, the New York Times best-selling author Jessica Lahey will discuss her latest book, The Addiction Inoculation: Raising Healthy Kids in a Culture of Dependence. She will share her personal story as an educator with addiction, the latest research around youth and substance use and resources to support students and their families. Learn how the UFT Member Assistance Program helps union members cope with substance use and the pandemic through individual consultations, virtual support groups and online resources at www.uft.org/map.

Here we are in the the 2021-22 school year, still talking about COVID-19, still wearing masks, social distancing and dealing with stressors the pandemic has created. In this episode of the Classroom Café podcast, mental health speaker and best-selling author Mike Veny will discuss the "next normal" and how to support people where they are. Listen in for tips on how you can maintain your own mental wellness and support others with compassion and concern. Learn more about how the UFT Member Assistance Program is helping union members through individual consultations, virtual support groups and online resources at www.uft.org/map.

Students are trying to figure out how to navigate this new school year. In this episode of the Classroom Café podcast, Dr. Miri Rosen talks about how educators can support students as we re-engage at school. Learn how to identify students in need and how creating healthy boundaries and engaging in self-care for ourselves can benefit our students. Dr. Rosen is a board-certified child, adolescent and adult psychiatrist. Learn more about how the UFT Member Assistance Program is helping union members through individual consultations, virtual support groups and online resources at www.uft.org/map.

Feelings of isolation, stress and anxiety have been heightened during the pandemic, creating the perfect storm for an increase in substance use and other addictive behaviors. In this episode of the Classroom Café podcast, Anthony Rizzuto of the Seafield Treatment Center on Long Island, a master social worker, alcoholism and substance abuse counselor and national speaker, will discuss how these stressors can affect you and your loved ones and how best to cope with them. He'll give you strategies for managing emotions without resorting to unhealthy coping mechanisms and explain how you can support others in these difficult times.

The year 2020 has been tough. The pandemic has taken a toll on our emotional well-being, whether we have suffered the loss of a loved one or we miss our normal work routines and time spent with family and friends. In this episode of the Classroom Café podcast, mental health speaker and best-selling author Mike Veny shares the profound mental health journey he has been on since childhood. His insights will help educators to develop tools and techniques for self-care and to support students and their families as they deal with the stresses of the pandemic. Listen in and start 2021 with an outlook that promotes emotional well-being and resilience.