This Therapist Blew Up On TikTok. Now She’s Hosting PBS’ New Suicide Prevention Docuseries

What happens when you’re a licensed therapist and you launch a TikTok channel that blows up with followers hungry for information on topics including how to find the right therapist and how to let your therapist know when they’ve said something you don’t appreciate?

For Shani Tran, the outcome was not only a social media connection with more than 500,000 people and counting, but a role hosting new four-part PBSPBS
digital docuseries Facing Suicide: Let’s Talk, a companion to PBS’ Facing Suicide doc, which premieres September 13 at 9pm.

The digital programming—in partnership with the JED Foundation, a national nonprofit organization focused on supporting teen and young adult mental health—is airing on PBS’ YouTube channel throughout National Suicide Prevention Month. It struck an immediate chord with Tran. Episodes include “How Do I Ask For Help?, “How Do I Ask Someone If They’re Having Thoughts of Suicide?” and “How Do We Find the Resilience We Need To Go On?”

“They found me through TikTok, and immediately when they said the topic was suicide prevention I was like, ‘Oh I am on board. I have my own personal story with suicide and I think there’s a lot of shame around people who feel suicidal. They almost feel like they are burdening someone if they’re asking for help and sharing how they feel,” Tran says.

“And there’s also fear around it because people can be afraid to tell a professional they are feeling that way because they’re afraid of being hospitalized. It’s really important for me to empower and educate people, and give them real life stories around what suicide can look like, how do you ask for help.”

Tran openly shares her own mental health history, which includes two instances where she experienced suicidal ideations. One occurred when she was transitioning from her highly social university life into a more isolated post-grad existence, and another soon after the birth of her first child.

A confluence of her personal and professional experiences motivated her to begin adding resources as well as short, conversational notes about therapy to her TikTok videos, which caught on with a spiraling stream of followers in a way she never expected.

“My phone started blowing up, and I was like, ‘Oh, you wanted to know about this? OK.’ So from there I started creating more TikToks about my own experience as a therapist and using that to help people advocate for themselves in the therapy room.”

Tran says feedback, for the most part, has been positive among her followers, who primarily fall into two groups: People who are therapists or training to become a therapist, and people who are in therapy.

“I never knew I could show up as a therapist authentically in that way. I was never taught that in school—to have a conversation, say for instance, about what to do if your client is coming in and they want to talk about sex and you’re not a sex therapist. How do you approach that? Or, the other realm is along the lines of, ‘My therapist has been running late and I didn’t know that was actually something I could talk to them about. Thanks for giving me the tools to be able to approach conflict in a healthy way.’ ”

But as social media goes, occasionally the conversation can take a polarizing turn—an occurrence Tran is learning to manage.

“I might end up disabling my comments when I share videos about cultural humility and what it’s like for Black people in mental health,” she says. “Or even sharing my own story as a Black woman. For instance, when I was in undergrad I attempted to go to therapy and I just didn’t feel like I could relate to the therapist, who was a white woman. I got a lot of backlash for sharing that. Like, ‘Wow, why does race matter? Why does the color matter?’ It’s because as a client you don’t want to have to walk into a room and feel like you have to explain your story.”

“I think sometimes people struggle seeing therapists as humans,” she adds. “There’s a part of people that wants that with their therapist but then once the therapist starts to become vulnerable in that way on social media, some people can’t handle that element. It’s very tricky.”

As a professional therapist navigating the blurred lines of the social terrain, Tran says she always keeps a few things top of mind: “First is making sure I’m always keeping my actual clients in mind, making sure I’m not divulging any information that is particular to an exact situation I’ve had with a client,” she says.

“And the second thing is, it’s one thing when I’m telling my own story. I’m more OK with having backlash. But if I phrase something in a way that is has to do with the relationship between the therapist and the client and there’s backlash about that, then it’s no longer a safe place for people to own their mental health. Just because you may not like the way that someone is doing therapy doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad way or a negative way. It just means it’s not your way.”

Hollywood & Mind is a recurring column that lives at the intersection of entertainment and wellbeing, and features interviews with musicians, actors, athletes and other culture influencers who are amplifying conversation and action around mental health.