CHECK YOUR HEAD: Mental Help for Musicians
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© 2026 CHECK YOUR HEAD: Mental Help for Musicians
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Award-winning "People's Choice" CHECK YOUR HEAD Podcast is where notable musicians and experts share stories and solutions for mental help and addiction recovery. Music journalist Mari Fong dives deep with her interviews to provide real-world solutions from artists like The Lumineers, Fred Armisen, Lindsey Stirling, David Archuleta, Killswitch Engage, Grouplove, Margaret Cho, King Iso, and Linda Ronstadt, paired with world-renown experts who provide their best medical and professional solutions.
You'll hear inspiring interviews that may shock you, educate you, make you laugh, and always entertain you. We're also a 501c3 nonprofit with our mission to normalize the conversations on mental health and addiction, educate and encourage others to receive help, and provide a variety of free and affordable solutions on checkyourheadpodcast.com to improve and save the lives of musicians and music fans worldwide.
LISTEN on all podcast platforms, WATCH on CHECK YOUR HEAD Podcast's YouTube Channel, SUBSCRIBE on our socials @checkyourheadpodcast, and DONATE on checkyourheadpodcast.com. You rock and we love you Superheroes! ❤️🤘
66 Episodes
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Mari Fong interviews King Iso and expert Scott Fears, MD, PhD on schizoaffective and bipolar II disorder with addictions, Part 2. He’s a rapper who’s turned his lifelong battles with mental health and addiction into life-saving music, amassing millions of streams and selling out shows across the country. Our guest today is King Iso who’s survived homelessness, suicide attempts, jail time, and was diagnosed with schizoaffective and bipolar II disorder, who also had his share of addictions. But...
Mari Fong interviews King Iso and expert Scott Fears, MD, PhD on schizoaffective and bipolar II disorder with addictions, Part 1. He’s a rapper who’s turned his lifelong battles with mental health and addiction into life-saving music, amassing millions of streams and selling out shows across the country. Our guest today is King ISO who’s survived homelessness, suicide attempts, jail time, and was diagnosed with schizoaffective and bipolar II disorder, who also had his share of addictions. But...
Mari Fong interviews Linda Ronstadt (singer-songwriter) & Dr. Ish Major (Psychiatrist, Relationship Coach, “Marriage Boot Camp”). Linda Ronstadt talks about her Mexican heritage and traditions in the documentary, “Linda and the Mockingbirds.” Her thoughts on immigration and the mental toll and trauma for children separated from their families at the border, racism, and importance of making a difference in this world. How she’s living with Parkinson's disease, specifically called pro...
Mari Fong interviews singer-songwriter Trapper Schoepp and expert Bill Taylor of The Phoenix. Today's featured musical guest, Trapper Schoepp, boosted his career after discovering old lyrics of an unfinished song written by Bob Dylan about his home state of Wisconsin. Trapper took those lyrics and decided to finish the song he called “On Wisconsin.” So when Bob Dylan heard about this, Trapper officially became a co-writer with Bob Dylan for this song, news that spread quickly by Rolling...
CHECK YOUR HEAD Podcast "Reboot": Mari Fong interviews comedian and musician Fred Armisen (Saturday Night Live, Portlandia, Trenchmouth, and more) and Keren Clark (Psychotherapist, Dialectical Behavior Therapy), Part 1. Fred Armisen on 8 YEARS IN THE PUNK BAND TRENCHMOUTH, the DIFFICULTIES OF TOURING with a band, taking left turns in life, BATTLING STAGE FRIGHT, his favorite Death Metal band, my Clash tshirt, on Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo and David Byrne of Talking Heads, SURVIVING TERRI...
CHECK YOUR HEAD Podcast "Reboot" with Chris Robertson of Black Stone Cherry and Carly Hester of NAMI, Philadelphia for Suicide Awareness Month, September 2025, Chris Robertson of Black Stone Cherry shares his story of having bipolar disorder (formerly known as manic depressive disorder) with anxiety and panic attacks, along with his solutions for recovery. *Warning: Suicide and suicidal ideation is discussed. Listener discretion is advised. Black Stone Cherry dropped their album...
Mari Fong & Kat Jensen interview Lzzy Hale of Halestorm and expert J. Stuart Ablon, Ph.D., Harvard Medical School. Today's featured guest just came back from playing with Metallica, Slayer, Lamb of God and the great Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath, for the “Back to the Beginning” show, touted as "the greatest day in the history of heavy metal." A bigger hint? She was the only female rocker invited to perform onstage. Yes, today we have the great Lzzy Hale of Halestorm, a Grammy Awar...
Mari Fong interviews musical guest Margaret Cho and Kandace Kuwahara of Infinite Love Rescue. Margaret Cho gives a no-holds-barred interview talking about opioid addiction (such as Vicodin, Oxycontin, Percocet, Heroin and more) and other addictions (alcohol, benzodiazepines like Xanax and Valium and more), being bed-ridden for a month while detoxing, sharing her solutions for how she survived and how she now lives a happy sober life with her beloved pets by her side. Margaret Cho recent...
Host Mari Fong interviews pop singer/songwriter David Archuleta and psychotherapist Thomas Keenan-Hunt. David's story begins as a devout Mormon that includes a message from above that helped him move past his suicidal thoughts to finally come out as gay. David also talks about his natural solutions to calm his paralyzing anxiety attacks. His new EP entitled “Earthly Delights” drops August 15, followed by a tour this September 17, 2025 his first tour in five years. At the end of our epis...
Welcome to the premiere episode of our fifth season of CHECK YOUR HEAD Podcast, the podcast where notable musicians and experts share their stories and solutions for mental help and addiction recovery. I’m your host, Mari Fong, and today I’ve chosen to spotlight our partner MTV for “Mental Health Action Day” which is today, May 15th. Our mental health action was to create and premiere this very special episode that I’m incredibly excited about. So I ask you, what action will you take today, a...
CHECK YOUR HEAD Podcast "Reboot" of Sammi Doll (Kat Von D, IAMX, Bullet Height, solo artist) with Mari Fong & Kat Jensen speaking on Depression & ADHD Recovery for Mental Health Awareness Week, May 12-18, 2025. Mari Fong interviews Sammi Doll (Kat Von D, IAMX, Bullet Height) on depression and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder), then Mari Fong (former Life Coach for Musicians) discusses the interview with Kat Jensen (Producer, Social & Behavioral degree). Sammi Doll shar...
CHECK YOUR HEAD Podcast "Reboot" of While She Sleeps (Sean Long) & Therapist Andrea Vassilev (DBSA) speaking on Panic Attacks & Agoraphobia Recovery for Mental Health Awareness Month, May 2025. Mari Fong interviews guitarist Sean Long of While She Sleeps and Andrea Vassilev of DBSA, San Gabriel Valley. Sean Long share his story and solutions for recovery for anxiety, panic attacks, panic disorder and agoraphobia. While She Sleeps’s single “Nervous” off their new album Sleeps Society i...
CHECK YOUR HEAD Podcast "Reboot" of Tower of Power (Emilio Castillo) & Tim Ringgold (Music Therapist, Sonic Recovery) speaking on Drug & Sex Addiction Recovery for National Counseling Awareness Month, April 2025. Mari Fong interviews Emilio Castillo (Tower of Power) and Tim Ringgold, MT-BC (Music Therapist & Author of Sonic Recovery: Harness the Power of Music to Stay Sober) on addiction and mental health. Emilio Castillo shares his story of addiction to alcohol, heroin, marijuana...
CHECK YOUR HEAD Podcast "Reboot" of The Lumineers (Wesley Schultz) & Kerry Abernathy (Therapist & Addiction Specialist) speaking on Alcoholism & Mood Disorders Affecting Families for Alcohol Awareness Month, April 2025. Mari Fong interviews Wesley Schultz of The Lumineers with Kerri Abernathy, Marriage & Family Therapist and Addiction Specialist. Schultz shares how a family member's severe alcoholism and mood disorders affect him and his wife and the lives of other...
CHECK YOUR HEAD Podcast "Reboot" of Sal Rodriguez (WAR) & Jeff Duke speaking on Alcoholism & Multi-Drug Addiction recovery for Alcohol Awareness Month, April 2025. Mari Fong interviews Sal Rodriguez of WAR and Jeff Duke, Founder of Christ Powered Recovery. Sal Rodriguez shares how music, drinking alcohol and parties were part of his lifestyle growing up which led to an addiction to cocaine and selling LSD as a teen. His obsessive-compulsive behaviors made it hard to stop using b...
CHECK YOUR HEAD Podcast "Reboot" of Katelyn Tarver speaking on Anxiety & Teen Self-Doubt for World Teen Mental Health Day, celebrated on March 2, 2025. Mari Fong interviews Katelyn Tarver, singer-songwriter and actress, and Dr. Adi Jaffe, psychologist, addiction specialist, and author of The Abstinence Myth. Katelyn Tarver shares her story and solutions for living with anxiety and teen self-doubt, growing up in the spotlight as a young girl. Katelyn was only 16 when her first EP was...
CHECK YOUR HEAD Podcast "Reboot" of Lindsey Stirling & Dr. Christina Wierenga speaking on Anorexia Nervosa recovery for Eating Disorders Awareness Week, 2025. Mari Fong interviews Lindsey Stirling, singer-songwriter, violinist, and dancer, and Dr. Christina Wierenga, Professor of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuropsychologist at UC San Diego’s Eating Disorders Center for Treatment and Research. Lindsey Stirling shares her story of anorexia nervosa and the depression and anxiety that came...
You’re invited to the CHECK YOUR HEAD Afterparty where Mari Fong and Kat Jensen take best lessons from each episode and talk about how to ease them into our daily lives. For September 2024 which is Suicide Prevention and Recovery Month, we’re spotlighting the Seether & Dr. Dan Reidenberg (SAVE.org, Suicide Prevention Expert) episode. Say hello and give us feedback! We love hearing from our Superhero fans ❤️🤘 Support the show
CHECK YOUR HEAD Podcast "Reboot" for September 2024 for Suicide Prevention and Recovery Month. Next episode, listen to CHECK YOUR HEAD Podcast Afterparty where Mari Fong and Kat Jensen talk about best lessons from each episode and how to ease them into our daily lives. Mari Fong interviews Seether (Shaun Morgan and Corey Lowery) & Dan Reidenberg, PsyD (SAVE.org, Suicide Prevention expert). In 2007, Shaun Morgan's brother Eugene died by suicide. In 2012, Shaun and Seether cre...
Mari Fong interviews Zac Barnett of American Authors and Chris Bullard, former touring musician and founder of Sound Mind Live. Zac Barnett of American Authors shares about caring for his mother with bipolar disorder and the importance of being a mental health support for those you love. American Authors will be playing at the upcoming Music for Mental Health concert on May 21, 2022, hosted by the nonprofit, Sound Mind Live. Next, Chris Bullard, the founder of Sound Mind Live, shares how his ...
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