Unarmed: Joe Smarro on First Responder Mental Health
2026-05-12 · 45 min · episode 13 · 28 entities
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Link in episode "Unarmed: Joe Smarro on First Responder Mental Health": https://grexanddirtyskittles.substack.com/
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Author of Unarmed: De-escalation Techniques to Cultivate Courage
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Link in episode "Unarmed: Joe Smarro on First Responder Mental Health": https://goesoninourheads.net/add-your-podcast-reviews.
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Link in episode "Unarmed: Joe Smarro on First Responder Mental Health": https://goesoninourheads.net/
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Link in episode "Unarmed: Joe Smarro on First Responder Mental Health": https://slaafws.org/
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Link in episode "Unarmed: Joe Smarro on First Responder Mental Health": https://joesmarro.com/
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Link in episode "Unarmed: Joe Smarro on First Responder Mental Health": https://solutionpointplus.com/
Entities found in this episode
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Link in episode "Unarmed: Joe Smarro on First Responder Mental Health": https://grexanddirtyskittles.substack.com/
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Link in episode "Unarmed: Joe Smarro on First Responder Mental Health": https://grexanddirtyskittles.substack.com/
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Link in episode "Unarmed: Joe Smarro on First Responder Mental Health": https://slaafws.org/
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Link in episode "Unarmed: Joe Smarro on First Responder Mental Health": https://joesmarro.com/
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Link in episode "Unarmed: Joe Smarro on First Responder Mental Health": https://solutionpointplus.com/
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Link in episode "Unarmed: Joe Smarro on First Responder Mental Health": https://goesoninourheads.net/
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Link in episode "Unarmed: Joe Smarro on First Responder Mental Health": https://slaafws.org/
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Link in episode "Unarmed: Joe Smarro on First Responder Mental Health": https://joesmarro.com/
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Link in episode "Unarmed: Joe Smarro on First Responder Mental Health": https://solutionpointplus.com/
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Link in episode "Unarmed: Joe Smarro on First Responder Mental Health": https://goesoninourheads.net/add-your-podcast-reviews.
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Unarmed: Joe Smarro on First Responder Mental Health
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Author of Unarmed: De-escalation Techniques to Cultivate Courage
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Author of Unarmed: De-escalation Techniques to Cultivate Courage
Episode description as stored
Joe Smarro walked away from a Marine uniform, a badge, and a gun belt that almost ended his life, and walked straight into the work of healing himself and the first responders nobody else was checking on. This conversation is about what it really takes to take off the mask, do the work, and become the kind of human who gives other people permission to do the same.
Awards & Downloads
Brought to you by the 2024 and 2026 award-winning podcast Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads, a 2026 Women Podcasters Awards nominee in the Mindset and Mental Health category and honored among the Influential Women 2026 Women of the Year, with 4.5 million plus downloads across 160 plus countries and counting in Season 17.
Feedback Link
We'd love to hear what landed for you in this episode. Leave us a voice or text note here: https://castfeedback.com/67521f0bde0b101c7b10442a
Mental Health Quote
"There's so much freedom on the other side of your suffering. There's so much freedom on the other side of your fear." Joe Smarro
Episode Description
Joe Smarro is a Marine Corps combat veteran, former San Antonio Police Officer, co-founder of one of the country's first Mental Health Units, and the kind of man who'll tell you exactly how close he came to not being here. In this episode, Joe sits down with G-Rex and Dirty Skittles to share the story behind his Emmy-winning HBO documentary Ernie and Joe: Crisis Cops, his book Unarmed, and the moment he chose therapy over the gun belt sitting next to him.
This is a raw, hopeful, and surprisingly funny conversation about childhood trauma, an ACES score of nine, PTSD, persistent depressive disorder, and the addiction patterns that ran his life until he stopped running from himself. Joe shares why he believes therapy is a relationship, and most people just haven't found the right partner yet, why he started attending SLAA meetings at 44, and why he gets up every day, names his alarm clock with affirmations, and practices three points of reflection before his feet hit the floor.
If you've ever worn a mask so tight you forgot what your real face felt like, this one's for you. Joe gives men, first responders, veterans, and anyone with a hard story permission to stop pretending and start healing. We talk masculine vulnerability, suicide prevention, scars versus scabs, the "selfish AF" approach to wellness, radical self-responsibility, and what it actually looks like to live on the other side of trauma.
Keywords: first responder mental health, PTSD recovery, veteran mental health, suicide prevention, childhood trauma, ACES score, Joe Smarro, Unarmed book, Ernie and Joe Crisis Cops, masculine vulnerability, de-escalation, police mental health, trauma healing, therapy for men, addiction recovery
Meet Our Guest
Joe Smarro is a decorated Marine Corps combat veteran, former San Antonio Police Officer, co-founder of the SAPD Mental Health Unit, TEDx speaker, and bestselling Author of Unarmed: De-escalation Techniques to Cultivate Courage, Compassion, and Connection and 12 Laws of Maximizing the Human Experience. He's the founder and CEO of SolutionPoint+, a national consulting firm focused on mental wellness, resiliency, and crisis response training for first responders, public safety, public transit, and corporate clients. When he's not on stage or in a hotel somewhere in North America, you'll find him on the golf course.
Connect with Joe:
Website : https://www.joesmarro.com
Company : https://www.solutionpointplus.com
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/joesmarro
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/josephsmarro
Documentary : Ernie and Joe: Crisis Cops on HBO Max
Key Takeaways
Share from a scar, not a scab. Healing first, then teaching. Joe waited until his wounds had closed before he started talking about them publicly, and that's why his story actually helps people.
Therapy is a relationship, not a one-time experiment. If the first therapist didn't fit, that doesn't mean therapy doesn't work. It means y