Press Release: Virtial Ability's Mental Health Symposium- May 17

 

 

 Virtual Ability Presents Our 13th Annual Mental Health Symposium- May 17

This free international professional conference will take place in Virtual Ability’s Sojourner Auditorium, on Virtual Ability island in Second Life, on Friday, May 17, 2024.

The theme of this year’s Conference is “Our Youth, Our Elders.” Children and the elderly face unique mental health challenges that are not well understood and often not adequately addressed. Our presenters will share information from a variety of perspectives related to the conference theme.

Our eight presenters come from all over the world: Australia, Canada, Nigeria, the UK and the US. Some are academic researchers, others are practitioners. Their interpretations of the conference theme are as varied as their geographic origins. We will learn about immigrant children and church-going elders, hear about intergenerational activities that combat loneliness in older adults, and discuss peer support for elders and their caregivers as well as social relationships with AI.

We encourage you to attend live in Second Life, so you can interact with our presenters. However, if you would prefer, you can watch the sessions on Virtual Ability’s YouTube channel. The sessions will be archived in both text and video format on Virtual Ability’s website shortly after the conference.

You can view the conference schedule here:
https://virtualability.org/mental-health-symposium-2024/

All conference times are in Pacific Daylight time (also known as SLT). Please check the conference webpage for updates as we get closer to May 17.

We hope to see you at the conference!

The SLURL is here: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Virtual%20Ability/54/170/23

 

 

Announcement: Virtual Ability's 12th Annual Mental Health Symposium

 

Virtual Ability Presents
the 12th Annual Mental Health Symposium
“Self-Identity and Mental Health”
Friday, May 12, 2023
Sojourner Auditorium,
Virtual Ability Island
In Second Life

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Virtual%20Ability/53/172/23

The 12th annual Mental Health Symposium will take place in Virtual Ability’s Sojourner Auditorium, on Virtual Ability island on Friday, May 12, 2023. There is no charge to attend.

The theme of this year’s Conference is “Self-Identity and Mental Health.” We believe that personal identification can have a major impact on mental health, and we want to stress the importance of a healthy sense of personal identity to good mental health.

The Symposium will take place in the virtual world of Second Life, at the Sojourner Auditorium on Virtual Ability island. The SLURL for the auditorium is: Sojourner Auditorium, Virtual Ability Island. (You can create a free Second Life account through Virtual Ability’s Sign-Up Portal, entering at the beginning of our New Resident Orientation Course. You can then post the auditorium’s SLURL into Nearby Chat, click the green underlined link, and teleport to the auditorium.)

Virtual Ability hosts this annual Symposium to share information about mental health and mental disabilities with the general population. Within our cross-disability community we have members who deal with a variety of mental health issues. Not only is this an opportunity for our community members to learn more about topics related to mental health from experts they probably would not have a chance to meet otherwise, it allows the general public to attend a professional conference at no cost.

 For a full schedule of the conference, Click Here: https://virtualability.org/mental-health-symposia/mental-health-symposium-2023/

 

Virtual Ability's Mental Health Conference

  

On Friday April 16, Virtual Ability held it's Mental Health Symposium. The conference had several discussions about different aspects of how the Coronavirus Pandemic has affected peoples' mental health. Gemma Cleanslate was there. She observed two of the talks, as well as looking at some exhibits nearby.
 
Read Gemma's article in Events.
  

Announcement: Virtual Ability's 2021 Mental Health Symposium, Friday, April 16

 

Virtual Ability's 2021 Mental Health Symposium, Friday, April 16
The theme is "Mental Health in Trying Times."

All times are given in SLT, Pacific time.

7-8am    Clara González Sanguino from Complutense University of Madrid (Spain) will present "The impact of Covid-19 on our mental health. A longitudinal study from the beginning of the pandemic to the return to the new normality in Spain."

8:30-9:30am   Laura Ritchie (University of Chichester Conservatoire, UK) and Daniel P Cervone (University of Illinois) will share their research project "Projects pursued and abandoned: Pandemic reactions of care & coping."

10-11am    Catherine Ettman from the Boston University School of Medicine will discuss the prevalence of depression symptoms in US adults before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.  
       
11:30am-12:30pm    Tom Boellstorff, University of California, Irvine, and two students (Evan Conaway and Sandy Wenger) will talk about their research on the impact of Second Life and Animal Crossing during the COVID pandemic.
    
1-2pm    Ryan Schultz, Sciences and Technology Library, University of Manitoba (Canada) will share "Acedia During the Coronavirus Pandemic: A 5th-Century Term for a 21st-Century Problem."

2:30-3:30pm    Mark Czeisler (Monash University, Australia) will present "Mental health, substance use, and suicidal ideation during the COVID-19 pandemic—disproportionately affected populations."

Additional information is available on our website:
https://virtualability.org/mental-health-symposia/mental-health-symposium-2021/

The 2017 Mental Health Symposium at Sojourner Auditorium

Last Saturday May 27, Virtual Ability's Sojourner Auditorium hosted it's 2017 Mental Health Symposium. It's topics were about “ways to promote mental health for themselves and their families, how diet affects mental health, and how first responders and medical clinicians can improve their own mental health.” There were also tours for a few places where people can find out more about how Second Life can offer help and support to those with mental health issues or those helping, as well as providing information about such issues. Gemma Cleanslate was there, and wrote about the event. 

Read Gemma's story in Events.

Press Release: Sixth Annual Mental Health Symposium

The Virtual Ability community in Second Life invites you to join us for our sixth annual Mental Health Symposium. It will be held on Saturday, May 27, beginning at 6am Pacific (9am Eastern), and continuing through 5:30pm Pacific (8:30pm Eastern). There is no charge to attend.

The theme of this year’s Symposium is “I can relate to that.” Our international group of presenters offers a wide interpretation of the theme, based on their interests and academic backgrounds. Attendees will learn ways to promote mental health for themselves and their families, how diet affects mental health, and how first responders and medical clinicians can improve their own mental health.

The Symposium takes place in Virtual Ability’s Sojourner Auditorium, on Virtual Ability island. The SLURL for the auditorium is: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Virtual%20Ability/54/170/23

The Virtual Ability community hosts this annual Symposium to share information about mental health and mental disabilities with the general population. Within our cross-disability community we have members who deal with a variety of mental health issues. Not only is this an opportunity for our community members to learn more about topics related to mental health from experts they probably would not have a chance to meet otherwise, it is allows the general public to attend a professional conference for free.

The 2017 Mental Health Symposium schedule is as follows:

6am SLT         Tracy Burrows “Diet, Nutrition and Food Addiction”
7:30am SLT        Sarah Henderson and Kristin Klimley “First Responder Mental Health: The Importance of Training and Intervention”
9am SLT        Joel Edman “Nutritional and Holistic Approaches to Stomach and Intestinal Disorders: Practical guidelines that can also be helpful for chronic and/or complex health issues”
10:30am SLT        selection of tours of SL sites related to mental health in Second Life
noon SLT        Ian Colman “Mental health promotion - What can you do for you and your loved ones?”
1:30pm SLT        Karen Davison “Bridging the Divide: Exploring research in nutrition, mental health and food security”
3pm SLT        Diana Anderson “Virtual Windows: Design solutions to improve the mental health of clinical staff”
4:30pm SLT        Namaara MacMoragh "Mental Health Following Brain Injury"

Please contact info@virtualability.org for additional information.

Press Release: Mental Health Symposium at Virtual Ability This Saturday

Mental Health Symposium
"Losing It: On Disability, Diagnosis, and Depression"
Saturday, May 2, 2015
The Sojourner Auditorium, Virtual Ability Island

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Virtual%20Ability/54/170/23

All times SLT (Pacific Daylight Time)

8:30-9:30am- Dr. Harshita Biswas "Psychological Comorbidities in Specific Learning Disabilities"

10-11am- panel discussion among persons dealing with depression, family members, and healthcare providers

11-11:30am- Interlude I: "Musicians Get Depressed Too" with Arisia Vita

11:30am-12:30pm Amanda9214 and Jenna0212 discuss clinical vs colloquial definitions of the term "depression"

12:30-1pm- Interlude 2: "Musicians Get Depressed Too" with Arisia Vita

1-2pm- Colleen Crary "DEPRESSION: Everything You Want to Know But Are Too Depressed To Ask"

2:30-3:30pm- Alice Krueger "How to Read a Research Paper (without getting depressed)"

4-5pm- Tom Stewart, JD will talk about SSDI and the challenges of showing eligibility for a person with an "invisible disability"

Virtual Ability, Virtual Ability (54, 170, 23)

Press Release: Mental Health Symposium at Virtual Ability

Last year, the Virtual Ability Mental Health Symposium talked about overcoming the stigma of mental illness. This year we ask this question, "Do You See ME?"  Our focus is on mental health care - remembering the person in our interactions rather than the illness - and we'll explore different aspects of mental health care treatment. Please join us Saturday, April 27, between 7am and 5pm for a wide variety of speakers and topics.

You can check out speaker bios and extended information about the individual sessions on our blog:
http://blog.virtualability.org/2013/04/virtual-ability-mental-health-symposium_21.html
Notecards for individual sessions are embedded at the bottom of this card.

Saturday April 27
**7am SLT- Jayme Nelson, RN, MS (SL- Jayme Xaris)- "Will you Treat ME?  Funding mental health care treatment - now and under the Affordable Health Care Act"- Sojourner Auditorium
**8:30am SLT- renda Bryan (SL- Brena Benoir)- "Meet Your Counselor: An Avatar"- Sojourner Auditorium
**10am SLT- Deborah Houston-Schrenzel (SL- Brede McDonnell)- "Sudden Violent Loss: Its Impact on Every Member of the Community"- Sojourner Auditorium
**11:30am SLT- "Poetry and Mental Health"- selections read by Eliza Madrigal, Zen Arado, Szavannah Resident- Healthinfo Island
**1pm SLT- Lissena Resident introduces the "Whole Brain Health Fair"- Sojourner Auditorium
**2:30pm SLT- Kara Bennett, Ph. D. (SL- Dancers Yao)- "Exploring New Ways of Evaluating Mental Capacity of Seniors"- Sojourner Auditorium
**4pm SLT- Richard Roth (SL- Farm Gartenberg)- "Herbal Medicine and Mental Health"- Healthinfo Island

The Sojourner Auditorium, Virtual Ability Island

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Virtual%20Ability/54/170/23

Image from Virtual Ability's Facebook page.