The 10th annual Mental Health Symposium will take place in Virtual Ability’s Sojourner Auditorium, on Virtual Ability island on Friday, April 16, 2021. There is no charge to attend.
The theme is “Mental Health in Trying Times”. The international group of presenters will offer a wide interpretation of the theme, based on their interests and academic backgrounds.
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.
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.
SCHEDULE (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 the Virtual Ability website:
virtualability.org/mental-health-symposia/mental-health-symposium-2021/
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