The Mental Health and Well-being Speaker Series will feature talks from (left to right) Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin Kristen Neff, Licensed Professional Counsellor Associate Elishia Durett-Johnson and Consultant Behavioural Pediatrician Dr. Sharon Burey. Mental health will be top of mind during an upcoming virtual speaker series.
Demand for wellness and mental health supports within the Brock community has continued to increase due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In an effort to enhance its offerings, Brock’s Student Wellness and Accessibility Centre (SWAC) is introducing a Mental Health and Well-being Speaker Series.
Thanks to sponsorship from Takeda Canada Inc., the three-part series will offer complimentary online learning events via Zoom to all members of the Brock community on a variety of mental health-related topics.
The series will begin Wednesday, April 7, when participants will hear from Kristen Neff, an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, who will discuss self-compassion and its association with psychological resilience from noon to 1:30 p.m.
Licensed Professional Counsellor Associate Elishia Durett-Johnson will present Thursday, April 8 from noon to 2 p.m. on the link between microaggressions and experienced racial trauma.
And the following week, on Friday, April 16 from 8:30 to 10 a.m., Consultant Behavioural Pediatrician Dr. Sharon Burey will speak about the struggles of students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who are coping with online/distance learning.
SWAC Director Sarah Pennisi said each of the topics discussed in the series highlight the many ways mental health can be prioritized and supported.
“Maintaining positive mental health during the pandemic looks different for everyone,” she said. “Along with the diverse range of options already offered by the SWAC team, we hope that through talks on a variety of subjects, participants in the Mental Health and Well-being Speaker Series can continue to better their own mental health practices as well as be more aware of the needs of those around them.”
To learn more or register, visit the individual ExperienceBU pages for the events on April 7 (featuring Kristen Neff), April 8 (featuring Elishia Durett-Johnson) and April 16 (featuring Dr. Sharon Burey).
