Tag: Virtual Ability

Virtual Ability Mental Health Symposium

Posted on by Inara Pey

Press Release from Virtual Ability Inc

Virtual Ability, Inc. announces the 2012 Virtual Ability Mental Health Symposium, to be held Saturday, April 28, in Second Life®.

Our society too often takes mental health for granted and too frequently stigmatizes people with mental health issues. Saturday’s 2012 Virtual Ability Mental Health Symposium offers a variety of perspectives for thinking positively about mental health

The symposium’s keynote presenter is Dick Dillon of Innovaision, LLC. Dillon’s topic is “Why Virtual Counseling Should Be Viewed as Advanced Telemedicine.” He will explain why using virtual worlds for counseling allows better service than “real life” counseling. He was recently Senior VP of Planning and Development for Preferred Family Healthcare, and has spent over five years actively involved in Second Life®.

Featured presenters include Dr. Tina Garcia, Frank Hannah, Dr. Marty Jencius, Dr. Debra London, Anya Ibor, and DyVerse Steele.

Dr. Garcia, a lawyer with TBI, will discuss cognitive rehabilitation and brain injury. Hannah, a retired clinical mental health counselor, will share a method for developing and maintaining positive self-concept and optimum mental health.

Drs. Jencius and London run the Counselor Education in Second Life yearly SL conference. Ibor, executive director of Fearless Nation PTSD Support, will explain the neurobiology of post-traumatic stress disorder. Steele, a peer support leader for HIV/AIDS and diabetes, will offer information about mental health and minority communities.

Not all sessions will be formal presentations. MermaidSue Bailey, a counselor from the United Kingdom who conducts an active Second Life support group for people with disabilities, will lead a discussion of the importance of peer support for mental health.

Roberto Salubrius, a former medical student misdiagnosed with agoraphobia, will use the story of his life to explain why mental health issues aren’t all mental. The audience will be invited to think about the nature of self in the context of a reading from Paul Brok’s book “Into the Silent Land.”

Presentations will take place at various locations in Second Life®, including the Sojourner Auditorium on Virtual Ability Island.

The full schedule of confirmed presenters is available in-world, and at the Virtual Ability website.

Alice Krueger (Gentle Heron in-world), president of Virtual Ability, Inc., noted, “A symposium is a formal meeting where individual presentations are followed by discussion. We intend these sessions to encourage audience participation with the presenters and especially with the content the presenters share. Mental health is too important a topic to ignore.”

About Virtual Ability, Inc.

Virtual Ability, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation based in Denver, Colorado, which is dedicated to empowering people with a wide range of disabilities by providing a supporting environment for them to enter and thrive in on-line virtual worlds like Second Life®.

For more information on Virtual Ability, Inc., including the benefits of virtual reality for people with disabilities, please see http://www.VirtualAbility.org.

For further information, contact:
Alice Krueger, President
Virtual Ability Inc.
Office: 303/400-3306
akrueger@VirtualAbility.org

Virtual conference for disability rights

Posted on by Inara Pey

Virtual Ability, the first winner of the Linden Prize in 2009, will be holding the International Disability Rights Affirmation Conference in Second Life this weekend (July 23-24th). The aim of the international conference is to “begin to explore legal protections around the world for persons with disabilities.”

Panels will discuss local legislation that supports the rights of persons with disabilities, with panelists attending from Australia, Belgium, Costa Rica, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, the US and the UK, and include:

  • Scott Gill, Executive Director of Access 2 independence, a Center for Independent Living in Iowa, US, who will be discussing the independence movement
  • Simon Walsh, from the UK; who will be comparing the US ADA legislation with the UK’s DDA
  • Sister Abeyante a Salvatorian Sister, who will be discussing advocacy for disability (civil and human) rights
  • Roberta Walker Kilkenny, a college instructor; who will be making a presentation on significance of the UN Convention.

Other organisations attending the event include: the National Service Inclusion Project and the Job Accommodation Network.

Commenting on the conference, Alice Krueger, president of Virtual Ability, Inc., stated: “It is a great pleasure to host so many wonderful speakers. Our audience will gain information about the extent of the issues facing people with disabilities, and the potentials for solutions to barriers.”

Further Information