Virtual Ability Presents the 14th Annual Mental Health Symposium
“Facing Our Fears: Managing Anxiety About Life’s Uncertainties”
Thursday May 15, 2025
Sojourner Auditorium, Virtual Ability Island In Second Life
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Virtual%20Ability/53/172/23
The 14th annual Mental Health Symposium will take place on May 15, 2025. The theme of this year’s Conference is “Facing Our Fears: Managing Anxiety About Life’s Uncertainties.”
Fear is a built-in human reaction. Fear of large carnivores, fire, dark, starvation and strangers likely contributed greatly to the survival and early evolution of humanity. The modern world has given people even more causes for fear: community violence, biased public institutions, horrific war, climate change, racism, gender violence and artificial intelligence, among many others. Fear can at times be useful, but it also impacts quality of life. Disabling fear is a treatable condition. The varied causes and levels of intrusiveness of a fear demand individualized therapeutic approaches. The broad theme of this conference allows us to look at the topic of fear from a number of different perspectives.
The Symposium will take place in the virtual world of Second Life, at the Sojourner Auditorium on Virtual Ability island. The conference will also be live-streamed on YouTube.
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. Here is the current schedule for the conference.
Mental Health Symposium 2025 Schedule of Events
May 15, 2025. All times are in SLT/PDT.| Start Time | Presenter Name | Institution / Presenter Biography | Title of Talk |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7:00 am | Dr. Manish Kumar Asthana  | Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee Dr. Manish Kumar Asthana is an associate professor of psychology at the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee in northern India. He is particularly interested in cognitive psychology, fear conditionings and the emotions of stress and anxiety. He will explain how imagery-based interventions can attenuate conditioned fear. | Attenuating conditioned fear using imagery-based interventions Conditioned fear is a type of learned reaction that associates a fearful reaction to a neutral stimulus, in the absence of the original reason for fear. Dr. Asthana’s research looks at ways to lessen the effect of conditioned fears. |
| 8:00 am | Mr. Aman Kumar Prajapati  | Invertis University (India) Mr. Aman Kumar Prajapati is an assistant professor of psychology at Invertis University Bareilly in northern India. He will talk about near-death experiences. | Near death experience and transformation of afterlife belief This psychological systematic review explores how near-death experiences (NDEs) influence individuals’ beliefs about the afterlife. It synthesizes findings across studies to reveal patterns of spiritual transformation, increased belief in life after death, and shifts in existential outlook following NDEs. |
| 9:30 am | Ms. Maria Nieves  | Catholic University of Pelotas (Brazil) Ms. Maria Nieves is a practicing clinical psychologist in Brazil. She is a master’s student at the Catholic University of Pelotas in southern Brazil, where her degree will be in Behavior and Health. Her presentation topic is fear related to climate change. | Worry related to climate change among Brazilian adults It’s ok to worry about the world ending: Healthy and unhealthy anxiety on the face of climate crisis. There is scientific consensus that global warming is happening and anyone with access to information about climate change is potentially susceptible to experiencing an anxiety response. And are those responses pathological or just logical in the face of what's been going on? |
| 10:30 am | Ms. Jen Johnson | Private Practice Ms. Jen Johnson is a licensed counselor and mindfulness coach. She helps people navigate uncertainty in their lives by increasing resiliency and embracing life's joy and beauty. She uses communication technologies to help people worldwide. Her session will be about future-oriented anxiety. | Interview with Jen Johnson Cicero Kit will interview Ms. Johnson, and explore her explanation of fear of the future, and her suggestions for addressing this rather common type of fear. |
| Noon | Dr. Mustafa Demir | John Jay College of Criminal Justice Dr. Mustafa Demir is an associate professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, which is part of the City University of New York. He is particularly interested in law enforcement and police-community relations. He has twenty years of law enforcement experience as a police administrator, having worked for both the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). He will present about fears of terrorism and cyberterrorism, with emphasis on the effect of trust in government and in counterterrorism laws and policies. | Effects of trust in government, counterterrorism policies, and counterterrorism laws on fear of cyberterrorism and fear of terrorism People appear to be more afraid of cyberterrorism than of other forms of terrorism. Dr. Demir’s research shows that only trust in government can mediate these fears. |
| 1:30 pm | Panel Discussion   | Panel Discussion Moderator: TBD Panelist: Dr. Kathryn Post is a nurse scientist in the Massachusetts General Hospital's Cancer Outcomes Research & Education (CORE) Program. She is also an instructor at Harvard Medical School and an advanced practice nurse who cares for patients with breast cancer. Panelist: Dr. Leigh Brosof is a clinical psychologist specializing in research on and treatment of eating disorders. She supports patients and families with personalized evidence-based treatment. She also treats co-existing disorders such as anxiety, depression, and OCD. Panelist: Gloria Kraegel is the Team Leader at Brain Energy Support Team, and Chief Groundskeeper at Etopia Sustainable Communities. With BEST she creates supportive and engaging opportunities, both online and in Second Life, for neurodivergent persons and their loved ones to build skills and systems for success. | Fear within Specific Disabilities What fears are unique to persons with eating disorders, cancer, and brain injury? What fears are in common among these different types of disabilities? How does understanding the nature of a disability-related fear determine the most appropriate treatment? The panelists will compare and contrast fear among people with varied disabling conditions. |