The Naomi Ruth Cohen Institute of Mental Health Education at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology will hold its eighth annual community mental health conference from 12:45 to 5:30 p.m. on May 31 at Beth Emet the Free Synagogue, 1224 Dempster St., The theme for this year’s conference is “Shattering Myths: Men, Boys and Mental Health.”
It is estimated that one in four men has a disabling mental illness. Six million American men will be diagnosed with depression in any given year and many have suffered silently. Four times as many men as women commit suicide.
This year’s panelists and discussion groups include Melvin G. McInnis, M. D., Thomas B. and Nancy Upjohn Woodworth Professor of Bipolar Disorder and Depression at the University of Michigan; Ronald Levant, Ed.D., ABBP, dean and professor of psychology at the Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Akron; and Joseph Rogers, president and CEO of the Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania
Rabbi Capers Funnye of Beth Shalom B’nai Zaken Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation of Chicago will give the closing remarks.
The following discussion groups are planned: “Parenting Boys and Teens with Mental Illness,” “Trouble in School: Mental Health Issues for Boys,” “Depression Basics,” “Men and Boys in the African-American Community,” “Role of Spirituality in Mental Health Recovery,” “Men and Childhood Sexual Trauma,” “Workplace Issues and Depression,” “Men and Addiction,” “Male Sexuality and Identity,” “Mental Health Issues for Veterans: Life After War,” “Mental Health Issues for Older Men,” and “Men Coping With Feelings.”
The cost of the program is $30; after May 23, $35. Scholarships are available.
The conference is made possible by the Naomi Ruth Cohen Institute for Mental Health Education at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. For more information about the event, call the conference hotline at 312-467-2552 or visit www.naomicohenfoundation.org.