VCU Presidential Symposium on Children’s Mental Health

By Eric Peters

More than 200 people visited the Library of Virginia to attend Virginia Commonwealth University’s “Unraveling the Mystery of Children’s Mental Health: From Brains to Behavior,” a presidential symposium that focused on understanding children’s mental health issues and reducing their stigma.

“Children’s mental health is an important topic that has long been ignored. VCU is committed to bringing it to the forefront,” said VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D., in his address. “We need to continue to educate the public about the complexities of being human.”

 “We are delighted that President Rao chose child psychiatry as his very first presidential symposium,” said Joel Silverman, M.D., chair of the Department of Psychiatry in the VCU School of Medicine. “Psychiatric problems impact people from every segment of society and age group. [VCU Virginia Treatment Center for Children’s] work to educate the public and providers is making a positive impact on families, patients and communities.”

The event marks the VTCC’s 50^th anniversary of providing a full spectrum of mental health services for children and families from across the state.

“VTCC is a commonwealth resource, not just a Richmond resource,” said Rao.

Mental health care providers from throughout the state attended the symposium, which featured speakers from across the country, covering mental health-related topics including parenting, brain science, drugs and art therapy.

Keynote speakers included Ken Winters, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry at the University of Minnesota, an international authority on the assessment and treatment of adolescent drug abuse and evidenced-based treatments; Peter Jensen, M.D., professor of psychiatry and vice-chair for research in the Department of Psychiatry and Psychology at the Mayo Clinic, a world-renowned child psychiatrist and passionate advocate for children with emotional and behavioral disorders and their families; and Patrick Tolan, Ph.D., professor of education at the University of Virginia, an internationally recognized authority on youth violence, positive adolescent development, families and prevention.

The presidential symposium is supported by the Virginia Treatment Center for Children at the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU and the VCU Commonwealth Institute for Child and Family Studies.

Subscribe to the weekly VCU News email newsletter at http://newsletter.news.vcu.edu/ and receive a selection of stories, videos, photos, news clips and event listings in your inbox every Thursday.