Join Good Trouble Conversations
Connecting the Dots: Ways to Align Diversity, Equity and Inclusion with Mental Health Advocacy Work
Did you know that January is Mental Health Wellness Month? Join the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusive Excellence as we partner with the Office of Student Affairs and Programming Board to kick off our spring semester’s “Good Trouble Conversations” around the topics of mental health and suicide prevention with diverse perspectives.
Many make New Year’s resolutions regarding their physical health, but it’s important not to neglect mental health as well. Not all racial, ethnic, gender, and sexual minoritized groups have the same access to mental health services due to many factors including inaccessibility to mental health care services, the stigma surrounding mental health, past discrimination and the lack of awareness about the benefits of seeking help.
Join Dr. Sally Spencer-Thomas, Dr. Christine Chao, and Dr. Arthur Jones Friday, Jan. 28, 2022 from noon –1:30 p.m. via Zoom as they discuss these issues and give time for questions and answers.
Clinical psychologist, inspirational speaker, podcaster, and impact entrepreneur, Dr. Sally Spencer-Thomas began her innovative work in suicide prevention after her brother died of suicide. Known as an innovator in social change, Spencer-Thomas has helped start multiple large-scale, gap-filling efforts in mental health, including the award-winning Man Therapy campaign and work as lead author of the National Guidelines for Workplace Suicide Prevention. She currently serves as executive secretary for the American Association of Suicidology and president of United Suicide Survivors International.
Dr. Christine Chao (DU 1981) is a licensed clinical psychologist and Jungian analyst in private practice and a past clinical director and executive director of the Asian Pacific Development Center in Aurora, where she continues to consult and provide clinical supervision. She has been an adjunct clinical supervisor at DU and has taught at the Iliff School of Theology and the University of Colorado at Denver. Dr. Chao’s interests — reflected in her clinical practice, in a variety of publications, and in numerous professional presentations and workshops — include multi-racial identity formation, Asian mental health, and the significance and function of ancestral altars and myths. She also has conducted many workshops on cultural diversity.
Dr. Arthur Jones is Professor Emeritus of Music, Culture and Psychology at the University of Denver. During his more than three decades at DU, he has served in a variety of faculty and administrative positions, including most recently Interim Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion during the 2019-2020 academic year. Before coming to DU, he held clinical psychology faculty positions at the University of Illinois, Bowling Green State University, and the University of Colorado School of Medicine, and he operated an independent clinical psychology practice in Denver for 15 years. In his teaching, scholarship and community work he has focused on issues of culture, power and privilege, beginning in the field of clinical psychology practice and extending later to the cultural and psychological functions of African American music. He is the Founder & Chair Emeritus of The Spirituals Project at DU, which works to preserve and revitalize the music and teachings of the sacred folksongs created and first sung by African women and men enslaved in America, and he is the award-winning author of Wade in the Water: The Wisdom of the Spirituals. A new, expanded edition of the book is scheduled for publication in 2023.