Forum Network

Tal Ben-Shahar discusses current research on the science of happiness and introduces ideas and tools that can actually make a difference in one's life. break The study of happiness or of enhancing the quality of our lives, has been dominated by pop-psychology (much charisma, but relatively little substance) and academia (much substance, but isolated from most people's everyday lives). Positive Psychology, the scientific study of optimal human functioning, creates a bridge between the Ivory Tower and Main Street, making rigorous academic ideas accessible to all. Tal Ben-Shahar, instructor of the most popular course at Harvard University, discusses the findings of current research on the science of happiness and introduces ideas and tools that can actually make a difference in one's life.

Inform Your Mind, Fuel Your Spirit is a panel discussion about mental health awareness in the black community moderated by Terrie Williams author of *A Plentiful Harvest: Creating Balance and Harmony Through the Seven Living Virtues*. Williams is also founder of The Terrie Williams Agency and The Stay Strong Foundation. Williams is joined by Alvin F. Poussaint, professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and author of *Lay My Burden Down: Suicide and the Mental Health Crisis Among African Americans*; Altha J. Stewart, president of the American Psychiatric Foundation and former president of Black Psychiatrists of America; Rhonda Ross, a writer, vocalist, and Emmy-nominated actress; and Tracy Tyrone Moore, the president of the Black Men's Forum at Harvard University.

Terrie Williams leads a panel discussion about mental health awareness in the black community. Panelists include Dr. Alvin F. Poussaint, professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and author of Lay My Burden Down: Suicide and the Mental Health Crisis Among African Americans; Dr. Altha J. Stewart, president of the American Psychiatric Foundation and former president of Black Psychiatrists of America; Rhonda Ross, a writer, vocalist, and Emmy nominated actress; and Tracy Tyrone Moore, the president of the Black Men's Forum at Harvard University.

This forum, specially designed for school leaders, teachers, counselors, and community interventionists, discusses potential student and family reactions to trauma, as well as immediate and sustained ways for assisting in their continued emotional and educational development. The panelists discuss how, in the wake of traumatic events, educators often grapple with understanding and responding to the needs of affected children.

Bebe Moore Campbell reads from her latest book, *72 Hour Hold*. In this novel of family and redemption, Keri struggles to save her 18 year old daughter from the devastating consequences of mental illness and the bureaucracy that refuses to help her. When, out of desperation, she decides to put her daughter's fate into the hands of an unorthodox alternative to the state system, Keri begins a journey that has her calling on the spirit of Harriet Tubman for courage. In the upheaval that follows, she is forced to confront a past that refuses to stay buried, even as she battles to secure a future for her child. Co-presented with Elizabeth Stone House and the Cambridge Family YMCA. Bebe Moore Campbell is the author of three *New York Times* best-sellers: *Brothers and Sisters*, *Singing in the Comeback Choir*, and *What You Owe Me*, which was also a *Los Angeles Times* Best Book of 2001. Her other works include the novel *Your Blues Ain't Like Mine*, which was a *New York Times* Notable Book of the Year and the winner of the NAACP Image Award for literature.

Judy Norsigian, an expert in women's health issues and founder of the landmark book, *Our Bodies, Ourselves*, examines the media's increasing impact on women's medical decisions and public perception of illnesses such as breast cancer, depression, and addiction. Recorded for the 2005 National Women's Health Week. (Photo: "[Messalina by Eugène Cyrille Brunet](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Messalina_by_Eug%C3%A8ne_Cyrille_Brunet.JPG#/media/File:Messalina_by_Eug%C3%A8ne_Cyrille_Brunet.JPG "")" by Caroline Léna Becker - Self-photographed. Licensed under CC)

Dr. Robert E. Gilbert, professor of political science at Northeastern University, discusses how profoundly affected President Coolidge was by the death of his 16-year-old son, Calvin Jr., as a result of blood poisoning in 1924. This experience plunged him into a deep and devastating depression from which he never fully recovered. Calvin Coolidge, governor of Massachusetts and 30th president of the United States has often been described as a do-nothing, incompetent president who slept 15 of every 24 hours, despite having been a respected and capable governor.

Clinician and laboratory researcher Richard McNally challenges the ready acceptance of a notion he says goes beyond common sense, and contends that traumatic experiences are indeed unforgettable and the evidence for repressed memories is surprisingly weak. Are horrific experiences indelibly fixed in a victim's memory? Or does the mind protect itself by banishing traumatic memories from consciousness? How victims remember trauma is the most controversial issue in psychology today, spilling out of consulting rooms and laboratories to capture headlines, rupture families, provoke legislative change, and influence criminal trials and civil suits. This lecture is presented in collaboration with Boston Theatre Works to coincide with the world premiere of *Conspiracy of Memory*, a timely new drama by local playwright Steven Bogart that explores issues of aging, forgiveness, acceptance, and redemption.

Lauren Slater and Jessica Henderson Daniel discuss an expansive book, The Complete Guide to Mental Health for Women. From anxiety to eating disorders to postpartum depression, over 50 experts navigate the milestones and issues affecting women's mental health and the medical assistance that is available. The vast majority of books on mental illness focus on men. This book is the first comprehensive volume that seeks to depict women's lives through their illnesses and their life stages, taking into account both race and class. Over 50 medical experts contribute to chapters on anxiety, depressive and bipolar disorders, body image and eating disorders, as well as disorders associated with specific stages in women's lives: marriage, motherhood, postpartum depression and menopause and the effects of aging on mood, memory and hormones.