For our Janis Black Warner Speaker series, we invite mental health professionals and others with lived experience with mental health conditions to share information and insights. See upcoming speakers here and our archive of past events below.
May 2023
Dr. Stephen Marder, MD, Professor of Psychiatry at Semel Institute for Neuroscience at UCLA. Dr. Marder spoke about new medications for psychotic disorders, as well as tardive dyskinesia, diabetes, and obesity.
April 2023
Kevin Nahai, a certified life coach, speaker, author and therapist on debunking misconceptions about people struggling with mental health, de-stigmatizing mental illness, and suggesting effective treatment options.
March 2023
Dr. Mark Ragins, author of “Journeys Beyond the Frontier: A Rebellious Guide to Psychosis and Other Extraordinary Experiences,” and a street psychologist who provides outreach to unhoused community members with a mobile clinic. His presentation: “Recovery Perspectives of Homelessness and Mental Illness.”
February 2023
Adam Sholder, Executive Director of Insight Enrichment Group and one of our family support group facilitators, presents“Building Resiliency: Vicarious Trauma for Families and Caregivers.”
January 2023
Brenda Sarai Zuniga shared practical tools to help reduce anxiety, depression, and stress.
December 22
Dr. Ken Duckworth, NAMI’s Chief Medical Officer and author of NAMI’s first-ever book “You Are Not Alone,” was joined with a panel of subjects who were interviewed for the book.
November 2022
Dr. Eric Wexler joined us to present “Rescue from Psychosis: Making Recovery a Reality.”
October 2022
Brette Genzel-Derman,Psy.D, M.S.W, CEO/Founder Innovative Group Psychotherapy, Inc. presented “How Art and Music Can Improve Mood, Decrease Anxiety, and Empower Today’s Youth” on Wednesday, October 5.
September 2022
Meyli Chapin, author of “Terrorist Attack Girl” presented “How I Survived Terrorism and Reconstructed My Shattered Mind” about gun violence in schools on Wednesday, September 7.
June 2022
Our Speaker: Matthew Diep, who discussed mental health and LGBTQI communities.
May 2022
Our Speaker: Dr. Mark Ragins
April 2022
Our speaker: Adam Sholder, who discussed “Failure to Launch at Any Age.”
January 2022
Our speaker: Dr. Michael Levittan, who discussed how to handle anger management with a loved one living with a mental health condition.
December 2021
Our speaker: Dr. Karen Wilson, who discussed the mental health needs of our youth during the pandemic.
November 2021
Our speaker: Rabbi Guzik of Sinai Temple, who discussed mental health in faith communities and how to manage stress during the holiday season.
October 2021
Our speaker: Jon Tatelman MFT, Antioch University, who discussed narrative phototherapy.
September 2021
Our speaker: Dr. Waguih William IsHak, MD, FAPA. Professor and Clinical Chief of Psychiatry, Cedars-Sinai Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences; Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA; Editor, The Handbook of Wellness Medicine. The topic: How to develop your own personalized wellness plan.
May 2021
Our speakers: Dr. Stephen R. Marder, The Semel Institute for Neuroscience at UCLA and attending Psychiatrist at UCLA’s Psychosis Clinic; one of Dr. Marder’s patients, Garrett Shaw; and Garrett’s mother, Cynthia.
April 2021
Our speaker: Hannah Liddell from the Office of Payee Review & Beneficiary Assistance (OPRABA).
March 2021
Our speakers: Panel of five peers who shared their experiences living with mental health conditions.
February 2021
Our speaker: Baron L. Miller, author of “Laws We Need to Know: Understanding Rules and Programs for Persons with Mental Illness.”
January 2021
Our speaker: Kartar Diamond, author of “Noah’s Schizophrenia: A Mother’s Search for Truth.”
December 2020
Our speaker: Pargol Khorsandi Nazarian, Pharm.D., Board-Certified Psychiatric Pharmacist who received her Doctorate in Pharmacy at the University of Southern California before completing two years of residency in the field of acute care & psychiatric pharmacy. The topic: “Navigating New Medications in the Treatment of Mental Illness.”
November 2020
Our speaker: with Dr. Daniel Eisenberg, Medical Director of the Psychotic Disorders Service and the Inpatient Clinical Research Unit for the Clinical and Translational Neuroscience Branch of the National Institute of Mental Health’s Intramural Research Program (NIMH IRP). The topic: “New insights into the neurobiology of schizophrenia.”
October 2020
Our speaker: Sanjeet Sihota, MSW. The topic: how loved ones can communicate with their mentally ill family members using the LEAP method.
September 2020
Our speaker: Miriam Feldman, NAMI member and author of “He Came with It: A Portrait of Motherhood and Madness.”
August 2020
Our speaker: Roger S. Nolan, “Managing Difficult Emotions with Mindfulness: The Science and Practice of Meditation.”
June 2020
Our speakers: Young individuals from the Life Adjustment Team shared their stories of recovery.
May 2020
Our speaker: Dr. Eric Levander. The topic: “How to Cope with Your Emotions and What You Can Expect From Yourself” during this unprecedented time of isolation and separation. Dr. Levander is an esteemed psychiatrist serving West Los Angeles, Santa Monica, and Beverly Hills and has been on staff at UCLA.
April 2020
Our speakers live with borderline personality disorder. The topic: stories of struggle and recovery and the mental health services they received through Clearview Treatment Programs, a co-presenter of this event.
March 2020
Our speaker: Dr. Bruce L. Kagan of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the he VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System. The topic: “Trauma, PTSD and Mental Health.”
February 2020
Our speaker: Dave Leon. The topic: “The Painted Brain: Using the Arts to Change the Discussion About Mental Health Conditions.”
January 2020
Our speaker: Daniel Paul, Ph.D., a Fellow of the International Psychoanalytical Association and the American Psychological Association, who has a specialty in psychotherapy with schizophrenia, dissociative identity disorders, adult survivors of sexual abuse and the treatment of borderline and psychotic personalities. The topic: Psychotherapy with Schizophrenia Without Using Anti-Psychotic Medication.
November 2019
Our speaker: Marc Shulman of the National Institute on Life Planning for Persons with Disabilities. The topic: “Planning for the Future: Who Will Care When I Am Not Here?”
October 2019
Our speaker: Paul Barkopoulos, M.D., MPh, Assistant Clinical Professor for the David Geffen-UCLA School of Medicine, and a medical staff member in the Department of Geriatric Psychiatry at UCLA, and at Cedars Sinai Medical Center. The topic: “Overprescribing, Underprescribing, and Deprescribing in Mental Health Disorders. How Do We Get it Just Right?”
September 2019
Our speaker: Sanjeet Sihota, a MSW, peer coach and mentor. The topic: Using the LEAP Method of communication from Dr. Xavier Amador’s book, “I Am Not Sick, I Don’t Need Help.”
April 2019
Our speaker: Dr. Alex Korb, Ph.D., neuroscientist, writer, professor and coach at UCLA. The topic: “Updating the Upward Spiral: Practical Neuroscience to Reverse the Course of Depression.”
May 2019
Our speaker: JLA Trust Executive Director Michelle Wolf. The topic: “What Happens When You are Dead to Your Relative?: An affordable option for creating a Special Needs Trust. Free Education on Government Benefits”
