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Naples, Fl – David Lawrence Centers, Collier County’s only comprehensive, not-for-profit mental health and addiction recovery treatment center serving children, adults and families, along with our education partners the Naples Children & Education Foundation and Collier County Public Schools, is pleased to announce that the 5th Annual Sound Minds Mental Health Symposium is set for March 24, 2018 at Moorings Presbyterian Church from 3:00 – 5:00 pm.

The symposium will feature a screening of physician, parent and filmmaker Delaney Ruston, MD’s award-winning documentary, Screenagers, and will be followed by an engaging, solution-centered discussion with the film’s Executive Producer Lisa Tabb. Immediately following the symposium will be a VIP Meet-the-Speaker reception from 5:00 – 7:00 pm, where ticket holders can enjoy wine, hors d’oeuvres and live music in an intimate setting with Tabb.

Screenagers probes the vulnerable corners of family life and depicts the messy struggles over social media, video games, internet addiction and academics. The symposium is designed to bring parents, grandparents, healthcare professionals, educators and kids together for a meaningful dialogue that leads to personal revelation and powerful positive change in homes, schools and communities.

Ruston said, “Screenagers emerged directly from a challenge I was facing in my own life – raising teenagers whose attention was increasingly consumed by screen-based activities. As a physician, I became increasingly anxious to know how our new tech world affects children’s development. The film explores the impact of video gaming and social media on self-esteem, empathy, social skills development, academics and brain development.”

Attendees will hear engaging, personal stories, learn insights from authors, psychologists, and brain scientists and receive real-word solutions on how to empower kids to navigate the digital world and find balance. The event is appropriate for children 10 years of age and older. CEUs are available for professionals.

About the Filmmaker

Delaney Ruston is a filmmaker, Stanford trained physician and mother of two. While pursuing her medical degree, Delaney studied many aspects of filmmaking with a particular focus on film as a vehicle for social change. She is currently the Filmmaker-in-Residence at the Center for Medical Humanities, Compassionate Care and Bioethics at Stony Brook Medicine, NY.  Along with filmmaking, Ruston has spent over a decade providing primary care to the underserved.

Ruston takes a deeply personal approach in her documentaries on mental health and probes into the vulnerable corners of family life, including her own. She uses filmmaking as a platform for advocacy and has partnered with groups such as National Alliance on Mental Illness and the World Health Organization, to promote compassion and action. In addition to Screenagers, she produced Unlisted: A Story of Schizophrenia, about her father, and Hidden Pictures, about global mental health, both for PBS.

About the Speaker

Lisa Tabb is the co-producer and co-executive producer of Screenagers. In addition to her most important job being a mother of two teenagers, Tabb has more than 25 years of experience developing content for television, web and print specializing in parenting, travel, consumer issues and daily news. Prior to becoming a documentary film producer, she spent 15 years producing the news at ABC 7 News in San Francisco, with a focus on trends around parenting, raising kids and emerging technologies. Prior to television, Tabb had a long career in adventure publishing during which she started the first ecotravel magazine in the U.S, EcoTraveler. She is the co-author of Beyond Vegas in which she writes about marrying her husband in 10 countries. In addition to her professional life, she has worked with schools on fundraising and education initiatives in Northern California where she lives.

There is a $10 suggested donation per person for the symposium. The cost for the VIP Meet the Speaker reception is $125.

For sponsorships and ticket information, visit DavidLawrenceCenter.org or contact Moira Larkin at 239-354-1445 or moiral@dlcmhc.com.

Southwest Florida nonprofit David Lawrence Centers is a national leader in providing world-class mental health and addiction recovery solutions for children, adolescents and adults. The Center’s innovative, integrated treatment includes inpatient, outpatient, residential, and community-based services – a comprehensive system of care funded by community and government support. Each year, David Lawrence Centers creates life-changing wellness for more than 9,000 people through over 220,000 treatment sessions. To learn more, please call (239) 491-7602 or visit www.DavidLawrenceCenter.org.

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