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The trauma associated with natural disasters, refugee flight, teenage bullying, or gun violence can endure for a lifetime if appropriate mental health services are not provided. Just as we don’t wait for a wound to become infected before providing treatment, so too we must act quickly to curb emotional damage before it festers. Models of mental health first aid training sh...
Our children are in crisis. Globally, one in seven children, ages 10-19, has some kind of mental illness, notably depression, anxiety, or behavioral disorders. Horrifically, almost 19% of US high school students have given serious thought to suicide and an astonishing 9% have actually tried to kill themselves. To turn back that kind of despair, we need to listen to young p...
Rates of depression, disconnection, and suicide among today’s youth are alarming. Hear how leaders from the Aspen Forum for Community Solutions and a group of community partners — including donors and young people — are working together to help the rising generation thrive, along with insights and connections to other funding strategies and initiatives provided by the Aspe...
As the nation’s top doctor, US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy helps to advance the health and well-being of all Americans. He has described the growing youth mental health crisis in America as the “defining public health crisis of our time” and warned that social media carries a “profound risk of harm to the mental health of children and adolescents.” Murthy has also highlig...
The Aspen Challenge presents three high school teams from Louisville and one team from Dallas who developed innovative solutions to issues that have chronically impacted their communities. See these young change-makers take to the stage to prove that entrepreneurial community solutions can be created at any age. Learn how Justin F. Kimball and Central High School Magnet Ca...
Today’s kids are facing a mental health crisis unlike any before them, with rates of severe loneliness, anxiety, and depressive episodes reaching new heights. It’s an urgent concern with far-reaching impacts, especially for those in historically marginalized communities who too often do not have access to the help they need. How can organizations leverage their scale to ma...
The Aspen Challenge presents teams of high school students from New Orleans and Miami who have developed innovative solutions to issues that have impacted their communities. See these young changemakers take to the stage to prove that entrepreneurial community solutions can be created at any age. Learn how Benjamin Franklin High School at the Katherine Johnson Campus is ta...
There’s a mental health crisis plaguing America’s youth. The last decade saw major increases in adolescents who reported having a depressive episode, and “serious loneliness” affected a majority of young adults—and the global pandemic has likely worsened these conditions. The stats are staggering, but we need to do more than just talk about them, and come together as paren...
Earlier this year, two gifted NBA stars, Kevin Love of the Cleveland Cavaliers and DeMar DeRozan of the San Antonio Spurs, each publicly discussed their challenges with mental and emotional well-being. Their honesty started a national conversation about breaking through the stigma and fear of openly discussing mental health issues in professional sports. In this very perso...
A giant in global public health who dedicated his life to championing equity, Paul Farmer’s death in Rwanda this year at the age of 62 is a heartbreaking loss. Passionate, blunt, and inspirational, he was a physician, an activist, an anthropologist, a mentor, a father, and a husband who rooted his work on the unshakeable principle that all people should be valued equally....
Women’s healthcare has entered a promising and transformative era driven by scientific and technological innovation. The growing sophistication and personalization of genetic testing, surgical techniques, treatments, and therapies for women are ushering new advancements in breast health, gynecologic care, fertility, oncology, depression, mental health, and more. Join our p...
Although death is every bit as much a part of life as birth, we pretend it isn’t there. Perhaps it’s time that changed. The soon-to-be released HBO documentary Alternate Endings: Six New Ways to Die in America, tackles this final taboo. Join the filmmakers for a sneak peek and a frank discussion about end of life options. How might we design more meaningful deaths?
Renowned psychologists Lisa Damour, author of The Emotional Lives of Teenagers, and Laurence Steinberg, author of You and Your Adult Child, delve into the complex landscapes of adolescence and young adulthood in today’s society. Both have devoted their careers to studying and understanding adolescents — Damour as a clinical psychologist working with families and organizati...
Jesus and Buddha, separated by 3,000 miles and 400 hundred years, both speak to central questions of meaning. How similar — and how different — are their perspectives and how do the teachings, rituals, and histories of each tradition complement or contradict each other? Take the one-hour version of this popular Princeton course and explore how Jesus and Buddha understood t...
While incomes are rising, there are questions about gains in short-term financial stability and long-term wealth creation for the majority of America’s working households. Related, there have been debates about the connection between the demise of the middle class and how this could threaten our overall economy and democracy. How can we create a new golden age of middle-cl...
Over the last 20 years, suicide has become a full-blown national emergency. There are now more than twice as many suicides in the United States as homicides, and it’s the tenth leading cause of death. For every person who dies by suicide, approximately 30 more attempt it. Adding to the complexity of the issue, the spike can’t be explained by any sort of demographic logic....
The ability to endure is the essential trait in every extreme athletic endeavor. Hundred-mile races, Himalayan Mountain expeditions, and cross-continental treks all require humans to push harder and achieve more than we ever thought possible. How important is the delicate interplay between mind and body in the struggle to keep pushing despite an agonizing will to stop? Wha...
Scientific evidence suggests that we can change our brains by transforming our minds and cultivating habits of mind that will improve well-being. These include happiness, resilience, compassion, and emotional balance. Each of these characteristics is instantiated in brain circuits that exhibit plasticity and thus can be shaped and modified by experience and training. Menta...
DOORS OPEN AT 6PM. In the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Kate Winslet’s character erases painful memories of her ex-boyfriend. Could this be possible in real life? Neurotechnology, like decoded neurofeedback, offers ways to modify or erase unpleasant memories. Advocates believe it could improve mental well-being and heal emotional trauma. Forgotten memories co...
The arts are not a luxury or an escape, but a vital tool for thriving physically, mentally, and spiritually. Neuroscience explains how art changes the body, brain, and behavior and practitioners are demonstrating its role in advancing health and wellbeing. Learn about the cutting-edge field of neuroarts from the authors of the New York Times bestseller, Your Brain on Art:...