October 14, 2008 For Immediate Release For additional information:  Barbara Kerr, Executive Director of Communications and Marketing Telephone: 360-992-2921 E-mail:  bkerr@clark.edu

CLARK COLLEGE PRESENTS
“MENTAL HEALTH MONDAYS”

The heralded lecture and discussion series returns to Clark College
during the college’s 75th anniversary year

 

VANCOUVER, Wash. – From depression to date rape to the effects of war, Clark College’s “Mental Health Mondays” series returns to offer insights and advice on important social issues. 

 

All events are free and open to the public.  Most “Mental Health Mondays” discussions will take place from noon to 1 p.m. in the Penguin Student Lounge, located in the college’s Penguin Union Building.  Clark College is located at 1933 Fort Vancouver Way, Vancouver. 

 

On November 17, the series will move to the Gaiser Student Center as the college welcomes a return visit by Dr. James Sardo of the Portland Veteran Affairs Medical Center, who was the speaker at the first “Mental Health Monday” event in April 2007.  Dr. Sardo is Program Manager and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Specialist for the Substance Abuse Treatment Program (SATP) and Assistant Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at OHSU.  

 

Guest speakers during fall quarter also include Clark College professor and licensed mental health counselor Judy Van Patten; licensed mental health counselor Stephanie Spak; and Robert Espiau, licensed physical therapist (LPT) and Certified Alcohol & Drug Counselor (CADC) II.  Espiau, a former Buddhist monk, has worked in the addictions/mental health field for 15 years and has practiced meditation for 25 years.  Espiau was the director of the Institute of Gnostic Studies in Long Beach, California for over 10 years, directed two meditation centers and has lived and studied with teachers of the nature of consciousness in India, Turkey, Europe, Canada, Mexico and South America.

 

Dates, topics and locations for the upcoming fall quarter “Mental Health Mondays” discussions are:

Oct. 20             

Date Rape: A Violation of Trust (DVD presentation)            
Penguin Student Lounge

 

Oct. 27             
Overcoming Anxiety                             
Stephanie Spak                          
Penguin Union Building Room 258C

Nov. 3              
Sex, Lies, and Alcohol (video presentation)                
Judy VanPatten                                       
Penguin Student Lounge

 

Nov. 10            
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): When Memories Won’t Go Away  (DVD  presentation)
Penguin Student Lounge

 

Nov. 17
Mental Health Implications of War       
James Sardo, PhD

Gaiser Student Center

 

Nov. 24
Meditation
Robert Espiau

Penguin Student Lounge

The “Mental Health Mondays” sessions are sponsored by the Clark College Counseling Center.  For additional information, call 360-992-2902.

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