In Counselling - Behavioral Therapy in Virtual Worlds

Yesterday I watched the wednesday live show from Metanomics.net at The Sojourner Auditorium on Virtual Ability Island. 
Here is the announcement:  
Can substance abuse be treated online? What do virtual worlds have to offer people diagnosed with autism and schizophrenia? Does anonymity allow people to share their stories in a way free from judgement? Will playing back a virtual conversation over and over help people with schizophrenia become more socially active?

Join host Robert Bloomfield on October 28, 2009 at 12pm PST as he meets with Dick Dillon of Preferred Family Healthcare, Inc. to discuss substance abuse treatment within Second Life. The conversation will continue with faculty from the Center for Vital Brain Aging at the University of Texas at Dallas.

Guest Biographies

Dick Dillon

Dick Dillon has held many positions in his 28 year involvement with the behavioral health field, including Counselor, Clinical Team Leader, Program Director, and Chief Operating officer. He has also been a consumer of services. Soon after graduation from the treatment program Dick began working with other people in early recovery, first as a volunteer alumni coordinator, then as an addictions counselor, clinical team leader, and program director. He was the co-founder of the Substance Abuse Services Department of a large Missouri hospital and developed that project to be one of the premier medically-based programs in a multi-state area.

In 1990 Dick joined a publicly funded non-profit group and served as their Chief Operating Officer for a decade. During his tenure, the organization opened four new facilities and made significant clinical transition to evidence-based practice. In 2000, Dick joined Preferred Family Healthcare, Inc. which was then, as now, one of the most progressive and fast growing mental health service providers in the United States. He has served for the past several years as Senior Vice President of Planning and Development. In his own words “My job is to help determine what we need to do next to be of best services to our clientele, and find the resources to make that happen!”

Dan Krawczyk

Dan Krawczyk is an assistant professor of Behavioral and Brain Sciences at the University of Texas at Dallas.
Dr. Krawczyk’s laboratory is at the Center for Brain Health. His primary interest is in the neural circuitry associated wtih reasoning and he has just begun work on aging. He trained with Dr. Mark D’Esposito and brings considerable expertise in the nuances of functional imaging to the Vital Brain Aging Center.

A transcript of this show is on SlideShare! Click here to view it >>
To watch the recorded show: click here

Virtual Ability has agreed to take over HealthInfo Island.

Second Life Island announcements
alliancesecondlife@googlegroups.com
[alliancesecondlife@googlegroups.com] on behalf of Lori Bell
[lbell...@gmail.com]

Sent: Friday, October 16, 2009 9:29 PM
To:
alliancesecondlife@googlegroups.com
Attachments:
I am pleased to share that Virtual Ability has agreed to take over HealthInfo Island.

Land of Lincoln has been transferred to Fleet Goldenberg for Eduisland 7 but Illinois State University has agreed to be home to much of the Lincoln content.
Thanks to Daisy and Krull for transferring this content.

--
Lori Bell
Director of Innovation
Alliance Library System
600 High Point Lane
East Peoria, IL 61611
(309)694-9200 ext. 2128
skype: lbell927
lb...@alliancelibrarysystem.com
lbell...@gmail.com
"Virtual Worlds, Real Libraries"
http://books.infotoday.com/books/VirtualWorlds.shtml

“Share the Health: Training People with Disabilities and Chronic Medical Conditions on How to Locate Quality Health Information

Image by testdriverone via Flickr

Must really get back into writing posts... I blame Twitter.. I think it's marvellous but it takes away the edge a little bit to write on the blogs about it again.. This you must read! Virtual Ability has the absolute best and most beautiful Orientation Isand to learn getting around in Second Life.

Alliance Library System is pleased to make the final report for the project “Share the Health” available on the web at http://www.alliancelibrarysystem.com/pdf09/Sharethehealthfinalreportmay2009.pdf.

This project was funded with a contract from the National Library of Medicine Greater Midwest Region.

“We are very pleased that this project accomplished so much in terms of helping people with disabilities and chronic health conditions learn where to find credible health information and also how to navigate the virtual world of Second Life,” stated Kitty Pope, ALS Executive Director. “Much of this population is homebound and virtual worlds give them the opportunity to experience things they would not otherwise get to do.”

Virtual Ability, the new orientation center for people with these conditions in Second Life, was partially funded through this project. Virtual Ability was a recent co-winner of the prestigious Linden Prize with Studio Wikitecture. There were over 230 entries and this is the first vendor award of its type in virtual worlds.

“The many library services available in Second Life increase it’s utility for people with disabilities and chronic health conditions. The resources on HealthInfo Island are particularly pertinent,” stated Alice Krueger, president of Virtual Ability, Inc. “ We were pleased to partner with ALS in developing the intake and new resident orientation facilities on Virtual Ability Island, adjoining HealthInfo Island on the east.”

They also have created a Netvibes Universe Public Page : Share The Health VAI ALS

Here is an impression!

Image by testdriverone via Flickr

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Proposed Meeting and Collaboration

In the wake of the success of our joint efforts on World AIDS Day, and in the spirit of collaboration embodied by Second Life, we invite HIV/AIDS groups, activists, health professionals, organizations, and educators to participate in a meeting to discuss our shared interests and explore ways we might ensure the success of our collective work.

The tentative goals of this meeting are to:

• identify areas where we can collaborate
• identify ways to coordinate our outreach, support, marketing, and education efforts
• form a community of support that transcends SL and RL boundaries

Place: Karuna campfire: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Karuna/60/106/26
Date: March 6, 2009
Time: 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Second Life Time (Pacific Time)

For further information about Karuna, please visit our project website http://www.karunasl.info/

Please feel free to pass this invitation to any other HIV/AIDS groups, activists, health professionals, organizations, and educators you feel might be interested.

Carolina Keats, Karuna Project Coordinator
Jenaia Morane, Story Project Coordinator

HealthInfo Island & Karuna Stand at Dreams Fair 2009

HealthInfo Island & Karuna Stand at Dreams Fair 2009

posted by Namro Orman
on Dreams East 14 hours, 18 minutes, 19 seconds ago
[53 views]

HealthInfo Island & Karuna Stand at Dreams Fair 2009. http://healthinfoisland.blogspot.com http://karunasl.info
Dreams East (72, 128, 25)

Tags: karuna, healthinfoisland, secondlife, consumer health, sl, avl

Recent talk on Consumer Health Librarianship

This presentation was given February 4, 2009, at the Preconference for the 2009 Association of American Publishers / PSP Annual Conference. I'm posting it here as my first attempt at creating a video from a slideset. Please pardon my voice in this - I had the flu when I recorded it (though not while I presented in Washington, D.C.)!

Consumer Health Librarianship in Second Life from carol perryman on Vimeo.

Caregiving

Take Heart

A workshop for caregivers

Saturday, February 14th
10-11:30 a.m., SLT

Location: Healthinfo Island
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/102/190/24


Take some time on Valentine’s Day to care for yourself! Join counselor Avalon Birke and consumer health librarian Carolina Keats on Healthinfo Island for a workshop on a topic of concern to many: caregiving.

Avalon will be talking about coping methods for caregivers,then Carolina provides an overview of good resources, including legal, financial, and health information.You'll leave with a listing of top-quality links that can help you get the help you need. If you cannot attend, the handout is available to all.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Please note: If this topic interests you but the date or time won't work – let me know. I am happy to conduct another workshop on the same topic. I am also delighted to tailor workshops or classes on many topics your group would like to know more about.

Carolina Keats
Consumer Health Librarian

Supported by funding from the National Library of Medicine
Administered through the Alliance Library System

Start the New Year Well! Learn how to find good health information on Healthinfo Island - Wednesday

Second Life Celebrates World AIDS Day with New Island

Picture taken by Verde Otaared

Thanks to a generous grant from the National Library of Medicine and the tremendous support of the Alliance Library System as grant administrator, a brand new island dedicated to HIV/AIDS education, outreach, and support will open in Second Life on December 1 - World AIDS Day, 2008.

Please join us at http://slurl.com/secondlife/Karuna/60/106/26
Note that the island will be open to the public on that day.

Christened Karuna, a word taken from an early Indo-Aryan language, the name of the island embodies the desire to remove harm and suffering, and to bring about the well-being and happiness of others.

Karuna team members include AIDS/HIV support group leaders as well as AIDS content information experts and educators, ensuring that the best, most recent, evidence-based information is available. The project objective is to empower individuals in healthcare decision making. Through this project, one-to-one health information reference services are provided by experienced medical and consumer health librarians.

In addition to providing infomation resources, support, and networking opportunities, Karuna is built around a Garden of Experience, where the experiences of those dealing with HIV/AIDS will be shared in a variety of formats including poetry, photos, music, and video. For more information about this project, see http://www.karunasl.info.

We are proud to be working with other organizations in this effort, including AIDS.gov, the University of North Carolina Center for AIDS research, Community Outreach, Dissemination, and Education Office (CFAR), and most recently, by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).

Together, we work to ensure that the idea of community is foremost. Individuals are at the heart of Karuna, and it is through sharing tales and human connections that we find our best selves.

All times listed are Pacific Standard Times
Location: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Karuna/60/106/26
Note that the island will be open to the public on that day

10-10:10 Story to Live By (Jenaia Morane)
10:10-10:20 AIDS/HIV Support & Experience (Ricken Flow)
10:20-30 Health in Second Life (Pathfinder Linden)
10:30-10:40 HIV/AIDS in the U.S. (Miguelz Rajal & Ellechim Fizzle)
10:40-10:50 Karuna: The Grant and the Vision (Carolina Keats )
10:50-11:00 Questions and Answers
11:10 – 11:45 Tours of Karuna
11:45 – 1:00 Lunch break
1:00 – 3:00 Story writing workshop and posting of stories
5:00-5:15 Closing Ceremony – Candle of Hope is lit
6:00 – 8:00 Dance with live DJ
8:00 – 9:00 Music: Live performance by Cylindrian Rutabaga

Please support our project bid!

Info+ Alliance: Providing accurate, quality and timely sex health information using innovative ICTs

Please help us by taking the time to view, rate, and comment on our preliminary project description. It is our intent to create an innovative application for fact-checking media reports around sexual health, including HIV/AIDS by working in collaboration with experts in Second Life, North Carolina, Illinois, New York, Australia, and India. The idea and collaboration has sprung from relationships in Second Life, and intends to benefit both SL and RL communities.

You'll see basic information about the proposed project on the following link, and depending upon ratings, we'll be invited to submit a more complete application.

Please go here to see and rate our proposal. Your comments are also greatly appreciated, since these may affect the decision as much or more as the ratings.
http://tinyurl.com/6neon3

from one of the accompanying documents:

Working in partnership with Alliance Library System in Illinois and in collaboration with the Journalism and Media Research Centre, University of New South Wales (Australia) and the University of North Carolina Center for AIDS research, Community Outreach, Dissemination, and Education Office (CFAR), the Info+ Alliance brings together internationally recognised experts in journalism, sex health education, health information provision, cultural studies, media arts and computer programming across three countries.

Thank you for your support!!

Carolina Keats
Coordinator, Healthinfo Island and Karuna projects

Virtual Worlds, Real Libraries: Innovators Describe Pioneering Library and Educational Projects in Second Life and Other Virtual Environments

We are pleased to say that a new book was announced today! Namro (Guus van den Brekel)and myself (Carol Perryman) wrote one of the chapters in this work, whihc was most ably coordinated and edited by Lori Bell and Rhonda Trueman.

For the entire text of the release, see http://liswire.com/node/241

By RobColding - Posted on 16 October 2008

October 20, 2008, Monterey, CA—At the 12th annual Internet Librarian Conference and Exhibition, Information Today, Inc. (ITI) announced the publication of Virtual Worlds, Real Libraries: Librarians and Educators in Second Life and Other Multi-User Virtual Environments, edited by Lori Bell and Rhonda B. Trueman.

Eighty percent of Internet users are expected to engage in some form of virtual world activity by 2011 (Gartner Research Group), and librarians and educators are already there. Virtual Worlds, Real Libraries—the brainchild of editors Bell and Trueman—is designed to help libraries and schools recognize the importance of multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs) and consider ways of getting involved as they proliferate. The editors and 24 contributors describe innovative library, educational, and cultural projects they have undertaken. They recount their experiences working together to succeed in Second Life and other virtual worlds and explain how traditional library services such as reference, teaching, collections, discussion groups, and young adult programs can be applied in a virtual environment.

Tags: secondlife, sl, virtualwords, healthinfoisland, als

PubMed for YOU: Searching for Medical information

PubMed for YOU: Searching for Medical Information

October 14
PubMed for YOU: Searching for Medical information
Healthinfo Island Classroom area
11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. SL time
Prerequisites: Curiosity and an interest in searching for health information

Join us on Healthinfo Island for a hands-on opportunity to learn how you (yes, you!) can search the PubMed database. No need for prior experience - it's all about checking out one of the greatest informational resources we have, free on the Internet. Questions? Contact Carolina Keats inworld.

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/102/190/24

AIDS Information and Outreach in the Virtual World of Second Life

The Alliance Library System (ALS) is pleased to announce that the National Library of Medicine has awarded ALS a $60,000 grant for a project entitled "AIDS Information and Outreach in the Virtual World of Second Life." The project includes the creation of a new island with a community AIDS/HIV library/resource center. The resource center will provide information support and outreach to the Second Life community and beyond about AIDS/HIV and its prevention. The new island will also be home to a garden space where narratives about the AIDS/HIV experience can be shared through art, audio, video, poetry, essays, and more. The project runs from October 1, 2008 – March 31, 2010.

This is the fourth grant awarded to ALS for the provision of consumer health information in Second Life, and will also fund a continuation of current efforts. The project coordinator will be Carol Perryman, known inworld as Carolina Keats.

For more information on the Alliance Library System, please see www.alliancelibrarysystem.com or contact Lori Bell at lbell927@gmail.com, or in Second Life as Lorelei Junot.

For more information about this project, please contact Carol Perryman at cp1757@gmail.com or in Second Life as Carolina Keats.

Healthcare Education group event

A truly interesting and even motivational event, and I'm not just saying that because I had some small part in it. Pathfinder Linden spoke to a group of ~30 healthcare folks at the new Health EduIsland, expressing his strong interest in, and advocacy of, health and health education efforts in Second Life. I love the thought that this group constitutes evidence of the continued development of SL as a platform, moving toward exploiting the networking capabilities of virtual worlds to share experiences and grow together. That's sure what it's about, isn't it?

Plans afoot - Health EduIsland

Next Friday the Healthcare Education group will be meeting in their new space for the first time! Planned as an 'ahoy maties!' pirate-themed party, we'll take a look around and talk about plans for the use of this large chunk of space, deciding how it can best be used to meet our objectives. You're invited to attend!

Announcing..... Health EduIsland!

To the immediate south of Healthinfo Island, please note a new green space, currently furnished only by the sign you see above. Intended as a gathering space for the health community, we will be making the auditorium (which is to be the centerpiece of the island) available to all health groups through a calendaring system. We're excited to be able to host the upcoming Stepping into Health conference here, as well as the next World AIDS Day, and have offered space to the new Healthcare Education group for meetings and displays.

Contact Carolina Keats for further information

Tags: healthInfoisland, healthEduIsland, education, medical, health, nlm, als

"Stepping into Health" becomes Third in Popular "Stepping into Virtual Worlds" Series

Using virtual worlds to promote health and healthcare is the topic of the next installment of the popular "Stepping into Virtual Worlds" conference series, to be offered October 7^th, 2008 in Second Life. Hundreds of people have attended this series, which began with "Stepping into History" in June and continued with "Stepping into Literature" in August. The series is sponsored by Alliance Library System and LearningTimes. The day-long conference is open to the public, with more information available at http://www.steppingintovirtualworlds.org. It will take place entirely in the virtual world of Second Life.

During this conference, participants will make virtual "field trips" to some of the best and most creative locations that are using virtual worlds to promote health. During these field trips, they will be able to speak with those responsible for creating the simulations, and have time to explore them on their own. Among the field trips for this conference are Healthinfo Island, a health education simulation where visitors can test their knowledge of strokes by walking through a giant artery and destroying clots by correctly answering questions, and ToxTown, a typical American town where potentially dangerous chemicals can easily be seen.

In addition to the field trips, the conference includes:

• Keynote presentations by Randy Hinrichs, founder of 2B3D and developer of the "Medipelago," a group of health related simulations in Second Life; and Ramesh Ramloll, creator of Play2Train, a virtual world simulator used to prepare healthcare professionals and others for crisis situations
• Table Talks on subjects such as "Healthcare Education and Advocacy in Virtual Worlds," "Virtual World Health Librarianship" and "Using Virtual World for Training Medical Personnel."
• A panel discussion, allowing participants to question and interact with a variety of experts in the use of virtual worlds in health and healthcare.

Alliance Library System, co-sponsor of the "Stepping Into" series, is a multi-type library system headquartered in East Peoria, Illinois. Alliance has been a leader in developing ways for libraries to expand their missions and serve patrons in virtual worlds. Alliance is on the web at www.alliancelibrarysystem.com.

LearningTimes, the second co-sponsor, is the leading producer of online communities and online conferences for education and training. Their clients and partners include educational and cultural institutions, non-profit organizations, associations and membership groups. LearningTimes provides the training, platforms, applications and expertise these organizations need to make their conferences a success. More information about LearningTimes can be found at www.learningtimes.net.

The cost for this day-long conference is $79, and participants may register for the conference at www.steppingintovirtualworlds.org

I take this one personally

Nearly 8 years ago I finally did what I had been dreading for 29 years: I stopped smoking. The journey to cessation was amazing and life-altering, entailing lots of learning. I didn't just learn about what smoking does to bodies, but about my own fears and anxieties around cessation, and how important a community of support is in change.

You could say that this class was more than 8 years in the making. I will be telling (briefly!) my own story, but also asking for your own experience. Without pressure, I'll also share a few good resources so when you're ready, you'll know where to find good info on medications, community support, and more (and who knows, we may even begin our own smoking cessation support group).

Second Life is a community. Let's come together for health!

Carolina Keats

Notecard text:
Consumer Health Information at Healthinfo Island: The Workshop

Have you always wanted to learn more about consumer health information services? Join us on Wednesday, September 3 at 11:00 a.m. SL time for a one hour hands-on class!

Location is on Healthinfo Island in the classroom area: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/154/226/0

This is intended for you, if you:

• have little or no experience with consumer health information
  
• are interested in joining the active SL Health Librarians group, including helping to provide coverage on Healthinfo Island for tours and other activities
  

Expect to walk (or fly!) away with a basic awareness of the following:

• Reference skills (what do I need to remember? What are some dos and dont's?)
  
• Basic resources: links and tips
  
• Health information literacy - and and easy way to measure content for readability
  
• Credibility in a virtual environment: Resource quality evaluation, transparency, and knowing when to refer

The content of this workshop was used to train staff (including paraprofessionals) at the Duke University Medical Center Library, and is adapted for use in Second Life. If there is sufficient interest we will plan a second class for more advanced skills.

Updated study finds 56% of Americans seek health information - up from 38%

A tremendous jump in health information seeking between 2001 and 2007 is reported in a new report by the Study for Seeking Health System Change. Full content of the study's findings is available online. Looking at the graph above, I find it interesting that overall, people are reporting they use media sources, peers, and the internet at about the same rate to learn more about health issues - a very significant change in the way we look for health information.

The most striking finding on the impact of health information is that four of five information seekers found information that helped them to better understand how to treat an illness or condition. This positive impact on consumers’ health knowledge was consistently high across demographic subgroups (HSC Tracking Report No. 20).

The authors conclude that increased health information seeking by consumers may be a result of the awareness that physicians have less time, and call for health policy organizations to find ways to make good health information easier to find.

I disagree somewhat with the recommendation: There is fantastic information available now. To begin with, MedlinePlus.gov serves as a huge portal source to many, many other top-quality health association sites. Where I find gaps is in the consumer awareness of resources, and perhaps in the complexity of the resources. I have seldom encountered a consumer who is familiar with MedlinePlus, and when I introduce it, they are usually astounded and impressed (and perhaps, a bit intimidated) by the sheer volume of information. If I were Health Information Czar :) I'd launch a major publicity campaign on behalf of MedlinePlus, with TV and radio spots, with personal narratives, individual accounts of how people found information through that site that empowered them as partners in their own healthcare. Got Healthinfo?