Dr. Michelle R. Munson to Participate in Landmark International Meetings on Youth Mental Health
NYU Silver School of Social Work Associate Professor Dr. Michelle R. Munson, a widely published expert on mental health services and interventions for adolescents and young adults, will participate in two landmark international meetings this fall addressing youth mental health.
On September 27, 2017, Dr. Munson will participate in a first-of-its-kind, international gathering of leading global youth mental health researchers solely focused on formulating future research directions for the field and addressing the funding and strategic partnerships needed to bring priority initiatives to fruition. Convened by the International Youth Mental Health Research Network (IYMHRN), the invitation-only symposium will be held in Dublin, Ireland, immediately after the 4th International Conference on Youth Mental Health.
Dr. Patrick McGorry, Executive Director of Australia's National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, who invited Dr. Munson on behalf of the IYMHRN steering committee, explained, “We aim to assemble a cohort of dedicated research talent to tackle the research challenges and help build the field . . . Research is essential for the sustainability of the youth mental health paradigm.”
Dr. Munson said, “I welcome this opportunity to collaborate with the best minds in the field to assess current research, identify global research gaps and priorities, and set forth an actionable research agenda to improve the lives of young people with serious mental health conditions. This invitation is particularly meaningful to me, as Dr. McGorry is a pioneer mental health researcher whose work I was reading in the 1990s; he was one of the first to raise international awareness on the ‘critical period’ of emerging psychosis and the importance of addressing it early.”
Also, on November 2, 2017, Dr. Munson will give the keynote lecture at Israel’s first-ever conference on Policy and Interventions with Young People at Risk. Organized by the Department of Social Work at Ben-Gurion University in cooperation with Israeli non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that work with at-risk youth and young adults, the conference is aimed at engaging both academic and professional audiences. Dr. Munson said, “This is an exciting time in the field, with a growing awareness around the globe of the particular mental health needs young people face as they move toward independence. I look forward to sharing my knowledge and experiences with the researchers and service providers dedicated to meeting the mental health needs of Israel’s youth and young adults.”
In addition to her faculty appointment, Dr. Munson directs NYU Silver’s Youth and Young Adult Mental Health Group, is the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services’ Saul Z. Cohen Chair in Child and Family Mental Health, and is on the editorial board of the Journal of Emerging Adulthood. Among her many active research projects, she is Principal Investigator on two National Institute of Mental Health R34 research studies addressing aspects of youth and young adult mental health.