Pandemic, climate change, war: the world is living through historic, stressful times. That’s why we’re bringing together a unique team of heroes to talk about mental health, community, and how we can support one another. We’ll look at the Avengers and how our favorite heroes and villains navigated life during and after The Blip, and what lessons we can take into the real world. Join us May 2nd - 8th!
events
Mon, May 2 @ 3pm ET Intro to Superhero Therapy with Dr. Scarlet | Instagram Live
Join us for a marvelous kick-off conversation with Dr. Scarlet, a licensed clinical psychologist, about the benefits of including superheroes and stories in therapy.
Tues, May 3 @ 8pm ET After the Blip! | Youtube
After the Blip, our heroes are struggling. The MCU has showcased a lot of mental health themes, and some of them are accurate…and some of them are not. Join our panelists as they discuss Marvel, mental health, and how activists can care for themselves and others living through major world shifts.
Featuring: Shawn Taylor (Nerds of Color, Pop Culture Collaborative), Dr. Elizabeth Sánchez Arvizu (Psychology for Geeks), Cassie Walker (Take This), Dr. Kathy Kavanaugh (Fandom Therapist)
Wed, May 4 @ 8pm ET Avengers Assemble! Journaling Workshop | Youtube
Journaling with Tiara Deguzman! This Avengers-themed journaling workshop will focus on community, belonging, mental health, and creativity. Through interactive journaling exercises, we will explore our needs and determine ways we can find support in our communities while we navigate our mental and emotional wellness journeys. You will leave this workshop with some valuable tips about how to develop your own journaling practice and make it a community endeavor. Avengers Assemble!
Thurs, May 5 @ 8pm ET Finding and Fighting for Resources | Youtube
It’s pretty common to see our favorite Marvel superheroes struggling with their mental health and not getting the help they need. Unfortunately, that’s a storyline ripped straight from real life. In this panel, we’ll learn how to find mental health resources and how to fight to make them more widely accessible to all (while nerding out about superheros).
Featuring: Cassie Walker (Take This), Dr. Chrisha Anderson (Wayward Therapy, Project FanCare), Jay Justice (Cosplayer and Advocate)
Fri, May 6 @ 8pm ET Community Night! | Zoom
Join us for a virtual night of crafts, music, Marvel and friends! We’ll be listening to music, doing activities together, getting to know each other, discussing our favorite Marvel moments, and more!
Sat, May 7 @ 1pm ET Kids Day! | RSVP here!
Do you have a little superhero you want to help learn about mental health in a fun way? Join us for a virtual event held via Zoom, where we will be hanging out with you and your kid(s) to talk about Marvel superheroes and their mental health, while also doing activities from our brand new kids version of the Marvelous Mental Health toolkit! Advanced registration is required. Recommended (but not limited to) ages 7 - 12.
ALL WEEK Daily Recaps and Highlights with Fandom Forward Staffers! | Instagram Live
Speakers
DR. JANINA SCARLET
Dr. Janina Scarlet is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist, author, TEDx speaker, and a full-time geek. A Ukrainian-born refugee, she survived Chernobyl radiation and persecution. She immigrated to the United States at the age of 12 with her family and later, inspired by the X-Men, developed Superhero Therapy to help patients with anxiety, depression, and PTSD. Dr. Scarlet is the recipient of the Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award by the United Nations Association for her work on Superhero Therapy. Her work has been featured on Yahoo, BBC, NPR, Sunday Times, CNN, CW, ABC, The New York Times, Forbes, and many other outlets. Dr. Scarlet currently works at the Center for Stress and Anxiety Management in San Diego.
CASSIE WALKER, LCSW, CCTP
Cassandra (Cassie) Walker (They/Them) - is a Black Queer Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Trauma Specialist, Activist, founder of Intersections Center for Complex Healing, and consultant with Take This. They enjoy podcasting and playing games for fun and professionally. Cassie’s work focuses on the intersections of trauma, mental wellness, and identity and uses a holistic liberatory and decolonial approach to helping people find healing for themselves and their communities. Cassie is also a writer for the upcoming Into the Mother Lands tabletop roleplaying game, and has written articles for academic papers and publications.
SHAWN TAYLOR
Shawn is a founding author of thenerdsofcolor.org, a founding organizer of the Black and Brown Comix Arts Festival, and a Senior Fellow with the Pop Culture Collaborative researching the social and political power of Fandom. Along with being a university lecturer, Shawn is a coach and consultant for people working in creative industries.
TIARA DEGUZMAN
Tiara is a career coach and freelance writer living in Chicago IL. In her free time, she likes to journal, reviews books on Instagram (@booknerdspells), and facilitate workshops on career development and social justice topics. Her writing has been published in publications like Autostraddle, Philadelphia Gay News, Crab Fat Literary Magazine, and Two Hawks Quarterly.
ELIZABETH SÁNCHEZ ARVIZU
Elizabeth is the daughter of two Mexican immigrants. In a few months, she will be receiving her doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology.
She believes that if used carefully the media and social media by extension can be a great medium to help us with our mental health. She created @superpwrtoolkit to build a community of geeks and therapists working together to improve our mental health.
JAY JUSTICE
Jay is a Jamaican-American cosplayer, editor, and advocate. Her work has been featured by SyFy, BBC America, and Marvel Comics, and she has been the inspiration for new characters in DC Comics and Boom Studios. Since 2009 she has crafted over 70 costumes and created panels at conventions across the country on the topics of comics, gaming, diversity in media and costuming. As an outspoken POC, LGBTQIA+ and disability advocate, Jay is dedicated to creating lasting change within her community & inspiring others to do the same.
DR. KATHY KAVANAUGH
Kathy Kavanaugh completed her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology at Oklahoma State University and is now a Postdoctoral Fellow. Kathy has identified as part of the Harry Potter fandom for over 15 years and has been lucky enough to somehow be able to combine her love of the series with her academic interests. She has researched topics including LGBTQ+ identity and sexuality, fandom, and pop culture. Kathy is also a Ravenclaw, Nerdfighter, and cosplayer with a slight obsession with cats.
DR. CHRISHA ANDERSON
Dr. Chrisha Anderson is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor and Ph.D. In clinical practice, Chrisha has worked with children, adolescents, and young adults in foster care and residential treatment settings. As a doctoral student, Chrisha conducted research on the impact of online science fiction fandom involvement on women’s mental health.
In addition to fangirling, gaming, and researching, Chrisha is also a full-time stay at home mom to two tiny geeks, and likes to blog about various topics including mental health, graduate school, fandom, and processing fictional trauma. To contact Chrisha for questions, collaboration, feedback, or fangirling, you can find her on Twitter (@drfangirlphd) or on her website (www.drfangirlphd.com).
MODERATORS + VOLUNTEERS
Host your own Marvelous Mental Health Fest!
Love talking heroes, villains, and mental health? Us, too! That’s why we’ve created a special toolkit to help you kick start these conversations with your community! Download it here to get started!
