SLHealthy - Recently Updated Pages

Virtual Healthcare Learning Community (VHLC)

perplexity — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 07:24:00 CST

Group or SIM Name: Virtual Healthcare Learning Community
Is this a Group or a SIM?: This is a group hosted on the Ning social networking platform with a community center located on the SLICE2 Pier Campus in Second Life.
Purpose: Focused on developing the potential of virtual spaces for promoting healthy lifestyles & training healthcare professionals.
Website: http://virtualhealthcare.ning.com
Second Life Community Center (SLURL): http://slurl.com/secondlife/Erudio%20Consortio/151/20/25
Contact: Gerald Stapleton gstapltn@uic.edu in First Life or Jerod Bagley in Second Life
Services Provided: Opportunity to network and share information
Target Audience: General (health care consumers and clinicians)
Open to All or Closed (except to Members): Information is open, editing restricted to members.
Social Opportunities Available: Community Center in SL is located next to the Second Cup Cafe. All are welcome to relax and visit with friends.
Additional Comments: Please join us. We would love to hear about your health related educational activities in virtual environments.

Toro-Troconis, Boulos - State of 3dVR for Health 2009

perplexity — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:55:44 CST

Toro-Troconis M, Boulos MNK. Editors' Corner: Musings on the State of '3-D Virtual Worlds for Health and Healthcare' in 2009. 3D Virtual Worlds for Health and Healthcare. Journal of Virtual Worlds Research (JVWR) 2(2) August 2009.

Documents & Articles

perplexity — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:50:14 CST

Please use the left hand navigation menu to find articles or documents available online about health and healthcare in Second Life and Virtual Worlds.

Walker - Counselor Education for Mental Health

perplexity — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:46:31 CST

Walker, V. L. (2009). Using 3D virtual environments in counselor education for mental health interviewing and diagnosis: Student perceived learning benefits. Ph.D. dissertation, Regent University, United States -- Virginia.

ABSTRACT
Role-playing is a useful technique educators have assigned with the hope of preparing their students for situations they encounter in their careers. Role-playing serves as important activity for student counselors developing interviewing and diagnosis skills. The use of role-playing in counselor education provides instructors and students with a useful method in practicing various scenarios and the development of a strong interviewing and diagnosis skill set. Instructors and students need an environment that enables them to ‚Äúmeet, discuss, role-play, practice, and complete activities and that enables instructors to present more authentic didactic examples and supervise students without interference‚Äù (Walker, 2009, p. 1). Finding an authentic environment with ‚Äúpatients‚Äù who emulate clients that counselors may encounter in their careers can be difficult as educators are limited by the available technologies and mediums to produce settings where such active learning can take place. Research on the challenges facing counselor educators to provide effective learning opportunities and the development and use of 3D virtual environments in education was used as the conceptual framework for this study. The purpose of this study was to evaluate student perceived learning benefits of a 3D virtual environment for counselor skill development. Students completed three activities during each unit in their course. While practicing their skills in the 3D virtual environment Second Life during two units in their course, students completed role-playing activities in a virtual counselor training facility interviewing customized avatars emulating a mental illness. Research questions for this study include: Is there a difference in perceived learning based on learning activity? Do students perceive the use of a 3D virtual environment for role-playing as an effective method to develop their counseling interviewing and diagnosis skills? Study results were obtained by the administration of a student perceived learning instrument after each activity completed in two different units during the course and the administration of an attitudinal survey after both units and all activities in those units were completed. An analysis of the results of this study determined students perceived using a 3D virtual environment for role-playing activities as beneficial. The quantitative perceived learning survey results found a statistically significant difference when comparing student perceived learning between the three learning activities; with the 3D virtual environment obtaining the highest student perceived learning scores. Specifically, students perceived they learned more during their activities in the 3D virtual environment than other activities used during the same course units. Analysis of quantitative and qualitative data from the attitudinal survey determined students perceived the use of a 3D virtual environment for role-playing as an effective method to develop their mental health interviewing and diagnosis counseling skills. Students felt the 3D virtual environment was realistic, interactive, fun, and engaging. In addition, students felt the environment improved collaboration, communication, and cooperation among students. The findings of this study have implications for future educational practice as counselor instructors in both traditional and distance education courses seek to find better methods to assist their students in developing their skills.

Dissertations

perplexity — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:41:34 CST

Here you can find dissertations about health and healthcare in Second Life and other virtual world. Please check the lefthand navigation menu.

Hope Village

TheHopeVillage — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:46:55 CST

SIM and Group Name: The Hope Village Location (SLURL): http://slurl.com/secondlife/Splashed/225/105/23/ Group: SL Group Info SL IM: Mucaro India, Timm Short, TinMan Gearhead, and TheHope Neox Audience: People with Disabilities and Their Friends, Open to All Social Opportunities Available Special Features: coffee shop/art gallery, 7 seas fishing, dance club, mall, classes, training, helicopter.

SIM and Group Name: The Hope Village
Location (SLURL): http://slurl.com/secondlife/Splashed/225/105/23/

Group: SL Group Info

SL IM: Mucaro India, Timm Short, TinMan Gearhead, and TheHope Neox

Audience: People with Disabilities and Their Friends, Open to All
Social Opportunities Available
Special Features: coffee shop/art gallery, 7 seas fishing, dance club, mall, classes, training, helicopter.

Purpose:We are a small residential village for people with disabilities.Currently we offer 6 free apartments, free of charge, for individuals whose sole source of income is some form of disability pension. We also have 4 pay apartments for L$500 a month, for people with disabilities who can afford to pay rent on SL. The Village is located in a relaxing environment that includes a coffee shop; a 7 Seas Fishing area; and a skybox for building. We also have a dance club for special events.

Services: In addition to the above mentioned building classes - beginners to advanced. We also have a small mall where people with disabilities can sell their goods, free of rent. There is a small commission charge for all goods sold.Our facility is also opened to any support group who would like to hold meetings on our grounds or special events at our dance club.Hope Village would also like to help these groups and people with disabilities by acting as a hub to other disability group and sims within SL.

Ongoing & Repeating Events

Knoh — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:25:47 CST

In this section of the Calendar you will find listed events that have multiple dates, such as classes with multiple sessions, or are standing events that occur on a regular basis such as every week. We encourage moderators or organizers of standing events to consider adding a listing once a month in the main calendar to help draw attention to their events as well as making sure that Knoh Oh has information for the list on Health InfoIsland. You can browse listings of standing events with more detailed information in the menu to the left side of the screen.

Healthcare Support Groups' Weekly/SemiWeekly Meetings:

December 2009

**Note: December dates not all confirmed at this time.**

Healthcare Support Groups' Meetings:

Theme. Group. Time (if available.)

Weekly/semi-weekly:

Sun-
Tong Ren Neck and Back Pain. Support for Healing. 8am.
Grief and Loff Support Group. 10am
Alcoholics Anonymous. Various Groups. Several times a day.
Cancer Survivor. SL's Cancer Survivors. 12pm.
Cancer Caregivers, survivors welcome. SL's Cancer Caregivers. 10am.
Multiple Sclerosis. Multiple Sclerosis Help and Support. 1st Sunday a month 11am.
Bring an Issue. Support for Healing. 7pm

Mon-
Dissociative Identity Disorder, DID Friendship Circle. 2pm
Depression Support Group. Centering Place. 4pm
Alcoholics Anonymous. Various Groups. Several times a day.
Sex Abuse Survivors. SL Project Hope. 4pm
Survivors of HIV. Mental Health Network. 5pm

Tues-
UK & Ireland Anxiety and Depression Support Group. Support for Healing. 1pm
Tong Ren Stress Relief. Support for Healing. 6pm.
Alcoholics Anonymous. Various Groups. Several times a day.
Multiple Sclerosis. Multiple Sclerosis Help and Support. 3rd Tuesday a month 11am.
Loss for Life. Support for Healing. 7pm
BiPolar. Second Life BiPolar Support Group. 8pm.

Wed-
Aspergers Syndrome. Brigadoon Explorers. 5pm.
Alcoholics Anonymous. Various Groups. Several times a day.
Cancer Caregivers, survivors welcome. SL's Cancer Caregivers. 7pm.

Thu-
UK & Ireland Anxiety Group. Support for Healing. 1pm
Dissociative Identity Disorder, DID Friendship Circle. 2pm
Depression Support Group. Support for Healing. 4pm
Anxiety Support Circle, Support for Healing. 6:30pm
Anxiety. Support for Healing. 7pm.
Alcoholics Anonymous. Various Groups. Several times a day.
Cancer Survivors. SL Cancer Survivors. 4pm.

Fri-
Alcoholics Anonymous. Various Groups. Several times a day.
BiPolar. Second Life BiPolar Support Group. 2pm.

Sat-
Chronic Disease. Ouchies. 2:30 pm.
Alcoholics Anonymous. Various Groups. Several times a day.

**Monthly**

Autism. Autism Society of America. See group for details about June meeting.

RSD/CRPS Support. RSD Support Group. See group for details on meeting dates and time

Loss for Life. Support for Healing. For more information, contact Veena Schism.

**One Time Only Events**

Notes:

The inclusion/exclusion of meetings in this calendar is not a recommendation/condemnation.

If you would like your meetings included either:

Drop a notecard to Knoh Oh. Include the theme, dates/times, and the name of the group. An official contact as well. I do not want to publicize those groups who wish to be private.

or

Update the SLHealthy Calendar at http://slhealthy.wetpaint.com. I use the information posted there.

December 2, 2009.

Knoh Oh
Path of Support...one step at a time.

(Knoh Oh keeps a copy of this calendar inworld at the Path of Support on Healthinfo Island. Feel free to update this one, or IM Knoh for additions/changes)(SLurl)

Help Using This Site

perplexity — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:00:59 CST

<div style="width:425px;text-align:left" id="__ss_545969"><a style="font:14px Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;display:block;margin:12px 0 3px 0;text-decoration:underline;" href="http://www.slideshare.net/umhealthscienceslibraries/wwwwetpaint-the-social-wiki" title="W-W-W-Wetpaint: The Social Wiki">W-W-W-Wetpaint: The Social Wiki</a><object style="margin:0px" width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=bootcampwetpaint2-1218139202255167-9&stripped_title=wwwwetpaint-the-social-wiki" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"/><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"/><embed src="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=bootcampwetpaint2-1218139202255167-9&stripped_title=wwwwetpaint-the-social-wiki" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><div style="font-size:11px;font-family:tahoma,arial;height:26px;padding-top:2px;">View more <a style="text-decoration:underline;" href="http://www.slideshare.net/">presentations</a> from <a style="text-decoration:underline;" href="http://www.slideshare.net/umhealthscienceslibraries">University of Michigan Health Sciences Libraries</a>.</div></div>

Second Life Initiative for Clinician Education (SLICE2)

perplexity — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:56:40 CST

Group or SIM Name: Second Life Initiative for Clinician Education (SLICE2)
Is this a Group or a SIM?: This is a training center located on the Erudio Consortio sim in Second Life.
Purpose: Focused on developing communication skills for medical students, practicing physicians, and other healthcare professionals.
Website: http://www.slice2.com
Second Life Location (SLURL): http://slurl.com/secondlife/Erudio%20Consortio/194/70/25
Contact: Gerald Stapleton gstapltn@uic.edu in First Life or Jerod Bagley in Second Life
Services Provided: Developing communication skills training modules using both standardized patients and robot avatars.
Target Audience: Healthcare Clinicians and Trainees

Open to All or Closed (except to Members): Information is open, editing restricted to members.
Social Opportunities Available: All are welcome at the Second Cup Cafe on the SLICE2 Pier Campus. Come, relax and visit with friends.
Additional Comments: Please note that we are very much at the initial stages of development of this project. Don't expect much. :-) Nonetheless you are welcome to visit with our avatar robots in-training. Your communication with them provides us with information that helps in the development process.

Calendar of SL Health Events

avalonbirke — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 21:10:41 CST

Peer Support Workshop

"Suicide and Self Harm - Working With Vulnerable Populations"

This workshop is designed for SL peer supporters and those who work with people struggling with thoughts of suicide or self harm. We will discuss crisis intervention, bridging to real life resources, and ways to best help within the limitations of a virtual world.

Sunday November 15, 2009. 2:00 - 3:00pm SLT

Location: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Wellness%20Island/91/214/22

Sponsored by Guiding Lights Peer Support Training and Wellness Island.

RSVP to Avalon Birke in-world.

..................................
3 October 2009

Grand Opening for Innovation InfoIsland Oct. 3!

Come witness the birth of a grand idea – a sim devoted to the innovative thinking and projects of educators, librarians and information technologists!

The grand opening of Innovation InfoIsland will be a day-long celebration Saturday, Oct. 3.

Innovation InfoIsland will be home to wide ranging projects created by some of Second Life’s most innovative and imaginative residents. The intent of the sim is to give these thinkers, inventors and designers a place to work, create and display their ideas in a beautiful setting reminiscent of New Orleans.

The Grand Opening will showcase a taste of what will be in store: an eclectic variety of live music, discussion from a panel of distinguished professionals, singing and dancing by a talented duo, a book discussion and, of course, dancing!

Keynote address will be delivered by Pathfinder Linden at 11 a.m. SLT. Throughout the day visitors are encouraged to tour the island, see some of the projects currently underway and talk to some of the project developers.

Here is the complete schedule of events. All times are SLT.

8 a.m. Studying Psychic Experiences with Rodolfo Mirabella and Maggie Larimore of The AZIRE Library on Innovation Infoislands. Mirabella and Larimore will talk about their research into the psychology of psychic experiences, training a new generation of researchers and the importance of Second Life libraries and museums to the education process. Their almost 30 years of collaboration in RL research and education has focused on the out-of-body experience, and the history of parapsychology.

9 a.m. - Book discussion of "The Art of Innovation: Lessons in Creativity from IDEO, America's Leading Design Firm" by Tom Kelley and Jonathan Littman. The discussion will be led by Maxito Ricardo, who in real life is Tom Peters, founder and CEO of TAP Information Services, a company that helps libraries and other organizations innovate.

11 a.m. - Keynote, Pathfinder Linden, "Innovation in Education in Second Life"

12 p.m. - Music Island Concerts@Innovation Island presents violinist Young Zeid. Zeid (Xi Yang in RL) has had a distinguished music career, beginning with his solo debut at age 9. He studied at the Conservatory of Music in Beijing, China, and won the National Violin Competition in Shanghai. At age 17 he was a semi-finalist in the Jacques Tibaud International Violin Competition in Paris. He is a graduate of Indiana University School of Music at Bloomington. He is the the Assistant Concertmaster, guest conductor and soloist with the Raleigh Symphony Orchestra and is a member of the Arcangelo Piano Quartet and Duo Appassionato. He is also the founding music director and conductor of the Youth Symphony of Florida.

1 p.m. - Music Island Concerts@Innovation Island presents the ambient electronic innovations of AldoManutio Abruzzo. Abruzzo performs a unique blend of improvisational ambient guitar with inspirations from classical and world music. He has studied classical guitar, Renaissance and Baroque lute, trombone and recorder and he records and performs under his project name of "usr/sbin."

2 p.m. Panel discussion "Innovation in Education & Libraries.

Panelists are:

Valerie Hill (Valibrarian Gregg) 2-2:10pm

Valerie Hill is a school librarian and doctoral student at Texas Woman’s University School of Library and Information Studies.

Topic: Innovative Librarianship

Esther Grassian (Alexandria Knight) 2:10-2:20

Esther Grassian is an adjunct lecturer at UCLA Dept. of Information Studies & Information Literacy Librarian at UCLA College Library

Topic: Innovative Information Literacy

Elaine Plybon (Celestia Cazalet) 2:20-2:30pm

Elaine Plybon is a Chemistry teacher and Instructional Technology Specialist at the Jack E. Singley Academy in Irving, Texas. She is the chairperson for the Discovery Educator Network Leadership Council in Texas and serves on the Leadership Council for the Discovery Educator Network in Second Life.

Topic: Innovative Emerging Technology Trends

Sheila Webber (Sheila Yoshikawa) 2:30-2:40

Sheila Webber is a senior lecturer at the Department of Information Studies, University of Sheffield, UK.

Topic: Innovative Media Literacy

Keith Mitchell (Larry Klugman) 2:40-2:50pm

Keith Mitchell is the Coordinator for Technology Initiatives for the Center
for Science and Mathematics Education- University of Texas in Austin

Topic: Building a Professional Development Community
with Second Life

Marianne Malmstrom (Knowclue Kidd) 2:50-3pm

Marianne Malmstrom is a Technology Teacher and machinimatographer.

Topic: Machinima in Education

4 p.m Krull Quar - Will discuss "Cool Tools in Second Life" and the dynamics of tying in real world informatics
and Second Life. As well as discuss tools which allow administrators
and program developers to mine and collect data about their
audience and participants.

Show some of the tools available in Second Life that make it
possible to interact with participants and viewers.

5 p.m. Kate Miranda - Music Island Concerts- and Jay Ackroyd - Virtually Speaking - stand at the intersection between the Arts and public conversations about the social, economic, political and scientific issues that confront the modern world. They will discuss the particular challenges and opportunities that confront them as content providers, the trajectories of their two programs, and their emerging collaboration.

6 p.m. Satin Galli and Erin68 Frog take to the stage to sing a mix of duets and solos highlighting the music of hit vocalists from the past 30 to 40 years. Come prepared to dance to their delightful music. Galli and Frog were winners of the Anthology Awards 2009 for Best Duo and the Live Entertainment Music Awards 2009.

7 p.m. Music Island Concerts @ Innovation InfoIsland will present a concert at the island jazz club, featuring Cindy Ecksol. Ecksol has been making and teaching music with voice, autoharp, fiddle and a variety of other instruments for as long as she can remember. She is particularly interested in traditional music of many varieties, and her repertoire includes everything from Irish tunes and Israeli dance music played on autoharp to dark Appalachian fiddle tunes from the mountains of West Virginia, as well as amusing modern songs about real life.

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

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

GRIEF AND LOSS SUPPORT GROUP

Sunday, September 20, 2009 10:00am SLT
Ongoing peer support 24/7 - join our Group in-world

A support meeting for anyone who has experienced grief and loss in RL/SL. Loss of a loved one, miscarriage, a friend with a terminal illness - we offer a safe place to share and get support from others going through the same difficult passage.

To attend, please join the Grief and Loss Support group in-world, or IM Kat Klata or Avalon Birke for an invitation.

The meeting is in text, open chat. SLURL is below:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Wellness%20Island/225/237/44

This area offers a meeting circle, small library of materials on grief and loss, meditation spot, and a wall for photos and memorials.

Co-sponsored by Open Gates Peer Support, Guiding Lights, and Wellness Island.

Wellness Island is a private sim devoted to mental health resources and support. It is open to all avatars 30 days and older. Newly rezzed avatars, please contact Avalon directly for access.

http://www.slwellness.com/grief.htm
.......................................................................................................

2009-10-01

Thursday, October 1, 2009 at noon Second Life time (PST).
________________________________________
From: alliancesecondlife@googlegroups.com [alliancesecondlife@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Lori Bell [lbell927@gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, September 17, 2009 9:26 AM
To: alliancesecondlife@googlegroups.com; healthcare-request@lists.secondlife.com; nonprofits-request@lists.secondlife.com
Subject: Second Life Education the key to stopping the HIV/AIDS pandemic

Dear Colleagues,

There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that education is the key to stopping the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Education, however, must go hand in hand with de-stigmatizing and personalizing the subject matter. People must be helped to not only understand the need for prevention, but to become passionate participants in the effort to find a cure as well. There is no better method for accomplishing both goals than storytelling.

If you doubt the truth of that statement, please take two minutes to watch the video below. Filmed at a workshop on HIV/AIDS and healthcare in Second Life, it chronicles how workshop participants reacted to a groundbreaking new approach to sharing the stories of those dealing with HIV/AIDS.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKCVLwFKxYU

If this short film clip gets you as excited about exploring the use of storytelling as a tool for education and outreach as it does me, then I invite you to do three things:

· Familiarize yourself with the work of The Virtual Worlds Story Project (TVWSP): http://www.tvwsp.com/premiere.html. This visionary organization, founded by Jena Ball and Marty Keltz (yes the same Marty Keltz responsible for The Magic School Bus, Goosebumps, and The Indian in the Cupboard), is the developer and driving force behind the use of story quests to educate, engage, and create community.

· Make plans to attend the film premiere and quest on Thursday, October 1, 2009 at noon Second Life time (PST). Entitled, “Stories Without Borders: The life and times of Uncle D,” the event documents how immersive and interactive storytelling can change lives.

You can do this by: attending the live event in Second Life (email Jena at Jenaia@TVWSP.com<mailto:Jenaia@TVWSP.com> for details), you will not want to miss the opportunity to experience this powerful storytelling tool firsthand.

· Spread the word and support TVWSP’s and Karuna’s work:

o Share the video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKCVLwFKxYU<http://mail.google.com/mail/www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKCVLwFKxYU>

o Join the TVWSP mailing list: www.tvwsp.com<http://mail.google.com/mail/www.tvwsp.com>

o Read the blog: www.tvwsp.typepad.com/tvwsp<http://mail.google.com/mail/www.tvwsp.typepad.com/tvwsp>

o Follow TVWSP on Twitter and tweet the hash: #TVWSP

o Join TVWSP’s Facebook fan page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Virtual-Worlds-Story-Project/125488109340?v=wall&viewas=1297574895

o Visit the Karuna inworld: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Karuna/33/213/29

o Visit the Karuna Web site: www.karunahiv.com<http://mail.google.com/mail/www.karunahiv.com>

o If you are in Second Life, become a member of “Friends of Karuna.”

o Consider donating to support TVWSP’s outreach efforts. Your contribution entitles you to a sponsorship page featuring your logo, web URL, and short blurb about your organization in the “Stories Without Borders” collectors’ journal.

o Contact Jena Ball (Jenaia@tvwsp.com<mailto:Jenaia@tvwsp.com>) or Marty Keltz (Marty@tvwsp.com<mailto:Marty@tvwsp.com>) directly. They will be happy to help you get inworld to attend the event and discuss opportunities to collaborate.

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

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

2009- 4 2
Tell us how YOU feel about The Path of Support!

You are invited to attend a S.W.O.T. exercise on SLThursday, April 2, 2009 at 6pm SLT. Join us to talk about the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats of The Path of Support, so that The Path’s leaders can make it better for you and others who use it. The exercise will last approximately one hour and will take place in the Consumer Health Library on Health Info Island.

SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/41/138/24
Can’t make it, but want to give us feedback? Please take a few minutes to complete our S.W.O.T. survey: Click Here to take survey
This exercise will be done by MSW students at Indiana University School of Social Work.

Survivors of TBI

VitoloRossini — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:02:04 CST

Group Name: Survivors of TBI
Name of SIM: Rhoda
Purpose:

This group is active in assisting SL residents who are recovering, or have recovered from Traumatic Brain Injury(TBI).

Location of Group Land: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Rhoda/159/150/27/
TBI Center Location:http://slurl.com/secondlife/Rhoda/159/200/3018
Contact Information: Vitolo Rossini or vitolorossini@yahoo.com
Services Provided: information, support, meetings, resources, therapy, socialization.
Target Audience: Survivors of Traumatic Brain injury, their families, friends, and all supporters ..professional or non professional.
Open to All or Closed (except to Members): Open
Social Opportunities Available: Yes, this is an active group. There has been horseback riding, bumper car rides, Scavenger Hunts- for prizes, weekly gatherings and holiday events, Dog shows, and Beach Parties
Special or Unique Features: Be sure to greet the many Dogs when you arrive, when you arrive! Walk the ample shoreline, and explore all that Dogland Park has to offer.
Related Blogs, Wikis and Other Outworld Content:
http://dogfather-sl.blogspot.com/
http://vitolo.wordpress.com/
http://slhealthy.wetpaint.com/account/VitoloRossini
http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2008-09/2008-09-17-voa24.cfm?CFID=76953890&CFTOKEN=39722851
Additional Comments:

I am Vitolo Rossini, survivor. This group is active in assisting SL residents who are recovering, or have recovered from Traumatic Brain Injury(TBI). If you need to search for new ways to think, or create... you are welcome here. If you have freinds or family, or want to help post-coma survivors... you can learn and grow right here in SL!
We will be opening a new Center for our members. Stay tuned for this information!
Additional notecard from Vitolo Rossini :
Survivors of TBI- Traumatic Brain Injury
Residents of sl..... Whether you are a survivor of a head injury-
A medical professional, with compassion- a friend to someone whos been injured- a family member of a survivor- or you just want to learn more or help others....
This group is active in assisting folks who are recovering , or have recovered from Brain Injury. You can learn and grow right here in sl. Find new ways to think! Open new pathways in your brain.
My name is Vitolo Rossini, and I spent 5 & 1/2 weeks in a coma...and I'm back! I want you to search, and look at this group.
It is growing, and there's more to come. Group notices with inventory designed to make living in sl more fun and EASY!
Feel free to check my profile, and see where I am coming from.
We can help one another.
Pass this notecard on, and you'll be doing a good thing, as it will eventually fall into the hands of a Survivor, who wants to share, and learn. A year in a wheelchair & speech & physical therapy haven't helped my heart as much as this! - Vito
Our facility offers meeting rooms, education, and group/private consultation, not to mention unique social opportunities. Located 3018 meters above Rhoda's Dogland Park for privacy, the 60,000+ meters of beach and park below offers ample opportunity to explore and learn. There's an MD and an RT on staff. It is a good place just to come and "chill out". Pets are welcome and encouraged for therapy and fun. Meet our TBI Group dog, "Theo" and his many friends in the park!
Please come visit at Vitolo Rossini's Home Base, Dogland, Rhoda. There at Dogland Dog Park in Rhoda you can see first hands the amazing work we do with these dogs for fun and therapy!
Path of Support - HealthInfo Island (112,92,21)

Images:

Bibliography

perplexity — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:18:35 CST

Several people are contributing to this page, which explains the variety of formats used. Please be patient while we try to get this tidied up, or if you wish to volunteer oversight of this page, please contact a site administrator. We need someone who is comfortable with the Pubmed Citation Format.

Virtual Worlds for Health and Healthcare. Journal of Virtual Worlds Research 2(2): 3D
http://www.jvwresearch.org/index.php?_cms=1248968023
[Complete issue]

Brixey, J.J., Turley, J.P. Second Life and health information. Studies in health technology and informatics 2009 146:725.

Stewart, S., Pope, D., Duncan, D. Using Second Life to enhance ACCEL an online accelerated nursing BSN program. Studies in health technology and informatics 2009 146:636-640.

Hansen, M.M., Murray, P.J., Erdley, W.S. The potential of 3-D virtual worlds in professional nursing education. Studies in health technology and informatics 2009 146:582-586.

Schmidt, B., Stewart, S. Implementing the virtual reality learning environment: Second life.

http://www.jmir.org/2009/2/e17

A Survey of Health-Related Activities on Second Life

Leslie Beard1, BDes; Kumanan Wilson2, MD, MSc; Dante Morra1, MD, MBA; Jennifer Keelan3, PhD
1Centre for Innovation in Complex Care, University Hospital Network, Toronto, ON, Canada
2Department of Medicine, Ottawa Health Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
3Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
Corresponding Author:

Jennifer Keelan, PhD

Dalla Lana School of Public Health
University of Toronto
628 - 155 College St
Toronto, ON M5T 3M7
Canada
Phone: +1 416 978 4904
Fax: +1 416 978 1883
Email: //jenn.keelan [at] utoronto.ca

ABSTRACT
Background: Increasingly, governments, health care agencies, companies, and private groups have chosen Second Life as part of their Web 2.0 communication strategies. Second Life offers unique design features for disseminating health information, training health professionals, and enabling patient education for both academic and commercial health behavior research.
Objectives: This study aimed to survey and categorize the range of health-related activities on Second Life; to examine the design attributes of the most innovative and popular sites; and to assess the potential utility of Second Life for the dissemination of health information and for health behavior change.
Methods: We used three separate search strategies to identify health-related sites on Second Life. The first used the application’s search engine, entering both generic and select illness-specific keywords, to seek out sites. The second identified sites through a comprehensive review of print, blog, and media sources discussing health activities on Second Life. We then visited each site and used a snowball method to identify other health sites until we reached saturation (no new health sites were identified). The content, user experience, and chief purpose of each site were tabulated as well as basic site information, including user traffic data and site size.
Results: We found a wide range of health-related activities on Second Life, and a diverse group of users, including organizations, groups, and individuals. For many users, Second Life activities are a part of their Web 2.0 communication strategy. The most common type of health-related site in our sample (n = 68) were those whose principle aim was patient education or to increase awareness about health issues. The second most common type of site were support sites, followed by training sites, and marketing sites. Finally, a few sites were purpose-built to conduct research in SL or to recruit participants for real-life research.
Conclusions: Studies show that behaviors from virtual worlds can translate to the real world. Our survey suggests that users are engaged in a range of health-related activities in Second Life which are potentially impacting real-life behaviors. Further research evaluating the impact of health-related activities on Second Life is warranted.

(J Med Internet Res 2009;11(2):e17)
doi:10.2196/jmir.1192http://www.jmir.org/2009/2/e17
KEYWORDSUser-computer interface; virtual systems; virtual worlds; Second Life; health education; social and behavioral research; behavioral research; health behavior; health behavior change

Watson, Alice J.,Grant, Richard W.,Bello, Heather, Hoch, Daniel B.
Brave New Worlds : How Virtual Environments Can Augment Traditional Care in the Management of Diabetes.
Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology. v.2:no.4 (2008:July), pp. 697-702.

Citations from PubMed

Web GIS in practice V: 3-D interactive and real-time mapping in Second Life.Boulos MN, Burden D.Int J Health Geogr. 2007 Nov 27;6:51.PMID: 18042275 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]Related Articles Free article in PMC

Second Life: an overview of the potential of 3-D virtual worlds in medical and health education.Boulos MN, Hetherington L, Wheeler S.Health Info Libr J. 2007 Dec;24(4):233-45.PMID: 18005298 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]Related Articles

The scientific research potential of virtual worlds.Bainbridge WS.Science. 2007 Jul 27;317(5837):472-6.PMID: 17656715 [PubMed]Related Articles

Education about hallucinations using an internet virtual reality system: a qualitative survey.Yellowlees PM, Cook JN.Acad Psychiatry. 2006 Nov-Dec;30(6):534-9.PMID: 17139026 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]Related Articles

Translating medical practice from the real to the virtual: adapting an existing clinical program to a virtual world.Linton DA, Senelly M, Baim M, Bello H, Millik MT, Watson AJ, Hoch D.AMIA Annu Symp Proc. 2008 Nov 6:1026.PMID: 18999294 [PubMed - in process]Related Articles

Second Life virtual world: a heaven for autistic people?Fusar-Poli P, Cortesi M, Borgwardt S, Politi P.Med Hypotheses. 2008 Dec;71(6):980-1. Epub 2008 Sep 9. No abstract available. PMID: 18783897 [PubMed - in process]Related Articles

A second life for eHealth: prospects for the use of 3-D virtual worlds in clinical psychology.Gorini A, Gaggioli A, Vigna C, Riva G.J Med Internet Res. 2008 Aug 5;10(3):e21.PMID: 18678557 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]Related Articles Free article in PMC

Surgeons have held conferences in Second Life.Leong JJ, Kinross J, Taylor D, Purkayastha S.BMJ. 2008 Jul 8;337:a683. doi: 10.1136/bmj.a683. No abstract available. PMID: 18614495 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]Related Articles

Scientific discourse 2.0. Will your next poster session be in Second Life?Huang ST, Kamel Boulos MN, Dellavalle RP.EMBO Rep. 2008 Jun;9(6):496-9. No abstract available. PMID: 18516082 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]Related Articles

Citations from Gale's Health and Wellness Resource Center

1. Skiba, DJ
Nursing Education 2.0: second life.
Nursing Education Perspectives 2007 May-Jun;28(3):156-8.

Newspaper articles

Parsons, Cherilyn

Second Life offers healing, therapeutic options for users

Special to the ChronicleSan Francisco Chronicle, Sunday, July 13, 2008. page F-1.also online at :
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/11/LVL211GP5C.DTL

Parsons, Cherilyn
Finding health information, community online.
San Francisco Chronicle, Sunday, July 13, 2008. page F-6.
also online at :
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/13/LV7M11LR3U.DTL&type= health

Chang, Alvin
Virtual world provides learning ground for KU med students

The Kansas City Star,Monday, July 14, 2008 10:15 PM : online at:

http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/story/705210.html
The KUMC (the University of Kansas Medical Center/School of Medicine) is using Second Life in medical education.
Click on the URL for the article, then click on the education video link (underlined in red).
You will see a brief video of how they're using SL to teach anesthesiology and Physical Therapy students.

Research on Health in Virtual Worlds

perplexity — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:07:11 CST

A detailed search of articles appearing in Pubmed on emerging and social technologies found the second most popular topic was virtual worlds. (The first topic was the broad "Web 2.0".) Virtual worlds in general and Second Life in particular are growing into a significant research area with increasing numbers of researchers devoting attention to this area. While we won't try to be comprehensive here in SLHealthy, we would be remiss if we didn't address this and direct people to some of the research available. Here you can find an RSS feed of recent research in this area. Check for additional links in the navigation sidebar on the left side of the screen for a selected bibliography and discussion topics of interest to our community.

Where do SLHealthy users come from?

perplexity — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:54:17 CST

Here is a selection of the interesting places people live who have used the SLHealthy wiki.

Australia Footscray, Victoria
Australia Melbourne, Victoria
Australia Paddington, Western Australia
Australia Perth, Western Australia
Australia Sydney, New South Wales
Bahamas Dunmore Town, Harbour Island
Belgium Edegem, Antwerpen
Brazil Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais
Brazil Salvador, Bahia
Canada Beamsville, Ontario
Canada Brampton, Ontario
Canada Burlington, Ontario
Canada Burnaby, British Columbia
Canada Calgary, Alberta
Canada Chilliwack, British Columbia
Canada Chteauguay, Quebec
Canada Edmonton, Alberta
Canada Guelph, Ontario
Canada Halifax, Nova Scotia
Canada Leduc, Alberta
Canada London, Ontario
Canada Maniwaki, Quebec
Canada Mississauga, Ontario
Canada Monarch, Alberta
Canada Montreal, Quebec

Canada New Westminster, British Columbia
Canada Peterborough, Ontario
Canada Saint John, New Brunswick
Canada Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Canada Thornhill, Ontario
Canada Toronto, Ontario
Canada Vancouver, British Columbia
Canada Victoria, British Columbia
Denmark Svendborg, Fyn
Finland Helsinki, Southern Finland
France Aix-en-Provence, Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur
France Bordeaux, Aquitaine
France Brest, Bretagne
France Nancy, Lorraine
France Niort, Poitou-Charentes
France Paris, Ile-de-France
France Rouen, Haute-Normandie
France Talence, Aquitaine
France Toulouse, Midi-Pyrenees
Germany Berlin
Germany Gttingen, Niedersachsen
Germany Spaichingen, Baden-Wurttemberg
Germany Stendal, Sachsen-Anhalt
Germany Wuppertal, Nordrhein-Westfalen

Greece Ayina, Attiki
Hong Kong Central District
Hungary Budapest
Hungary Debrecen
Hungary Grbehza, Hajdu-Bihar
India Calcutta, West Bengal
India Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
India Suri, West Bengal
Indonesia Yogyakarta
Ireland Dublin
Ireland Kilkenny
Ireland Limerick
Ireland Longford
Italy Acireale, Sicilia
Italy Avio, Veneto
Italy Chieri, Piemonte
Italy Frascati, Lazio
Italy Milan, Lombardia
Italy Rome, Lazio
Italy Vigevano, Lombardia
Italy Vimercate, Lombardia
Japan Tokyo
Japan Yokohama, Kanagawa
Korea, Republic of Daejeon, Taejon-jikhalsi
Lithuania Kaunas, Kauno Apskritis
Mexico Atizapn De Zaragoza, Tamaulipas

Netherlands Amsterdam, Noord-Holland
Netherlands Groningen
Netherlands Haaksbergen, Overijssel
Netherlands Hellevoetsluis, Zuid-Holland
Netherlands Utrecht
New Zealand Wellington
Norway Oslo
Peru Lima
Philippines Macalaya, Sorsogon
Philippines Manila
Poland Lublin, Lubelskie
Saudi Arabia Riyadh, Ar Riyad
Slovenia Ljubljana, Bohinj
South Africa Parow, Western Cape
Spain Barcelona, Cataluna
Spain Estepona, Andalucia
Spain Las Palmas, Canarias
Spain Lloret De Mar, Cataluna
Spain Madrid
Spain Rub, Cataluna
Spain Santiago De Compostela, Galicia
Spain Valencia, Comunidad Valenciana
Sweden Stockholm, Stockholms Lan
Sweden Sundbyberg, Stockholms Lan
Sweden Vrby, Stockholms Lan
Thailand Bangkok, Krung Thep
United Kingdom Blackpool

United Kingdom Bognor Regis, West Sussex
United Kingdom Bournemouth
United Kingdom Bristol, Bristol, City of
United Kingdom Cambridge, Cambridgeshire
United Kingdom Colchester, Essex
United Kingdom Dagenham, Barking and Dagenham
United Kingdom Dundee, Dundee City
United Kingdom Dunlop, North Ayrshire
United Kingdom Edinburgh, Edinburgh, City of
United Kingdom Epsom, Surrey
United Kingdom Leeds
United Kingdom London, London, City of
United Kingdom Reigate, Surrey
United Kingdom Reigate, Surrey
United Kingdom Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire
United States Abilene, Texas
United States Akron, Ohio
United States Alameda, California
United States Albany, New York
United States Albany, Oregon
United States Albuquerque, New Mexico
United States Alexandria, Virginia
United States Allston, Massachusetts
United States Ames, Iowa
United States Anchorage, Alaska

United States Ankeny, Iowa
United States Ann Arbor, Michigan
United States Ashburn, Virginia
United States Atlanta, Georgia
United States Attleboro, Massachusetts
United States Austin, Texas
United States Banquete, Texas
United States Beaumont, Texas
United States Belleville, Illinois
United States Bellevue, Washington
United States Bellingham, Washington
United States Belmont, California
United States Bethesda, Maryland
United States Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
United States Bexar, Arkansas
United States Billings, Montana
United States Birmingham, Alabama
United States Boise, Idaho
United States Boston, Massachusetts
United States Boulder, Colorado
United States Bradenton, Florida
United States Brea, California
United States Brewster, New York
United States Bridgeport, Connecticut
United States Bronx, New York
United States Brookline, Massachusetts

United States Brooklyn, New York
United States Buffalo, New York
United States Carlisle, Pennsylvania
United States Cedar Park, Texas
United States Center Moriches, New York
United States Chagrin Falls, Ohio
United States Champaign, Illinois
United States Chantilly, Virginia
United States Charlotte, North Carolina
United States Chesapeake, Virginia
United States Cheshire, Connecticut
United States Chicago, Illinois
United States Clearwater, Florida
United States Clinton, New York
United States Colts Neck, New Jersey
United States Columbus, Ohio
United States Concord, California
United States Cornelius, North Carolina
United States Corvallis, Oregon
United States Dahinda, Illinois
United States Dallas, Texas
United States Davis, California
United States Decatur, Georgia
United States Deep River, Connecticut
United States Deerfield Beach, Florida

United States Denton, Maryland
United States Denver, Colorado
United States Detroit, Michigan
United States El Paso, Texas
United States Ellicott City, Maryland
United States Erie, Colorado
United States Espanola, New Mexico
United States Eustis, Florida
United States Evansville, Indiana
United States Fairbanks, Alaska
United States Fall River, Massachusetts
United States Falls Village, Connecticut
United States Fargo, North Dakota
United States Farmington, Connecticut
United States Farmington, Michigan
United States Farmington, Michigan
United States Fort Mill, South Carolina
United States Fort Myers, Florida
United States Fort Richardson, Alaska
United States Fort Worth, Texas
United States Fresno, California
United States Gardners, Pennsylvania
United States Gardners, Pennsylvania
United States Glen Oaks, New York
United States Grand Rapids, Michigan
United States Hagerstown, Maryland
United States Harrison, Tennessee
United States Hayward, California
United States Henderson, New York
United States Hershey, Pennsylvania
United States High Point, North Carolina
United States Hinesville, Georgia
United States Honolulu, Hawaii
United States Houston, Texas
United States Hudson, Ohio
United States Huntington, West Virginia
United States Indianapolis, Indiana
United States Jersey City, New Jersey
United States Jupiter, Florida
United States Kamiah, Idaho
United States Kansas City, Kansas
United States Kansas City, Missouri
United States Kaufman, Texas
United States Keller, Texas
United States La Center, Washington
United States Las Vegas, Nevada
United States Leavenworth, Kansas
United States Lewisville, Texas
United States Lexington, Kentucky
United States Liberty, New York
United States Linden, New Jersey
United States Los Angeles, California
United States Louisville, Kentucky
United States Lynn, Massachusetts
United States Macomb, Illinois
United States Madison, Wisconsin
United States Mankato, Minnesota
United States Marietta, Georgia
United States Mason City, Iowa
United States Massillon, Ohio
United States Mattapan, Massachusetts
United States Mays Landing, New Jersey
United States Mckeesport, Pennsylvania
United States Memphis, Tennessee
United States Mesa, Arizona
United States Miami Beach, Florida
United States Middletown, Delaware
United States Milwaukee, Wisconsin
United States Minneapolis, Minnesota
United States Mission Hills, California
United States Mobile, Alabama
United States Mobile, Alabama
United States Modesto, California
United States Mount Holly, New Jersey
United States Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
United States Mukwonago, Wisconsin
United States Needham, Massachusetts
United States New Cumberland, Pennsylvania
United States New York
United States Newark, Delaware
United States Newark, New Jersey
United States Newtown, Connecticut
United States Norman, Oklahoma
United States Norristown, Pennsylvania
United States Northfield, New Jersey
United States Norwalk, Ohio
United States Nottingham, Maryland
United States O Fallon, Missouri
United States Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina
United States Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
United States Omaha, Nebraska
United States Opelousas, Louisiana
United States Oregon City, Oregon
United States Orlando, Florida
United States Orono, Maine
United States Ottawa, Illinois
United States Oxford, Mississippi
United States Pataskala, Ohio
United States Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
United States Pinckney, Michigan
United States Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
United States Plant City, Florida
United States Pomona, California
United States Port Chester, New York
United States Portland, Oregon
United States Portsmouth, Virginia
United States Potomac, Maryland
United States Poughkeepsie, New York
United States Provo, Utah
United States Quantico, Virginia
United States Rahway, New Jersey
United States Raleigh, North Carolina
United States Richmond, Virginia
United States Rochester, New York
United States Roselle, New Jersey
United States Sacramento, California
United States Saint Charles, Missouri
United States Saint Louis, Missouri
United States San Antonio, Texas
United States San Diego, California
United States San Francisco, California
United States San Jose, California
United States Santa Cruz, California
United States Santa Maria, California
United States Savannah, Georgia
United States Seattle, Washington
United States Solvang, California
United States Stamford, Connecticut
United States Stanford, California
United States Syracuse, New York
United States Tacoma, Washington
United States Tallahassee, Florida
United States Temecula, California
United States Tempe, Arizona
United States Temple, Texas
United States The Dalles, Oregon
United States Tucson, Arizona
United States Waddell, Arizona
United States Wake Forest, North Carolina
United States Waltham, Massachusetts
United States Warren, Minnesota
United States Warren, New Jersey
United States Warsaw, North Carolina
United States Washington, District of Columbia
United States Wausau, Wisconsin
United States Wayne, Michigan
United States Wayne, New Jersey
United States West Chester, Pennsylvania
United States West Hartford, Connecticut
United States West Milford, New Jersey
United States Wichita, Kansas
United States Winter Springs, Florida
United States Woodbridge, Connecticut
United States Ypsilanti, Michigan

Sample Information Page

perplexity — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:53:22 CST

Group or SIM Name: SL Healthy
Is this a Group or a SIM?: Group
Purpose: To collect information about consumer health resources in Second Life.
Location (SLURL) (if sim) or Contact Information (if group): Contact Perplexity Peccable or Prijian Toland.
Services Provided (information, support, meetings, resources, other): Information.
Target Audience: General (health care consumers and clinicians)
Open to All or Closed (except to Members): Information is open, editing restricted to members.
Social Opportunities Available (y/n): Maybe

Special or Unique Features: Wiki
Additional Comments: None

About SLHealthy

perplexity — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:31:34 CDT

If you want to know more about how this started, who we are, how the SLHealthy wiki is being used, and other interesting tidbits, this is the place to start!

SL Healthy gathers information about consumer health locations and groups in Second Life, with general health education resources as well.

Join Second Life : http://secondlife.com/

FAQ

Q:
Is it okay to send you the problem that my friend is having?

A:
SLHealthy is not a health reference service, but we can help with questions about how to find things on the site or in Second Life. If it is a health question, you might want to try asking at Healthinfo Island or try these resources on the web:

MedlinePlus: http://www.medlineplus.gov/
Healthfinder: http://www.healthfinder.gov/
MedHelp: http://www.medhelp.org/
American Self-Help Group Clearninghouse: http://www.mentalhelp.net/selfhelp/

Guiding Lights Peer Support

avalonbirke — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:50:01 CDT

Group or SIM Name: Guiding Lights Peer Specialist Training

Is this a Group or a SIM?: Group
MISSION: To provide a quality training program for those interested in peer support in Second Life, free of charge. Support is offered to current and past students anytime, and resources and learning are shared by all, in and outside of class. Our office on Aloft Nonprofit Commons has a library, a small discussion area for students, and practice groups for utilizing new helping skills anytime, between workshops.
Location (SLURL) (if sim): http://slurl.com/secondlife/Aloft%20Nonprofit%20Commons/241/62/25 - Aloft, Nonprofit Commons

Trainings typically take place on Wellness Island, in the auditorium or lecture hall. Check Group notices for location, dates, times, LMs
Contact Information: General information available at our Center (see SLURL above) or on the web at www.slwellness.com/guidinglights.html. Questions and completed applications: contact Avalon Birke in-world.
Services Provided: Monthly workshops, ongoing support and training for enrolled Peer Supporters in SL. Opportunities to lead groups in SL.

GUIDING LIGHTS is a Group in Second Life which offers support, training, and networking for anyone interested in providing Peer Support services to other SL residents. The group is run by peers and professionals, offering a comprehensive curriculum. Our goal is top provide high quality training in a safe and confidential environment, offering a chance to learn and practice relevant skills. We encourage interaction, questions, and hands-on practice.

Guiding Lights offers monthly trainings, part of a 6-course program, in the essentials of helping others. Additional information and support are provided to students and Group members anytime, including resources for Peer Specialists, materials and additional training, and a "home office" on Nonprofit Commons for our members to practice their skills, get support, use our library, and share their knowledge. Our students and members are our greatest resource!

Guiding Lights are trained to help others in SL who seek emotional support, in listening skills, crisis intervention, ethics,

and ways to refer residents to RL help when needed. Sometimes, just to be a safe person to talk to is what is needed.

Members are asked to follow the Second Life Terms of Service and Community Standards,

as well as the Guiding Lights Code of Ethics.

Interested parties fill out an application (available at our office above), send it to Avalon Birke, join our Group, and come to class.

Classes are free and you can take them as many times as you wish.

Target Audience: Anyone interested in providing a helping hand to SL residents. No experience is needed - just a willingness to learn some helpful skills in a supportive, professional, non-competitive environment. We do ask that a Code of Ethical conduct be followed, as well as the SL TOS and Community Standards.
Open to All or Closed (except to Members): Closed, except to members. There is a short application to fill out to join the group which is available in our office - IM Avalon Birke for info if needed.
Social Opportunities Available (y/n): Yes. We enjoy socializing after each meeting and workshop, and these events are open to all of Second Life, not only our students and members.
Special or Unique Features: Instructors are RL/SL qualified in mental health and peer support, and include RL certified college instructors

Related Blogs, Wikis and Other Outworld Content: http://www.slwellness.com/guidinglights.html
Tags/Keywords: peer, support, training, wellness, guidance, help
Additional Comments: It's fine to join the Group and take only the trainings you want. Classes can be repeated as often as you like, at no charge.

Images:

Wellness Island

avalonbirke — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 16:05:11 CDT

Group or SIM Name: Wellness Island

Is this a Group or a SIM?: Sim (and a mainland satellite Center - see below)
Purpose: Wellness Island is the first Sim devoted entirely to mental health support and resources in virtual environments. See below for the wide variety of services we provide free of charge.
We are the home of The Counseling Center, offering counseling/coaching appointments in Second Life, and we publish WELLNESS magazine, the first in-world publication devoted to health and wellbeing. We co-sponsor Guiding Lights Peer Specialist Training, Medical Ethics, and the Mental Health Network - a large SL Group for anyone interested in mental health.

Location (SLURL) (if sim): http://slurl.com/secondlife/Wellness%20Island/189/49/28 and Mainland Annex Center at http://slurl.com/secondlife/Boncarus/76/41/79

Contact Information: Avalon Birke. Contact in-world or at avalonbirke@gmail.com.

Owner info: Avalon is a rl certified counselor and psychotherapist, and has provided services in SL since 2006. She works in RL with a focus on health psychology, has published two books, and with 2 Masters Degrees completed is now closing in on her PhD, while seeing patients in RL full-time. Avalon is a pioneer in the area of providing resources and support in virtual environments, and believes passionately in both inworld outreach as well as acting as a bridge to real life mental and physical health support for SL residents. Avalon has been featured in a number of SL publications, radio shows, and has assisted countless SL groups, organizations, sims, and students in the areas of education, mental health, and resource development.

Services Provided: Library of information on mental health, relationships, communication, and emotional support, recreation, support, workshops, community outreach center for SL health-related events and news. Our growing library is made up of original works as well as articles from a variety of sources, copyrighted and reprinted by permission.
Professional counseling services by appointment as part of the Counseling Center. Contact Avalon Birke to discuss in-world counseling appointments.

Target Audience: All SL residents
Open to All or Closed: OPEN. We occasionally close the island for events, meetings, workshops, or renovations as needed. Check Avalon's profile for updates if needed.
Our Boncarus mainland office is always open and has resources and info as well. (Boncarus 76, 40, 79)

Social Opportunities Available (y/n): Yes. Join the Mental Health Network to stay up to date on events at Wellness Island.
Special or Unique Features: A relaxing, quiet PG environment. Large library of mental health related information. Satellite center on Boncarus offers ample free resources to all and is always open.

Website: http://www.slwellness.com .
Tags/Keywords: wellness, health, counseling, mental health, psychology, education, help, support, relationships, communication, stress, anxiety, depression, counselor, coaching, life coach, therapy
Additional Comments: Wellness Island is a privately owned PG sim, funded by 100% of the proceeds of The Counseling Center, visitor donations, and its owners' contributions.
Images:

Counseling Center

avalonbirke — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 15:45:47 CDT

Group or SIM Name: The Counseling Center in SL (Please also see WELLNESS ISLAND)

Locations:

Wellness Island: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Wellness%20Island/189/49/28
Mainland Satellite Office: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Boncarus/76/41/79

Contact Information: Avalon Birke, M.A. - Director

Website: http://www.slwellness.com

Additional Comments:

Real in-world mental health support and resources since 2006.

Ethical, trained, verified, professional

Available for public speaking and training on mental health issues.

Our home is on beautiful Wellness Island, with a focus on wellness - body, mind, and spirit.

Please join the Mental Health Network group for updates

The Counseling Center offers caring, ethical support and resources. Individual support, SL/RL relationship and family issues, lifestyles, SL addiction, depression, anxiety, coping mechanisms, chronic illness, grief, and more.

We provide mental health and personal growth resources, and offer professional counseling services to SL residents, by appointment, on a limited basis as time permits. 100% of counseling fees go to the support and maintenance of Wellness Island - there is no profit made and 90% of our services are free of charge.

We co-sponsor Guiding Lights Peer Specialist Training, the Grief and Loss Support Group, Wellness Magazine, Medical Ethics and the Mental Health Network

Not a roleplay - Not a substitute for RL medical care/therapy when needed. Our copyrighted materials and courses are offered for educational purposes only. Please see your RL health care practitioner when needed.

keywords: counseling, addiction, counselor, therapy, relationship, stress, marriage, sex, infidelity, depression, anxiety, help, psychology, addiction, anger, family, communication, pain, advice, support, emotion, mental, health, trauma

See us also on the Path of Support - HealthInfo Island (112,92,21)

Grief and Loss Support

avalonbirke — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 15:33:27 CDT

Group or SIM Name: Grief and Loss Support

Is this a Group or a SIM?: Group

Purpose: To provide a peer to peer place for sharing about grief and loss, resources for healing, and mutual support

Location (SLURL) (if sim): http://slurl.com/secondlife/Wellness%20Island/225/237/44

Contact Information: Avalon Birke or Kat Klata

Services Provided (information, support, meetings, resources, other): meetings, 24/7 group chat, library, meditation and reflection area

Target Audience: Anyone who is dealing with grief or loss

Open to All or Closed (except to Members): Open to all

Social Opportunities Available (y/n): Yes, as announced via Group

Special or Unique Features: Sponsored by Open Gates Peer Support Community, Wellness Island, The Counseling Center, and Guiding Lights.

Related Blogs, Wikis and Other Outworld Content: http://www.slwellness.com/grief.htm

Tags/Keywords: grief, mourning, support, loss, bereavement, death, illness, sorrow, help

GRIEF AND LOSS SUPPORT GROUP

This area offers a meeting circle, library of materials on grief and loss, meditation and reflection area, and a peaceful place to heal with people who understand.

Co-sponsored by Open Gates Peer Support, Guiding Lights, and Wellness Island.

Wellness Island is a private sim devoted to mental health resources and support. It is open to all avatars 30 days and older. Newly rezzed avatars, please contact Avalon directly for access.

http://www.slwellness.com/grief.htm

Images: