SAVE THE DATE - Emily Lund presents on November 26

Virtual Ability^® presents the 10^th annual

International Disability

Rights Affirmation Conference

Friday, November 26, 2021

Dr. Emily Lund

Dr. Emily Lund will be the third speaker at the International Disability Rights Affirmation Conference, held in Virtual Ability’s Sojourner Auditorium in Second Life. Her presentation will begin at 10am Pacific Time on Friday, November 26. Her session will be introduced by Ruby Vandyke.

The title of Dr. Lund’s presentation is “Social Justice as Suicide Prevention: The Minority Stress Model and Disability.” The minority stress model helps explain the higher rates of suicidality and psychological distress among sexual minority individuals. The model holds that the experiences of marginalization create unique stressors. The model examines two types of minority stressors – proximal stressors (e.g., internalized stigma, self-concealment) and distal stressors (e.g., harassment, violence, and discrimination). Dr. Lund will discuss how both aspects of the minority stress model are applicable to people with disabilities and may explain the higher rates of suicidality, depression, and anxiety among them. They will also discuss how the minority stress model can help drive intersectional and anti-ableist approaches to disabled mental health and well-being at both the individual and systems levels.

Dr. Lund is an Assistant Professor of Counselor Education in the department of Educational Studies in Psychology, Research Methodology, and Counseling at the University of Alabama. Their primary research interests include interpersonal violence and trauma in people with disabilities; suicide and non-suicidal self-injury in people with disabilities; the experiences of graduate students with disabilities; and LGBTQ+ issues, particularly as they intersect with disability. Dr. Lund has numerous peer-reviewed publications and book chapters on these and similar topics using a framework that emphases positive disability identity development, intersectionality, and disability culture competence. They also co-edited the books, Religion, Disability, and Interpersonal Violence (2017) and Violence against LGBTQ+ Persons: Research, Practice, and Advocacy (2021). Their work has been highly cited in scholarly literature and has received national awards.

Please join us in Second Life, or view the conference on Virtual Ability’s YouTube channel live stream, as we learn more about ableism and social justice for persons with disabilities.