CCV students explore "Crazy"

To acknowledge National Disability Awareness month, on Friday, October 26th in CCV's famed LL-7 classroom, students from Glen Hueckel's Abnormal Psychology and Kate Maynard's Interpersonal and Small Group Communications classes watched "Crazy" a performance art piece created and performed by Gail Marlene Schwartz. A panel discussion followed with guests from Mental Health Education Initiative, Vermont Protection & Advocacy and a local psychotherapist. Students explored questions of stigma and meaning about anxiety and depression via the discussion and an interactive workshop which included a spectogram, poems and speaking body sculptures!

In response to "How did your understanding grow about mental illness?" CCV student Kaz explained "The feeling is expansiveness, wonderfully open with a comfort in the lack of clear answers." Stacy wrote "Mental illness is more common than I thought and it is ok to open up to others." Kellie concluded "It seems everybody is effected by depression somehow."

Thank you to Gail and CCV Coordinator of Academic Services Yasmine Zielser who planned the event, to Glen and Kate who found the very real connections between the program and their course content, to the amazing CCV students who took the material and shaped it with their own stories and finally to the producer, VSA Arts of Vermont and the funder, the Vermont Community Foundation.