Info

Hitotsubashi University Japanese Studies in English Lecture Series 2017
Theme: Hidden Japan “Mental Illness - The Cost of Silence" Speaker: Vickie Skorji (Director, TELL Lifeline)

2017/12/15

Date: December 21, 2017 (Thursday
Time: 12:30-15:00
Venue: Mercury Hall

Abstract:
Every day, every 40 seconds a person takes their life somewhere in the
world, and sadly, a young person every two minutes. In Japan, an estimated
1500 people attempt suicide every day and 59 die by suicide. Suicides
accounted for close to 1.5% of all deaths worldwide in 2015, bringing it
into the top 20 causes of death and the second leading cause of death among
15-29-year-olds globally. Behind these statistics are the individual
stories of those who have, for many different reasons, questioned the value
of their own lives.

But suicide is not an illness in itself, it is the outcome of an illness
that is not being treated. For most people who die by suicide, they were
struggling with a mental illness that was not being treated. This talk will
discuss the cost of stigma in Japan and how changing our thoughts about
mental illness can change someone’s life.

*Speaker: *
Mrs Vickie Skorji completed her Bachelor of Behavioral Sciences with honors
from La Trobe University, Australia in 1995, and a Masters in Counseling
from Monash University in Australia. She has specialist training in
neuropsychology and Acquired Brain Injury in both hospital and
rehabilitation settings. Prior to moving to Hong Kong & Tokyo she managed
an Acquired Brain Injury Support Service in Australia, supporting families
and individuals with a variety of neurological conditions such as dementia,
Parkinson’s disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Stroke and migraine. She has
developed and run carer education training courses, carer weekend retreats
and published a resource book for carers of people with neurological
conditions or Acquired Brain Injury. She has developed and given both
workplace and community presentations on carer needs, stress management and
stroke prevention. More recently her interests and presentations have
included cultural adjustment, adolescent issues in Japan, work life balance
and suicide prevention.

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