8th World Congress on
Mental Health

Sam Vaknin is the author of Malignant Self-love: Narcissism Revisited as well as many other books and ebooks about topics in psychology, relationships, philosophy, economics, international affairs, and award-winning short fiction. He is Visiting Professor of Psychology, Southern Federal University, Rostov-on-Don, Russia and Professor of Finance and Psychology in CIAPS (Centre for International Advanced and Professional Studies). He was the Editor-in-Chief of Global Politician and served as a columnist for Central Europe Review, PopMatters, eBookWeb , and Bellaonline, and as a United Press International (UPI) Senior Business Correspondent. He was the editor of mental health and Central East Europe categories in The Open Directory and Suite 101. His YouTube channels garnered 20,000,000 views and 85,000 subscribers.

Problematic internet usage, cyber wellness, organizational psychology, coaching psychology and leadership.

Associate Professor of Education and Special Pedagogy of the University of Salerno, President of the Teaching Council in Education Sciences for Inclusion and Wellness (SFIB), director of the specialization course in Education and Psychopedagogy for students with autistic disorder in the Department of Human Sciences, Philosophy and Education of the University of Salerno. He is a member of the Editorial Boards of «Autism Insight», «Journal of Experimental Neuroscience», «Rehabilitation Process and Outcome» and «Annals of Neurosciences - Official Journal of the Indian Academy of Neurosciences». His recent scientific production deals with the issue of special educational needs with a transdisciplinary approach, which integrates the contributions of medical sciences, neurosciences and technosciences to the heritage of educational and didactic research.

Neuro Science

Dr. Lina Marestani joined AUD as Chair of the Psychology Department and Associate Professor in August 2022 with over two decades of experience in higher education as a faculty member, researcher, and academic administrator. In the UAE government initiatives on mental health and well-being, she has been summoned by the higher councils to present and spread awareness to the community on drug addiction and mental health. She is currently involved in research collaborations aiming to replace the widespread prescription of opioids with an attempt to overcome the unfortunate global crisis on opioid addiction. She has offered key contributions through ongoing publications and presentations, departmental leadership, curriculum planning, and organizing assessments to measure academic achievement. Her professional skills lie in communicating with students to encourage their participation and learning progress, and in fostering a student-centered environment that increases proficiency in work and learning opportunities.

Behavioral Neuroscience Psychology

Dr Ke Guek Nee is an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at the Heriot-Watt University Malaysia. Her research focus is on preventive measures of problematic internet usage, cyber wellness, organizational psychology, coaching psychology and leadership. With her passion for research, she had secured numerous research grants from national and international funding agencies. In addition, her research works are also covered by the news media and other media platforms. Recently she published a book entitled ‘Cyber Wellness: Internet addiction and prevention. A guide for practitioners’ and developed the Positive Emotion-Resilience-Coping efficacy (PERCE) Model for COVID19 pandemic.

Problematic internet usage, cyber wellness, organizational psychology, coaching psychology and leadership

Dr. Lidia Martinez earned her Ph.D. from Nova Southeastern University in 2004. Her credentials include Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Qualified Supervisor, and Master Level Addiction Professional (MCAP). She is also an Alcohol and Drug counselor with the International Certification and Reciprocity Consortium Alcohol and Drug Counselor. She is also part time core faculty in the online Mental Health Therapy and Addiction Education Programs at The Center for Psychological Studies, Nova Southeastern University. For more than 20 years, she worked to bring a holistic approach to treatment, combining a broad array of evidence-based therapeutic strategies in collaboration with the medical components for wellness. Her specialties include working in the areas of anxiety disorders, parenting challenges, obesity and weight loss, addictions, adjustment issues, and trauma. She enjoys seeing her patients flourish and maintain their goals as they incorporate new insights and strategies learned on their therapeutic journey that help to grow their resilience. She offers innovative services through text, phone, video, or online chat sessions as part of her telemedicine platform.

Mental health, Women and mental health, children, and adolescents and mental health, Addiction

Dr. Oscar Hernandez finished post-doctoral training in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at Michigan State University. He is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine, American Board of Pediatrics and has been in private practice for over 30 years in Miami, Florida, USA. He has passed the Certifying Examination of the American Board of Obesity Medicine and is the founder of Florida Bariatrics and Nutrition.

Primary Care, Eating disorder

Fatma AYHAN is a assistant professor in the field of Mental Health and Psychiatric Nursing. She holds a master's degree in anatomy and nursing; bachelor of Nursing and Sociology. She received her PhD in the Department of Psychiatric Nursing. She works on risk assessment, risk management, mental health, attachment.

Mental Health and Psychiatric Nursing

Andrew is a Registered Marriage & Family Therapist, Registered Psychotherapist., a thérapeute conjugal et familial (licensed Quebec), and a Clinical Fellow of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy. He is the Clinical Director of Couples Retreat at Ocean Coral and has a private practice in Montreal, Canada. Andrew completed graduate studies at Antioch University (USA), specializing in couple and family therapy. His previous professional experience includes many years working in hospitals, residential programs, and private practice in Boston, Massachusetts. He is currently the president of the Canadian Association for Marriage & Family Therapy.

Psychotherapy

Alexandra Ferreira-Valente is a clinical psychologist and post-doc at the William James Center for Research. Alexandra was granted an FCT grant to pursue her research interests in cross-cultural research and in chronic pain. Her post-doctoral research project is hosted both by the William James Center for Research, ISPA - IU and by the University of Washington, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine. She holds 99 publications in her field of study.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Cross-Cultural Psychology Pain Perception