We held a Nova Campfire forum, No Health Without Mental Health, on April 6th co-hosted by Scholar and inVIVO Planetary Health President Susan Prescott. An inviting, open discussion followed short talks from Wendy Smith from the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, Fellow Jeff Greeson, and Mona El-Sherbini of the Kasr Al-Ainy School of Medicine in Egypt.
Topics included mindfulness, narrative medicine, and solutions for addressing the mental health crisis and promoting the connected consciousnesses for personal and planetary health.
Promoting Connected Consciousness: Personal and Planetary Health Depend on Breaking the Cycle of Fear, Stress, and Anxiety

Dr. Susan Prescott, MD, PhD, Nova Scholar, Director of the Nova Network, and Professor at the University of Western Australia School of Medicine.
“My passion is connecting people and ideas to create new opportunities.”
Addressing the Mental Health Crisis as an Existential Thread to Individuals and Societies: Finding Opportunities in the Challenges

Wendy Smith is Associate Director, Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, NIH; former Deputy Director, Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine, NCI, NIH; founding member, NIH Pain Constortium.
“I’m passionate about challenging assumptions and integrating and applying new ways of thinking to complex challenges related to health.”
From the Inside Out: Positive Mindsets for Personal Health Also Have Wider Social Implications

Jeff Greeson is Director of the Mindfulness, Stress and Health Lab at Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey. He is an Assistant Professor of Psychology, an adjunct professor at Rowan’s two medical schools, and a Fellow at Nova Institute for Health.
“My passion is understanding the mind-body connection to promote health and healing.”
The Power of Stories to Change the World: Applying Narrative Medicine to Personal and Planetary Challenges

Mona El-Sherbini is Director, Narrative Medicine and Planetary Health at Kasr Al-Ainy; Lecturer, Cairo University; Executive Member, Africa Community of Planetary Partners for Health and Environment (ACOPPHE); and Director of ACOPPHE Mentoring Research Network.
“I have a passion for integrating medicine with the arts and humanities for a holistic approach to medicine and life in general.”