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Naples, Fl – The David Lawrence Centers, Collier County’s only comprehensive, not-for-profit mental health and substance use treatment facility serving children, adults and families, is pleased to announce plans for the Second Annual Sound Minds™ Music Festival and Mental Health Symposium. The event will be held on Saturday, April 2, 2016 at 3:00 p.m. at the Naples Botanical Gardens.

The David Lawrence Centers is once again partnering with IMHRO (International Mental Health Research Organization) to host Sound Minds™ which is modeled after IMHRO’s world famous Music Festival for Brain Health, a major event held annually at the Staglin Family Vineyard in Napa Valley, California.

The Naples Children & Education Foundation (NCEF), founders of the Naples Winter Wine Festival, is also returning this year as the education partner for Sound Minds™.

The Symposium will take place from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Naples Botanical Garden’s Kapnick Hall and will highlight the important topic of mental health and the caretaker. This free event is open to any community member wishing to attend and will feature presentations and a panel discussion from local and nationally known mental health advocates.

Keynote presenters include:

• Cinda Johnson, PhD, Co-Author of “Perfect Chaos, A Daughter’s Struggle to Survive Bipolar and a Mother’s Journey to Save Her”
• Brandon and Shari Staglin, Mental health advocates and consumers, IMHRO Directors and Staglin Family Vineyard Owners and Operators
• Russell Budd, Local mental health advocate and community leader, Founder and CEO of PBS Contractors

These presenters promise to share heartfelt first-hand stories as well as their passion and advocacy for mental health from their own very personal perspectives.

• Cinda Johnson, who teaches about mental health conditions and disabilities in her work as a professor in special education, will share her journey, and her daughter Linea’s journey, with mental illness in hopes of ending the stigma for those who are trying to cope with mental health conditions. Their book is an inside story of Linea’s struggle through the diagnosis, treatment and acceptance of bipolar disorder. “We have learned so much from this journey and we hope that by sharing our experiences with honesty and compassion, we can provide insight, information and hope for others in this battle,” Cinda said.
• Brandon Staglin was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1990. His concerned parents Shari and Garen began researching mental disorders. Realizing the need for continued scientific advancements to understand the development of mental illness, they co-founded IMHRO, funding it with $225 million raised by their annual Music Festival for Brain Health. Brandon and Shari will share their story and long journey on a path to recovery while stressing the need for family support. Their uplifting message: “With unconditional love, assisted medical treatment, and personal will to keep learning and growing, recovery from mental illness is possible.”
• Russell Budd fought the bipolar battle with his son Dan for years. It started with Dan’s mood swings and struggles in school and progressed into clinical depression. He experienced dual episodes – symptoms of depression and mania at the same time. With medication not working, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) seemed to be the only answer. Together they made the journey to Gainesville three days a week for months to complete the treatments. They were ultimately successful and today, Dan and his dad work shoulder to shoulder in Russell’s business. Russell is making it his mission to share their story as he advocates for all people affected by mental illness.

Former NBC-2 TV reporter Jennifer Trammell, Director of Video Products & Social Media at NewsBank of Naples, will serve as the Emcee and Moderator for the panel discussion immediately following where the presenters will be joined by the following panelists:

• Kevin Rambosk, Collier County Sheriff
• Nancy Dauphinais, David Lawrence Centers Chief Clinical Officer
• Scott Burgess, David Lawrence Centers President and CEO

David Lawrence Centers Board Members Patt Schneider, PhD and Russell Budd along with his wife Katie Paschall, PhD, will serve as co-chairs of the event. Each are avid supporters of the work of the David Lawrence Centers . Budd is also a Director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) of Collier County and Drug Free Collier. Schneider, a psychologist, is a Past President of the World Federation for Mental Health, and has served on the National Institute of Mental Health Advisory Council. Paschall is a speech professor at Florida Southwestern State College.

A Meet the Speaker’s Reception and Concert will be held following the Symposium on the beautiful Botanical Garden’s performance lawn just outside Kapnick Hall. The Reception and Concert will feature cocktails and hors d’oeuvres and music provided by local favorite Kevin Bruce. Guests will also enjoy VIP access to the Gardens after it as closed to the public. This portion of the event is scheduled to last until 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $125.

A VIP Wine Dinner for sponsors and VIP guests will be held the prior evening at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, April 1, 2016 at the Von Liebig Art Center in Naples. It will feature harmonious couplings of Staglin Family Vineyard wines. All-inclusive VIP tickets which include access to the dinner, symposium, reception and concert are $425; Dinner only is $300.

Sound Minds™ proceeds will be shared between the David Lawrence Centers to provide mental health and substance use services to children, adults, and families, and IMHRO to fund their neuropsychiatric research initiatives.

Our sponsors to date include: Gulfshore Life Magazine, Investors’ Security Trust, iHeart Media, Moorings Park and Spotlight Magazine.

To learn more, purchase a ticket or register for the Symposium only, visit DavidLawrenceCenter.org. Due to limited seating, preregistration is required and will be strictly enforced. For more information or sponsorship opportunities, contact Jennifer Denike at jenniferde@dlcmhc.com or 239-304-3505.

About David Lawrence Center
David Lawrence Centers is the Southwest Florida-based, not-for-profit leading provider of behavioral health solutions dedicated to inspiring and creating life-changing wellness for every individual. The Center provides innovative, comprehensive inpatient, outpatient, residential and community based prevention and treatment services for the one in four local children and adults who experience mental health, emotional, psychological and substance use challenges. For more information about David Lawrence Centers call (239) 491-7602 or visit www.DavidLawrenceCenter.org.

About IMHRO
IMHRO, International Mental Health Research Organization, also known as One Mind Institute, is a not-for-profit international mental health research organization that funds brain science to improve lives. The innovative research projects they fund aim to better diagnose, treat, prevent, and cure severe psychiatric diseases. Their mission is to alleviate human suffering from mental illness by funding scientific research into causes, prevention and new treatments. IMHRO is committed to raising awareness and funding neuropsychiatric research to find preventions and cures for severe mental illnesses, focusing on schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder, within a generation. For more information about IMHRO visit www.imhro.org.