The inaugural Gen Z Wellness Summit, held on Sunday, February 25, 2024, was a huge success! With the theme of “We are All in This Together”, over 600 people filled the Centennial Ballroom of the Luskin Conference Center at UCLA to hear inspiring and engaging conversations about issues important to Gen Z’s: social media, addiction, LGBTQ, climate change, eating disorders, anxiety and depression, and relationships. The event was curated and presented by the Teen Advisory Council of the Friends of the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA.

 

Renowned actress, Lili Reinhart, star of the hit TV series Riverdale, opened up about her lifelong struggle with mental health in an intimate conversation with Professor of Psychiatry and Anthropology, Dr. Helena Hansen, the interim director of the Semel Institute, and Metta Sandiford-Artest, LA Laker legend, inspired everyone with his message of staying true to oneself and the importance of taking care of one’s mental health. Climate activist, Molly Kawahata, an accomplished ice climber who lives with bipolar disorder, delivered a message of hope and the audience was treated to stellar and evocative performances by Gen Z artists and poets – Sky Dxddy, Clinton Kane, Tyris Winter, the Get Lit poets, and UCLA’s YouthPhonics, all with a mental health message.

 

UCLA Semel Institute faculty skillfully moderated the panel discussions featuring social media influencers, a non-profit founder, an author and podcast host, Teen Advisory Council students, and Gen Z mental health advocates.

 

Please read what Dr. David Miklowitz, Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine and Director, Child and Adolescent Mood Disorders Program at UCLA Semel Institute, had to say about the Gen Z Wellness Summit in Psychology Today.