Dr. Bita Ghafooi Joins Forum on Gun Violence
At the invitation of Congressman Alan Lowenthal, Dr. Bita Ghafoori participated this month in an online forum on gun violence. Dr. Ghafoori’s expertise in providing mental health services to those affected by crime and violence, including gun violence, was part of a forum that included lawmakers and community leaders. “Gun violence is an urgent issue that needs to be addressed. It is a multifaceted problem that requires involvement of many types of constituencies,” says Dr. Ghafoori. Including mental health experts in dialogue on gun violence and prevention is important. Dr. Ghafoori shares, “Prevention of violence occurs along a continuum that begins in early childhood with programs to help parents raise emotionally healthy children and ends with efforts to identify and intervene with troubled individuals who are threatening violence. The mental health community must take the lead in advocating for community-based collaborative problem-solving models to address the prevention and treatment of gun violence.”
