IDEAS in Psychiatry, an innovative public education series from the UNM Department of Psychiatry, presents Jeffrey W. Swanson, Ph.D., for a free lecture on a highly sensationalized and misunderstood subject: gun violence and mental illness. "The Truth about gun violence and mental illness" will be held Tuesday, Feb. 25 at 6 p.m. at the HSC Domenici Center Auditorium, 1001 Stanford NE. Admission is free, reservations are recommended.

Swanson, a professor and medical sociologist at Duke University, is a member of the national consortium on risk-based gun policy that presented recommendations to Congress in December. He's a popular national speaker and media interviewee. Currently, he is principal investigator of a multi-site study on firearms laws, mental illness and prevention of violence cosponsored by the National Science Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Program on Public Health Law Research (PHLR). His expertise includes psychiatric epidemiology, mental health services effectiveness research, and mental health law and policy studies.

Based in the Department’s Office of Community Engagement, IDEAS in Psychiatry was created to provide useful, accurate and up-to-date information about mental illness. The program seeks to enhance the lives of people affected by mental illness, encourage understanding, and dispel common myths and mistruths. During its three years in Albuquerque, IDEAS has hosted several free public lectures with renowned speakers including Kay Redfield Jamison, PhD; Mark Vonnegut, MD; and Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter.

For information about parking at UNM or to register, visit IDEASinPsychiatry or call 272-3592.