UAH welcomes Hakeem Rahim nationally recognized mental health speaker and trainer

Mental health speaker and educator Hakeem Rahim will give a public talk at UAH on Tuesday, Sept. 20, at 6 p.m., in the Charger Union Theater.

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Nationally recognized mental health speaker, advocate and educator Hakeem Rahim will talk about his personal journey with bipolar disorder at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) on Tuesday, Sept. 20.

Rahim's talk is at 6 p.m., (doors will open at 5:30 p.m.) in the Charger Union Theater. The event is co-sponsored by the UAH Counseling Center and Student Life and is free and open to the public.

The #IAMACCEPTANCE Tour features Rahim, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder as an undergraduate student at Harvard University. He founded Live Breathe, LLC in 2007. The company focuses on educational consulting and mental health advocacy through providing speaking engagements, professional development workshops, trainings and mentorship sessions. Prior to starting Live Breathe, Hakeem worked in higher education for six years. He is certified in de Bono's Six Thinking Hats and Lateral Thinking methodologies, a de Bono Group consultant and a graduate of iPEC, an accredited life coach training institute. He has years of experience mentoring and counseling youth through designated programs as well as through unofficial mentorship. Hakeem is also a poet and recorded spoken word artist.

In 2012, Rahim began speaking openly about his year journey with bipolar disorder. Inspired to address the stigma of mental health, he became a certified National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) In Our Own Voice speaker. Through his speaking and advocacy work, he has spoken to law enforcement officials, individuals with mental illness and their family members, and to thousands of high school and middle school students. For his work as a mental health educator and advocate, Rahim, was selected as a 2013 Honoree by New York State Office of Mental Health for the "What's Great In Our State" Award.

Last January, Rahim testified to the importance of passing mental health reform in the U.S. Senate and how passage of a bill will improve the lives of millions of Americans affected by mental illness.

Rahim received an undergraduate in Psychology from Harvard University (Cum Laude). He attended Teachers College (Columbia) and Columbia University and graduated with dual Master's degrees in Education.

You can find more about Rahim at btslessonplans.org. For more information about Rahim's visit to the UAH campus, please contact Charlene Bankston at 256.824.6203 charlene.bankston@uah.edu.