News & Events >> Conference Announcement

Community Care Behavioral Health Organization is sponsoring two conferences this fall about behavioral health recovery.  

On October 20, 2005 the conference, Recovery Across the Lifespan, will be held at the Harrisburg Hilton Hotel.  The speakers for this conference include Amy Long, who is an Educator/Trainer for the National Empowerment Center.  She describes herself as an individual who received four or five different diagnoses while in the mental health system years ago. She refused to be seen through those labels and fought to regain her voice and take charge of her healing journey. She firmly believes that the "healer lies within" each of us.  Amy has worked as a Psychiatric Nurse for the past 17 years in both community mental health settings and on inpatient units.   She is one of the founders of Bridges of Hope, a supportive network for Consumers working as Providers.   Amy has been a presenter at both national and international conferences and has been known to touch the lives of many as she speaks with passion and humor and challenges us to "push the envelope" within the system today, and to provide an environment where healing can and will happen.   

Other speakers for this conference include Wilburn Hayden, PhD.  Dr. Hayden is the Program Director of the California University of Pennsylvania Master of Social Work Program.  His specialty is rural social work and his presentation will be of particular interest to those who live and work in small towns and rural communities.  Dr. Hayden recently appeared on the PBS program "Appalachia" as an expert about the issues facing these communities.  

Joan Erney, Deputy Secretary for the Department of Public Welfare's Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, will also be presenting.  

Barbara Friesen, PhD, Director of the Research and Training Center on Family Support and Children's Mental Health and a Professor at the Graduate School of Social Work at Portland State University in Portland Oregon will be presenting on resilience in children.  She is currently conducting research related to family participation in mental health and other service settings, and an evaluation of an intensive case management system for children with serious emotional disorders. Her ³Families as Allies² program is designed to promote partnerships between family members and service providers. Dr. Friesen has published extensively in the children's mental health area on topics such as parent-professional relationships, family support, family centered services, family members in service providing roles, and system change strategies. 

There will also be presentations on Act 147 (mental health age of consent) , and Act 194 (advance directives).  

Lunch will be provided for participants.  The fee for the conference is $85.  Consumers, families, and students can attend the conference for free.  Transportation is available for consumers from Adams, Berks, and York Counties who wish to attend.  Sign language interpretation will be available for participants who are deaf or hard of hearing. 

Continuing education credits will be available for social work, psychology, addictions counseling, nursing, and certified counseling.  For additional information please contact Virginia Suplee or Paul Wittman.  Virginia can be reached at 412-454-2605 or supleevd@ccbh.com <mailto:supleevd@ccbh.com> , and Paul can be reached at 412-454-8625 or wittmanpj@ccbh,com <mailto:wittmanpj@ccbh,com> .   

On November 10, 2005, Community Care will be hosting Perspectives on Recovery at the Inn at Chester Springs.  The keynote speaker will be Patricia Deegan, PhD.  Pat Deegan is Director of Training and Education at The National Empowerment Center. She has lectured, published and consulted on recovery and the empowerment of people with psychiatric disabilities throughout the world. She is the author of an innovative training program called "Hearing Voices That Are Distressing: A Training Simulation And Self Help Strategies".

She specializes in recovery and the empowerment of individuals diagnosed with mental illness. She is affiliated with the Boston University Institute for the Study of Human Resilience, the University of Kansas School of Welfare and Advocates for Human Potential, Inc.  Dr. Deegan is an activist in recovery and cofounder of the National Empowerment Center, Inc.  Her most recent projects include the development of the International Care Approach to building recovery-oriented skills and competencies in direct services staff, a film about transitioning from institutions to the community, and research into perspectives on the history of mental health services.  

Shelley Bishop, who is Executive Assistant for Consumer and Family Issues to OMHSAS Deputy Secretary Joan Erney, will also be presenting.  Shelley is responsible for establishing relationships and providing technical assistance to consumer and family stakeholder groups, as well as being involved in quality improvement initiatives with a focus on consumer/family satisfaction efforts to assist in building a recovery-oriented system in Pennsylvania.  Prior to coming to OMHSAS in January 2004, Shelley was the Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Mental Health Consumers' Association (PMHCA) for over seven years.

Shelley's passion for moving forward a mental health and substance abuse system that understands the importance of building and supporting resilience in individuals and the goal of transforming to a recovery-oriented system for adults and children is driven by her experiences as a recipient of public mental health and welfare services in Pennsylvania and her own personal path of recovery.  Her commitment to this goal was bolstered through confronting painful challenges with her son Justin who faced co-occurring mental illness and substance addiction and ultimately died at the age of 17.  

Additional speakers will be presenting information about incorporation recovery approaches in treatment practices. 

Lunch will be available for participants.  The fee for the conference is $85.   Consumers, families, and students are able to attend the conference for free.  Transportation from several sites will be available for consumers who wish to attend.  Consumers, families, and students can attend the conference for free.  Sign language interpretation will be available for participants who are deaf or hard of hearing.   

Continuing education credits will be available for social work, psychology, addictions counseling, nursing, and certified counseling.  For additional information please contact Virginia Suplee or Paul Wittman for additional information.  Virginia can be reached at 412-454-2605 or supleevd@ccbh.com.  Paul can be reached at 412-454-8625 or wittmanpj@ccbh,com.