NAMI-Athens: Conference 2009

The Recovery Conference 2009: A Great Day!

On Saturday April 18th, NAMI held a very-successful, day-long conference on "Recovery and Hope: Consumer/Family Perspectives on Mental Illness" in the Walter Hall Rotunda at Ohio University.

One of the major purposes of the conference was to showcase the wisdom and insights of consumers in recovery. Our two consumer keynoters were Tamara Lambert, an undergraduate in psychology at the University of Manitoba and a member of both the Schizophrenia Society of Manitoba and the Youth Reference Group of the National Health Commission of Canada, and Jane Mountain a writer/speaker and survivor of bipolar disorder. In addition, there were speakers and panels concerned with brain disorders and suicide in children and adolescents.

An audience of over 150 registered. Half were student nurses and teachers from Hocking College and Washington State Community College, while the rest were students from several disciplines at Ohio University, professionals seeking CEUs (57), consumers, and family members.

Later that spring Professor Debra Doak, who brought a large contingent of students and faculty from the Washington State Community College School of Nursing, commented in a letter to one of the organizers:

". . . the lives of all my students were changed that day (and mine as well). I got a different perspective . . . I want you to know, too, that the other WSCC instructor there, Carol McAuley, was the speaker at our pinning ( . . . to a group different from the group that attended the NAMI conference); she talked to the graduates about the experience that day, particularly about Tammy and what Tammy said she needed from nurses (the kindness and compassion). Carol challenged them all to be that nurse of whom Tammy spoke. As I said before, the ripple effect of educating nurses is incredible . . . that combined with the ripple effect of those speakers that day is more far-reaching than I think we'll ever know."

Co-sponsors included the 317 Board, ABH, the Gathering Place and various university and college entities. The next such conference will be held in Spring 2011.

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Contact NAMI - Athens
Appalachian Behavioral Health Care, 100 Hospital Drive, Athens OH 45701
Phone: 740-593-7424 e-mail: namiathens@gmail.com