Monday, August 25, 2008
10-10:30 a.m.
Opening Remarks
Dr. David Lakey, Commissioner Texas Department of State Health Services
10:30 a.m.-12 p.m.
Opening Keynote: The Critical Role of Embracing Healthy Shame in Healing Addictive Disorders
John Bradshaw, John Bradshaw Media Group
In this Keynote, John Bradshaw will outline the two forces of the affect shame: HDL or Healthy Shame and LDL or Toxic Shame. Since addictive disorders involve moral and spiritual bankruptcy, addicts must be restored to their healthy shame, which is the ground of guilt as “moral shame.” Because real harm has been done to themselves and others, there is need for a searching of their moral inventory and a sincere attempt to make amends before recovering addicts can be restored to their self worth. Taking addicts from meta shame to their most sound core shame is the way for true sobriety (second order change) to be established.
1:30-3 p.m.
The Power, the Promise and the Hope of Community Change
James E. Copple, Strategic Applications Alliance
This session will focus on both the need and urgency of creating communities of imagination and innovation. Utilizing evidence based practices is critical in transforming our communities from reactionary environments to strategically focused organizations. However, with a new generation of youth and young adults most at risk for substance abuse and risky behavior, it is time that we open up organizations to innovation and creative thinking. The Power and the Promise is that the field of health education is a field with new science and creative individuals prepared to take risks in prevention and interventions. The participants will leave this session with an understanding of how to promote innovative strategies to respond to substance abuse and safety issues. The credibility of our field is dependent on our ability to create change and promote new and promising policies and programs.
3:30-5 p.m.
Criminal Justice
Mental Health and Juvenile Justice in Texas
Erin Espinoza, Texas Juvenile Probation Commission
An increasing number of youth with mental health disorders enter and remain involved with the juvenile justice system. National estimates of youth in the juvenile justice system, with a diagnosable mental health disorder, range from 50% to 75%, with approximately one half of the youth referred to local juvenile probation departments having a mental health diagnosis. Texas statistics indicate that approximately 39% of the youth entering the juvenile justice system on any given day have major disorders including Bi-polar and Major Depression with approximately 50% coping with the co-occurring issues of substance abuse. Because many symptoms of mental illness look similar to that of aggression or “acting out”, this poses a unique challenge to not only the practitioners working with this population but also for the families and the youth themselves. This results in many “sick teens in need of treatment” being viewed as “bad teens in need of punishment.” This session will provide participants an overview of state and national trends; key myths regarding the juvenile offender; components of effective treatment for youth in the juvenile justice system; promising practices based in Texas that have begun to garner national and international attention; and, resources for building community interventions for a stronger spectrum of care.
Counseling Essentials
Delivering Effective Psychoeducation or Didactics
Celia Watt, State University of NY
This presentation describes a method of creating and delivering psycho-educational interventions or didactics appropriate for AOD treatment settings loosely based in the Socratic Method. Topics to be discussed include determining goals for didactics; formulating questions, using conditional language; incorporating clients’ readiness for change; issues related to giving didactics on 12-Step topics; and, clarification of the difference between didactics and lectures. Ideas for goals across numerous topics, samples of follow-up materials including community resources, group discussion topics, and homework assignments will also be discussed.
Treatment
Update on Child and Adolescent Psycho-pharmacology
Dr. Emilie A. Becker, Department of State Health Services
The first three-quarters will be a didactic presentation about the current use of psychiatric medicines with children and adolescents. The pros and cons of medicines will be discussed. In particular, the recent warnings used by the FDA about the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors will be covered. The last quarter will be spent on question and answers.
Prevention
Family Counts: The Importance of Involving Family in Adolescent Prevention Programs
Jennifer Burgess, Private Practice
So often we buy into the hype that adolescents have it all figured out. We assume they do not need their parents’ guidance because they act like they do not want it. However, adolescents are still developing emotionally and cognitively and do still need parental involvement. Parental involvement is essential for effective prevention and treatment of substance abuse issues. This session will examine the evidence outlining just how important parental involvement is as well as what information is important to provide to families.
Youth and Family
Roads to the Unconscious: An Introduction to the Road Drawing Technique
Michael Hanes, Red Rock BHS
Roads have been universally significant since their development some 5,000 years ago. Their mythic and metaphoric meaning has permeated the language, art, poetry and music of virtually all cultures. In this presentation, Michael Hanes will demonstrate how road drawings can serve as a diagnostic and therapeutic metaphor in therapy. The task is capable of eliciting a person’s origins, the history of his or her life process, experiences to date, and intent for the future - even from a single drawing. In addition, the road’s reparative nature and need for periodic upgrade can serve as a metaphor for the person’s capacity for change and restoration.
Improving the Workforce
The Best Behavioral Strategies Education Offers the Workplace
Joel Blaylock, Richardson ISD
What strategies work in a dysfunctional workplace? What has education to say about improving morale where you work? What can you do to prop up your attitude when everything seems to be out of your control? You make the weather and can learn to fly like an eagle in a climate where being a turkey is the norm.
Non-Profit Leadership
Non-Profit Law
Samantha Denton, UT Southwestern
Doug Denton, Homeward Bound
This workshop addresses the basic legal requirements and structure of organizations exempt from federal income taxation and offers practical solutions to real-life problems of nonprofit executives. It focuses on structuring and operating nonprofits under state law, bylaw drafting, mergers and acquisitions, strategic alliances, compensation of board members, executive director and board member liability, insurance protection, the law of volunteers, charitable solicitation registration requirements, and ethical issues for nonprofits. It also covers United States federal tax law, obtaining and maintaining tax exempt status, distinguishing between public charities and private foundations, income-generating activities, and tax reporting.
Community Issues
Cheese Heroin: Community Response to a Drug Crisis
Debbie Meripolski, Greater Dallas Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse,
Dr. Jane Maxwell, UT Addiction Research Institute
A large number of Dallas area youth have died since 2005 from overdoses of a heroin mixture known as “cheese.” Countless more have been admitted to hospitals and treatment facilities. A Dallas County Cheese/Heroin Task Force was established to develop and implement a broad range of strategies to tackle this problem. The Task Force currently numbers about 70 members with seven active workgroups: (1) Prevention/Education, (2) Treatment, (3) Law Enforcement, (4) Data Collection, (5) Recovery, (6) Media Relations, and (7) Resource Development. This presentation will demonstrate how the Strategic Prevention Framework guided a community in its response to an epidemic, and will show broad ranging benefits of structured collaboration. The information is important to prevention and treatment providers because it reveals the Strategic Prevention Framework’s effectiveness in the context of a real life drug crisis. Activities will include presentation of background information on the drug known as “cheese heroin,” information on mobilizing a community in an emergency situation, creation of the Task Force and examples of workgroup activities. Videos of public service announcements and examples of research projects, public awareness campaigns, and cutting edge educational programs used in the initiative will be shared.