Mental health conferences are a great way to disseminate new mental health research and treatment options.  Topics of the 2009 National Council Conference included the treatment and recovery from addictions, youth in transition, and recovery from schizophrenia and mental illness.  Speakers at mental health conferences included Jennifer Holliday, Christopher Lawford Kennedy, Dan Mendelson, and Linda Rosenburg.

More than 100 presentations on timely topics like emerging treatments for addictions, recovery from schizophrenia and veterans with traumatic brain injury and mental illness will be held during the 39th National Council Conference, April 6-8, 2009 in San Antonio.

A new National Center report, The Person-Centered Healthcare Home, will be released. The report presents evidence-based approaches to a patient-centered healthcare home for people with serious mental illnesses.

Meeting highlights include presentations on addiction and mental health issues such as:
• Addictions:
--The Science and Treatment of Addictions
--Therapeutic Change: What Really Works with the Substance Dependent Client
--What Does Recovery From An Addiction Look Like? 

• Children and Youth in Transition
--Psychotropic Medications and Children: Beneficial or Risky?
--Youth in Transition: What Works?    

• Recovery
--Schizophrenia: A Time for Hope
--Veterans With Traumatic Brain Injury and Mental Illness
--Emotional Intelligence and Recovery
--Treating Mental Illness in the Criminal Justice System

Featured speakers include:
• Jennifer Holliday, two-time Grammy Award winner and star of the Broadway hit “Dreamgirls,” will share her soul-stirring story of how she overcame depression after a 10-year struggle.

• Christopher Lawford Kennedy, actor and President John F. Kennedy’s nephew, is author of “Moments of Clarity,” a moving story where Tom Arnold, Jamie Lee Curtis, Elaine Stritch and other celebrities discuss their struggles with addiction.

• Dan Mendelson, President, Avalere Health and former budget and health adviser in the Clinton administration, offers an insider’s view of healthcare reform, highlighting the nation’s long-term care financing challenges including specialty behavioral health and the potential of evidence based medicine to bring competition and transparency to healthcare.

• Linda Rosenberg, President and CEO, National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare, helps member organizations prepare for a changing treatment and fiscal landscape as they work to help ensure that adults and children with mental illnesses and addictions have every opportunity for care and recovery.

• Other speakers: David Gergen, director, Center for Public Leadership, Harvard University, editor-at-large, U.S. News & World Report and CNN senior political analyst; Nora Volkow, director, National Institute on Drug Abuse; Craig Newmark, founder, Craigslist.org; and Kevin Carroll, author of What’s Your Red Rubber Ball and Rules of the Red Rubber Ball.

WHO    
National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare

WHAT   
39th National Council Conference

WHERE   
Grand Hyatt, 600 E. Market St, San Antonio, TX

WHEN   
April 6-8, 2009

PRESS REGISTRATION  
Credentialed media may receive press badges and complimentary registration by contacting Brian Ruberry, 301-948-1709, br@allhealthpr.com

The National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare is a not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) association of 1,400 behavioral healthcare organizations that provide treatment and rehabilitation for mental illnesses and addictions disorders to nearly six million adults, children and families in communities across the country. The National Council and its members bear testimony to the fact that medical, social, psychological and rehabilitation services offered in community settings help people with mental illnesses and addiction disorders recover and lead productive lives.