Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration

CMHS Consumer Affairs E-News
April 27, 2005, Vol. 05-61

Free Teleconference Training on Decreasing Stigma Associated with Mental Illness in the African American Community

You are invited to participate in a free teleconference training, "Decreasing Stigma Associated with Mental Illness in the African American Community."

This teleconference training is sponsored by the SAMHSA Resource Center to Address Discrimination and Stigma (ADS Center), a project of the Center for Mental Health Services of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The session is free to participants.

Date: Thursday, May 5, 2005
Time: 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Time)

To register for this teleconference, please fill out the form at stopstigma.samhsa.gov/regpage.htm. Also, feel free to pass on this invitation to others who might be interested. For more information, please contact America Doria-Medina by email (stopstigma@samhsa.gov) or by telephone at 1-800-540-0320. Please note: Registration for this teleconference will close at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 4, 2005.

The research literature suggests that African American communities lack knowledge about mental illness and about how to access early mental health intervention services. Common myths, stigma, misinformation, and fear unduly influence many African American families. Consequently, while African American families experience mental illness in proportions that are the same as the rest of the population, they are more likely to delay seeking treatment or to succumb to court-ordered treatment, resulting in more severe diagnoses, longer inpatient treatment, and poorer prognoses.

The speakers for this teleconference training will discuss ways in which African Americans obtain information about mental illnesses; identify barriers, including beliefs and fears, to seeking help; and describe the work of an assembly of churches in Texas that provides education and information to decrease stigma and discrimination among African Americans in faith communities. The training will be provided by King Davis, Ph.D., Wilma Townsend, and Marietta Bell Noel. Brief profiles of the trainers follow:

Mr. King Davis, Ph.D.
Dr. Davis is a professor, the Robert Lee Sutherland Chair in Mental Health and Social Policy, and Director for the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health. His research and teachings at the University of Texas at Austin have focused on mental health public policy, culturally competent mental health services, health care for those with mental illnesses, and disparities in rates of illness and service delivery for consumers of color.

Ms. Wilma Townsend
Ms. Townsend is a nationally recognized expert on consumer-focused recovery and cultural competence. She has extensive experience as a consultant to States, local government entities, managed care organizations, and consumer and family organizations in the areas of consumer recovery and recovery-oriented services, peer-operated services, consumer involvement and outcomes, and cultural competence. Ms. Townsend is involved in a research project titled, "Actualization of Best Practice Model System-Wide: Examination of Recovery-Oriented Services and Outcomes." She contributed issue papers on the topics of consumer recovery and cultural competence to the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health.

Ms. Marietta Bell Noel
Ms. Noel is coordinator of the Central Texas African American Family Support Conference and Senior Planner at Austin Travis County Mental Health Mental Retardation Center in Austin, Texas. She provides process direction and coordination for Center-wide strategic and annual plans and serves as a planning liaison for various community entities involving Center services. Ms. Noel has worked in health and human services in both the private and public sectors and has more than 30 years of successful experience in program management, case management, and consumer and family relations. She is a current member of the Center's Cultural Diversity Committee.

Speaker presentations will take approximately 60 minutes and will be followed by a 30-minute question-and-answer period. Anyone who responds to this invitation will receive confirmation by e-mail. Prior to the teleconference, participants will receive an online link to presentation materials and log-in instructions for the call.

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The Center for Mental Health Services is a component of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, United States Department of Health and Human Services.