Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration

CMHS Consumer Affairs E-News
July 18, 2007, Vol. 07-110

National Consumer Conference, in St. Louis, to Highlight Theme of Mental Illness Recovery

ST. LOUIS (7/10/07) - The 21nd annual Alternatives conference, the only national mental health conference organized by and for people diagnosed with mental illnesses - also known as mental health consumers/survivors - will be held October 10-14, 2007, at the Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark.

"The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is proud to support the Alternatives conference, which promotes hope and recovery among people with mental illnesses," said SAMHSA administrator Terry Cline, Ph.D., who, along with another prominent federal official - A. Kathryn Power, M.Ed., director of SAMHSA's Center for Mental Health Services - will be a featured speaker. A third plenary speaker will be Pat Deegan, Ph.D., a consumer/survivor activist and internationally known recovery expert. Four additional plenaries will cover trauma, sexual/gender minority issues, suicide, and the arts.

The Alternatives 2007 theme - "Spanning the Recovery Movement: Consumer Control and Choice" - was suggested by the Gateway Arch. "The Arch symbolizes the leap of faith that Americans made as they pushed westward," said Joseph Rogers, executive director of the National Mental Health Consumers' Self-Help Clearinghouse, which is organizing the conference. "As people with psychiatric histories, we share the hope that, by making our own choices and controlling our own destinies, we too can improve our lives."

Each Alternatives conference offers in-depth technical assistance on peer-delivered services and self-help/recovery methods. Topics include starting peer-run programs, developing personal resources, and the latest social services research. Beyond the exchange of knowledge and networking, Alternatives offers a rich social, artistic, and healing environment. Said one attendee, "The conference transformed me so I can transform the system."

The Alternatives 2007 registration brochure is posted at http://www.alternatives2007.org and has been distributed by mail.

TravelSmart, the nation's oldest travel newsletter, named St. Louis one of its "10 Safest, Culturally Most Fascinating Cities in the U.S." The Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark is at One South Broadway at Market Street, near the new Busch Stadium, the Gateway Arch, Edward Jones Dome (home of the St. Louis Rams), America's Center, and the Riverfront.

The Clearinghouse is a consumer-run national technical assistance center funded by the Center for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which is helping sponsor the conference.

Contact: Nathan Hulfish, Project and Events Coordinator, Clearinghouse, 800-553-4539, ext. 317; alternatives2007@mhasp.org.

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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.