2006 Consumer Conference
1st Annual Consumer Conference A Success!
On September 15, 2006, more than 250 mental health consumers/survivors descended on Kennewick, Washington for the first annual Adult Consumer Conference, Living with Purpose: Honoring Spirit, Mind and Body. The Mental Health Transformation Project, in partnership with adult consumer leaders in Washington and the Washington Institute for Mental Health Research and Training (WIMIRT), succeeded in attracting over 250 participants from around the state to this historic event. The two day conference emphasized a holistic approach to mental health and promoted the hope and promise that people with severe mental illness can, and do, recover. One of the primary objectives of this conference was to operationalize from the consumers perspective the President's New Freedom Commission Goals and move Washington forward as a state united in promoting the health and recovery potential of all its citizens.
Day 1 - Workshops
Workshops offered covered a variety of informative and cutting edge topics, including art therapy, the role of nutrition and exercise in mental health, positive self healing techniques, WRAP, stress management, unconditional love and forgiveness, and multicultural practices and beliefs for mind and body. Additional sessions included advance directives, self advocacy, the legislative process, employment, and using evaluation to support consumer delivered services. Materials from the workshops are available below.
- Art Therapy
- Nutrition & Exercise in Mental Health
- Stress management, unconditional love and forgiveness
- Advance Directives
- Employment
- Evaluation
- Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP)
219KB]Awards Presented
An exciting series of inaugural awards were also given to inspiring consumers from around the state. BJ Cooper from Stevens County received an award for Consumer Voice, Kay Roberson from Clark County received the Personal Transformation Award, and Cindy Willey from Pierce County was recognized for her "stigma busting" efforts with the Stigma Buster Award. Each one of these award winners were voted on by their peers as individuals who contributed to advancing consumer issues and voice across Washington State.
Day Two - Keynote Address & Policy Planks
Day two of the conference kicked off with an energetic and inspiring keynote address from Joseph Rogers, founder of the National Mental Health Consumers Self-Help Clearinghouse in Philadelphia, PA. He provided a moving call to action for the second day, devoted to honing advocacy and networking efforts among participants. The afternoon sessions were organized around a series of policy "planks." We were honored to have these sessions facilitated by several nationally recognized leaders and consumer advocates from the National Mental Health Consumers Self-Help Clearinghouse in addition to local advocates and experts. The purpose of these planks was to unify the state-wide voice of mental health consumers by developing consensus statements and policy strategies around several key issues:
- Consumer delivered services
[
55KB] - Forensic issues
[ 48KB]
- Force and coercion
[ 52KB]
- Alternative/holistic health
[ 55KB]
- Multicultural issues
[ 62KB]
- Stigma & discrimination
[ 52KB]
- Employment
[ 63KB]
- Advocacy/Organizing
[ 44KB]
Positive Feedback
Feedback on the conference has been overwhelmingly positive and many participants are eager to actively engage in future efforts for uniting consumer voice in Washington State. We look forward to future successful transformative conferences and welcome your input and feedback on the 2006 conference.
