DBSA 2006 Conferences LIVING WELL: MAKING RECOVERY REAL Speaker Biographies Keynote Speakers Breakout Session Speakers
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
		Opening Keynote Speaker Victoria Maxwell is one of North America’s most sought-after consultants and speakers on workplace depression and bipolar disorder, mental illness and recovery, and reducing stigma. An award-winning actress and playwright, her critically acclaimed one-woman show Crazy for Life – her true-life story about accepting and living with a psychiatric disorder – tours internationally to sold-out audiences and rave reviews. Victoria’s honest, often hilariously irreverent approach to her own experiences disarms the prejudices often associated with mental illness whole providing crucial information on how to deal with it openly and effectively. www.victoriamaxwell.com
		Closing Keynote Speaker Randy Revelle is a knowledgeable and outspoken consumer advocate and a nationally-recognized leader of mental healthcare reform. The former Executive of King County, Washington, he is credited with pulling together thousands of advocates to create insurance parity in the state of Washington. Randy will share his insights and personal experience with severe mental illness as he presents “Overcoming the stigma: A Personal Story of Recovery from Mental Illness.” Randy’s powerful story of his recovery journey will inspire and motivate all of us to continue on our own journeys.

BREAKOUT SESSION SPEAKERS

Alan Zais- Disability and Housing: This session will introduce you to the legal issues you need to know when dealing with housing concerns.

Miriam Johnson-Hoyte- Disability and Housing: This session will introduce you to the legal issues you need to know when dealing with housing concerns.

Bio: Miriam Johnson-Hoyte has been elected to serve a two-year term as the Chairperson for the Board of Directors of the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance  (DBSA). Ms. Johnson-Hoyte is a health and disability attorney in private practice who has assisted many people with mental illness throughout her career and has worked extensively with community health centers and other community based agencies in the Greater Boston area.  She is a former Legal Services Attorney, who has worked extensively with low-income clients, (both diagnosed and undiagnosed) to address a range of legal issues.

Lawrence Robbins, M.D.- Pain as a Symptom: This session will help to explain the painful physical symptoms commonly associated with anxiety and depression, why these symptoms occur, and how to better manage them in your life.

Bio: Dr. Robbins is a neurologist specializing in headache. HE is an Assistant Professor of Neurology at Rush Medical College. Dr. Robbins has written 140 articles and abstracts. Dr. Robbins has been included in “America’s Top Doctors” in 2002, 2003 and 2004, as well as “Chicago’s Top Doctors.”

Colin Depp Ph.D.- Successful Aging & Mood Disorders: Hear about the latest developments in the diagnosis and treatment of late-life depression and how you can help yourself or your loved one.

Larry Fricks- 10 Steps for Creating the Life You Want: Filled with tools to help you take an active role in your treatment, this session offers you an opportunity to learn more about how to create the life you want.

Bio: Larry Fricks is the Secretary on the DBSA 2006 Board of Directors. He is a founder of the Georgia Mental Health Consumer Network, Inc. that now has some 3,000 members, a founder of the Georgia Consumer Council, a founder of Georgia’s Peer Specialist Training and Certification and a founder of the Georgia Peer Support Institute.

Tom Wootton- The Bipolar Advantage: Finding “The Bipolar Advantage” is about understanding and accepting that there are both good and bad aspects to the bipolar condition and then acting upon what you’ve learned. By changing your habits to those that accentuate the positive aspects of the bipolar condition while minimizing the negatives, you can increase the level at which you function.

Bio: The author of The Bipolar Advantage speaks around the country on his experiences with being diagnosed and living with bipolar disorder. He gives hope to those who have been struggling with it for a long time. Hope to those who find themselves in a supportive role with someone that they care about. Mr. Wootton has a positive look on life and his diagnosis giving a positive look on bipolar disorder.

Ken Whiddon- Supported Employment: This session will address the challenges of getting back to work—providing practical strategies for acquiring and keeping a job and outlining how you can regain or maintain control of your work life.

Bio: Ken Whiddon, president of AmericanWork, a private agency that operates peer centers in south Georgia; which has made certified peer specialists a requirement for reimbursement for services such as assertive community treatment, community support teams, and adult peer support programs makes hiring of trained consumers a necessity for funding.

Claudia J. Strauss- Talking to Depression: Explore simple ways to connect when someone in your life is depressed. This session will offer suggestions for how to better relate and connect when people in your life are struggling with depression.

Judy Eron- What Goes Up: Dealing with Mania: Using music, lecture and discussion, this session will explore planning strategies for dealing with mania far in advance of an episode, when a person is healthy—with judgments intact—and can be a wise consultant to, and team with, a friend or family member.

Bio: Judy Eron is a licensed clinical social worker and singer/songwriter whose recent book, What Goes Up. . .Surviving the Manic Episode of a Loved One, addresses the neglected topic of the mania of bipolar disorder.  After 20 years in private practice, Judy now works with Rural Hospice on the remote mountain desert outside Big Bend National Park in Texas, and is a longtime volunteer on national disasters with the American Red Cross.

Joan Esnayra, Ph.D.- Psychiatric Service Dogs: This session will explore the research-based evidence and efficacy of Psychiatric Service Dogs as a therapeutic model and integral part of a recovery plan.

Bio: Joan Esnayra, Ph.D. is President and founder of the Psychiatric Service Dog Society. As the recipient of the 2006 Eli Lilly ‘Welcome Back Award’ in Primary Care, Dr. Esnayra has spent the past nine years pioneering the ‘Psychiatric Service Dog’ therapeutic model. Building upon her analytical training as a scientist, and her insights as a mental health consumer, Dr. Esnayra and members of her online community identified over 30 tasks or functions that Psychiatric Service Dogs may be trained to provide to their owners who are disabled by refractory symptoms of severe mental illness.

Steve Propst- Becoming Your Own Best Advocate: This interactive and humorous session will challenge your perspective on advocacy. Using pictures that illustrate and principles that instruct, you will see that when you learn to advocate for yourself, recovery is possible.

Bio: Steve Propst has been elected to serve a one-year term as the Vice Chairman of DBSA. Mr. Propst is a personal consultant to patient and family members. He offers his personal insight for people to better understand and manage mental illness and lead more fulfilling, meaningful lives.

Madhukar Trivedi, M.D.- New Research in Mood Disorders: Find out the latest in mood disorder research, medications and treatments. Highlights from the findings in the STAR*D report will also be reviewed.

Bio: Dr. Madhukar Trivedi is the director of the program and a clinical research scientist, is a faculty member in the Department of Psychiatry at UT Southwestern. He played an instrumental role in the research that went into the Star*D report – the nation’s largest depression study.