by Kris Jenkins
I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the Second National Conference on Women which was sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. It was held June 27th - June 30, 1999 in Los Angeles, California and was sub-titled "Life Pathways" Women Healing, Thriving, and Celebrating." Since I have not attended very many "national" conferences, this was a real treat. There were almost 1,000 women in attendance, from all
Cross-sections of the United States (and some from abroad), all wanting to learn more about Substance Abuse and Mental Health issues as they relate to women. One thing that I appreciated about the conference organizers, was that they included teenage girls from across the country. The teenagers had specific programs designed with them in mind, but the message to them was that they are important in the future of mental health and substance abuse issues for women.
The conference dealt with many issues: Wellness for all Ages; Women and Their Families; Resource Expansion, HIV/Aids, Public Policy Issues of Interest to Women, Access to HealthCare, Senior Women's Issues, Girls and Women in Institutional Settings; Research on Women's Issues, Models of Cultural Competence, Focus on Youth, Women at Work, and Violence Against Women. There were approximately 77 session topics to choose from, along with 28 poster sessions to choose from. Needless to say, deciding which sessions to attend was tough. You could only chose 6 workshops to attend (out of the over 70 to choose from!) and three poster sessions to attend. With the poster sessions, it was a little easier to see more than one during a session, whereas with the workshops, I found that once I was attending one, I did not want to break away to go to another. In addition to the workshops, there were several plenary (meaning they were to be attended by everyone) and mini-plenary sessions that were really good also.
I tried to attend a variety of workshops, the first one I attended dealt with "wellness." The title was "Isn't She Lovely?: A Holistic Wellness Program for Women with Fuller Figures." This program discussed the impact of a structured 12 week holistic wellness program on promoting healthy lifestyle behavior changes and metabolic fitness in obese women. The presenters talked about a pilot program they ran by the same title and had a very high rate of success. I brought back literature on it and have since passed it onto the Director of our local Public Health Clinic.
Our first Plenary that we attended was on "A Multi-cultural Look at Women in the 21st Century." The program discussed the transition that is reflected in the lives of women of all cultural and ethnic backgrounds, along with the challenges and opportunities that face women as we step into the future. I also attended a "mini-plenary" on that first full day of the workshop titled "Women in Leadership and Resiliency." As a consumer, I often feel inadequate to lead, so was hoping that I could gain some insight into how to be a leader within our consumer community. Another plenary session that we had dealt with "Violence Against Women: Developing Collaborative Models for Health and Change." This session presented by a panel of women provided an overview of the prevalence and impact of violence against women in our society. It also addressed some of the key issues that women face as they attempt to heal psychologically from abuse and violence.
Some of the "poster sessions" I attended were: "Creating Dialogue with the Public - The Stamp Out Stigma (SOS) Program; "Consumer Run Crisis Respite for Abuse Survivors" (an excellent program based on the Stepping Stone Crisis Respite program on the East Coast!) and "Statewide Advocacy: Advancing Women's Health and Treatment."
As I said, there were so many sessions to choose from and rather than go through all the sessions I attended (I don't want to bore you), I will list all the workshops that were available, by conference topic. It may be possible to order tapes of any sessions that you are interested in. I am grateful for the opportunity to attend this wonderful conference. SAMHSA did a wonderful job at the conference with the course selections and organization!
Sessions by Conference Issues:
WELLNESS FOR ALL AGES
Helping Women and Girls to Heal
Isn't She Lovely: A Holistic Wellness Program for Women with Fuller Figures
Creating Dialogue with the Public: The Stamp Out Stigma (SOS) Program
Spirituality and Wellness from the Four Directions
Resiliency: Roadmap for Recovering Women and Their Children
Profound Awakening in the Midst of Chaos: The Transition Process for Women
Responsible Sexual Behavior
Parental Bereavement: A Women's Perspective
Empowering Trauma Survivors and Their Helpers
WOMEN AND THEIR FAMILIES
The Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP): Implications for Children with Mental and
Addictive Disorders
Women Coping Through the Life Cycle
Clinical Perspectives of the Palestinian Woman in Psychoanalytical Psychotherapy
Methamphetamine: New Threat to Women and Children
Children and Violence
Strengthening Family Approaches for the 21st Century
Single Parenting and the Support of the Extended Family
Families in Treatment for Substance Abuse and Mental Illness
Assistance for Homeless Women and Their Families
RESOURCE EXPANSION
Women and Breast Cancer: Fighting the Legal Issues
Partnerships for Women's Health Education and Career Development
Increasing Resources for Substance Abusing Women
Women-Focused Guidelines and Best Practices in Substance Abuse Treatment
Fullfilling the Promise of Women
Collaborating for Trauma-Sensitive Services: The TAMAR Project
Responding to Drug-Endangered Families: The Drug-Endangered Children (DEC) Multi-disciplinary Model
HIV/AIDS
The Collaborative Group on Women and HIV/AIDs
The Magnitude of the Progem of HIV/AIDS in Women
Women and HIV/AIDS/SDTS: A new Challenge
HIV Outreach for Women: Findings from Evaluation of CSAT Outreach Projects
Integrated Substance Abuse and HIV Prevention
PUBLIC POLICY ISSUES OF INTEREST TO WOMEN
The Soul of Women, the Heart of Care
Impact of Roles and Experiences - Depression, and Substance Abuse on Women's Health
Statewide Advocacy: Advancing Women's Health and Treatment
Prejudice and Punishment: Judging Pregnant Women Who Use Drugs
The Journey of Homeless Women Toward Self-Sufficiency
ACESS TO HEALTHCARE
Women are Veteran's Too!
Los Nervios in Mexican Women: Prevalence, Meaning and Healing
Bridging the Gap: Enhancing Partnerships to Improve Minority Women's Health
Suicide Prevention: Lives Touched by Suicide
What Happens to African American Women During Pregnancy
Women's Views of Women's Health: Shifting Paradigms
Service Needs of Homeless Women with Mental Illness
The California's Women's Health Survey: A Maternal Health Perspective
Redifining Integrated Primary Care, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Services for Women
Women as Leaders: Advocates for Families in Managed Care Systems Design
Eating Disorders in Adolescent and Adult Women
SENIOR WOMEN'S ISSUES
'Senior Synergy': Utilizing the Joy and Richness of Women's Life Experiences to Make
Groups 'Come to Life'
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Delivery in Older Women
When Women Hurt Women
GIRLS AND WOMEN IN INSTITUTIONAL SETTINGS
Out and In: Lesbians in Substance Abuse and Mental Health Settings
The In Jail Intervention Program (IJIP)
Break in the Walls: Addressing the Needs of Incarcerated Women While Preserving Families
Systems Integration: CSAT Adult/Juvenile Criminal Justice Treatment Networks
Healing Women Survive the Quadruple Impact of Drug Abuse, Violence, HIV/AIDS, and Incarceration
Creating New Service Delivery Models for the Millennium
Drug Courts: Mental Health and Substance Abuse Issues for Women and Their Families
RESEARCH ON WOMEN'S ISSUES
Women with Multiple Vulnerabilities
Alcohol, Drugs and Mental Health: Research Highlights
Preventing Substance Abuse in Women Using Community Health Assessments
Provider Perceptions and Attributions of Women at Risk
Women's Substance Treatment: 50 State Patterns and Profiles
Residential Substance Abuse Treatment Issues and Outcomes for Women and Their Children
Special Issues in Methamphetamine Treatment for Women
Is There a Risk for Children Exposed to Substance Abusing Environments in Utero and After? - Data From Past and Current Research
MODELS OF CULTURAL COMPETENCE
Abolition of Female Genital Circumcision in OYO State, Nigeria
A Multi-Cultural Look at Women in the 21st Century
Cultural Competence in Working With Trauma Survivors
Clients with Invisible Needs: Girls/Women with Learning Disabilities (LD)
New Visions for Vital Action: Tobacco Control Among Asian Americans
Clinical and Programmatic Issues in the Treatment of Latina Substance Abusing Mothers
Living Out Loud: Building Resiliency in Disabled Female Adolescents
Farmerworker Women Face Limited Mental Health Access
FOCUS ON YOUTH
A Force for Change: Youth Development for Young Women of Color
Young Women Speak Out: Issues Facing Their Generation
We Have Better Things to do Than Drugs
Gender Specific Programming for Girls: Notes from the Field
Youth on the Move: Adolescent Girls Work to Resolve Their Issues
Between Heartbreaks: Adolescent Women Surviving Trauma, Addiction and HIV
You and Mental Health. What's the Deal?
Young Girls: Making Choices and Building Lives Pregnancy-Free
WOMEN AT WORK
Women in Leadership and Resiliency
Barriers to Employment: Welfare Reform, Child Welfare and Women's Treatment Issues
Barriers to Work for Women: Linking Substance Abuse and Domestic Violence Recovery and Welfare-to-Work
Welfare to Work Interventions for Women
Women, Work, and Substance Abuse
Women in the Workplace
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
Trauma Survivors: From Survival to Advocacy
Transformation: A New Paradigm for Healing from Violence
Trauma and Mental Illness: Macro and Micro Level Efforts
Consumer Run Crisis Respite for Abuse Survivors
Violence Against Women: Developing Collaborative Models for Health and Change
Project Safety Link: A Rural Domestic Violence Demonstration Project
Prevention of Violence Among Native Women: Cultural Framworks
Violence Against Women
Domestic Violence and Pyschoactive Substances
Contact Information: Toll-free 877-279-1539
SAMHSA contact:
Pamela Perry SAMHSA Women Children and Families Team at 301-443-7625