Please review the workshop descriptions below and select 1 workshop from Session A, B, and C to attend. Once you have selected the workshops you would like to attend, you can register for the HOPE Conference here:
Session A Workshops
A1: Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic Session 1 | Informational – Mindy Smith and Sybil Mazerolle
Part One is intended to be an informational session only, covering suggested and required criteria regarding staffing, accessibility, care coordination, scope of services, accreditation, and governance for CCBHC programs as outlined by SAMHSA. Attendees will be presented the difference between the services required to be provided by a CCBHC and services that may be provided by a Designated Community Organization. Presenters will also cover information about the Departments work to date. This will set participants up to understand the possibilities within CCBHC programming and the Departments timeline for developing infrastructure, policy, and certification processes. There will be an opportunity for attendees to ask clarifying questions around general criteria presented and Facilitators will answer as best as they are able with what knowledge they have at that time. Attendees will receive information on ways to be involved with providing suggestions and feedback into the development and design process of the Departments work around CCBHC’s. They will also be given information on potential CCBHC governing structures and upcoming opportunities for trainings on meaningful Board of Directors and/or Advisory Committee membership.
A2: BUTTKICKERS: Twenty Ways to Leave Tobacco – Joanna Free
If you want to stop smoking, chewing or vaping, or even if you’re just kick-curious and thinking about doing it maybe someday, this presentation will give you hands-on skills to get there gradually, skills you can apply to other kinds of radical change in your life as well! We’re going to touch on each of the twenty ways and have a hands-on experience with one of the tools: tapping.
A3: Peer Support Services: National Policy to Local Practice – Dana Foglesong
Many challenges exist in appropriately implementing peer support services within traditional treatment settings including maintaining the values and integrity of peer support. The solution is not at the provider level alone as multi-level systemic policies impact peer support practice. During this session participants will have the opportunity to share their concerns and challenges about peer support practice implementation and will learn about the latest developments in national policy related to peer support. This highly interactive session will equip participants with knowledge to advocate effectively for systems change and is best suited for peer support specialists, other healthcare professionals, and systems leaders.
A4: Benefits of Encouraging a More Trauma Sensitive Climate and Culture – Sara Paulsen
This presentation is designed to help people of all ages in a wide variety of environments including home, school, work, mental health hospitals, jails, peer support centers, etc. This concept can be applied to any setting. Environments can be changed to be more trauma sensitive by parents in their homes, by companies to better support their employees, by respite and in-home support providers, and behavioral health care providers in residential homes, crisis stabilization units, and hospital settings. This helps to create a more supportive and calming environment for people living with trauma. This workshop will teach principles that will help you see individuals with lived experiences of trauma for who they are (rather than who you would like them to be), reduce bias and barriers to learning, and learn how to build a team of dedicated adults working together and/or a strong family environment increase learning about trauma and improve overall psychological wellbeing which is all built on a foundation of relationships – your relationships with your family at home, clients in a variety of outpatient programs, and the people you work with as a healthcare provider. Participants are urged to reflect on the content as it applies to them and to the practices and culture at home, work, or elsewhere. There will be a handout given as an outline for participants that are visual learners.
A6: Reducing Stigma: Recovery Healthcare Rights for Persons with SUD(s) – Tess Parks
In recovery from SUD(s) and want to learn more about your healthcare rights? This training aims to improve the quality of healthcare experiences for people with SUD(s). Portland Recovery Community Center conducted listening sessions statewide to develop a palm card designed to help support people in recovery from SUD(s) while accessing healthcare. This training is designed for persons in recovery from SUD(s) to: understand their healthcare rights in medical settings, to use palm cards to practice self-care, inform providers, & converse with providers, and to learn how to use palm cards to advocate for respectful and dignified healthcare experiences.
A7: Making Self-Directed Care a Reality in Maine – Kristin Thorp
Self-directed care (SDC) is an innovative program model for individuals with lived experience in the behavioral health system, in which participants control an individual budget and customize their own service plans according to their personal preferences. A growing body of evidence shows that SDC can help people with mental health conditions to achieve better outcomes and understands that effective supports are not one-size-fits-all. During this interactive session, participants will engage in a conversation about self-directed services and how it promotes wellness, considerations for program implementation, and opportunities to transform the behavioral health system in the state of Maine.
Session B Workshops
B1: Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic | Focus Group – Mindy Smith and Sybil Mazerolle
This session will consist of 1-2 separate sessions of Focus Groups with specific topics to consider for input from workshop attendees. In this session participants will be guided through a visioning process of current areas within the existing system to identify where possibilities for improvement may exist and work through specific areas of CCBHC service as identified by SAMHSA for feedback around development and implementation. Prerequisite: Participants must have attended either Session 1: CCBHC Informational Session OR have attended an information session previously hosted via Zoom by the Consumer Council System of Maine.
(Note – this session will be offered in Session B and Session C, please select one to attend (not both)
B2: CIPSS Code of Ethics: New Discussion and Q&A – Carley Mahaffey
Are you employed as a CIPSS at a mental health agency? Are you curious about what the Code of Ethics is and the challenges that come up in your job? Do you work with CIPSS? Are you unsure about something the CIPSS is doing? Do you receive support from a CIPSS and would like to know more about the ethics of their role? Join this workshop to take part in a discussion about these questions and concerns, especially when it comes to situations of “mandated reporting” and documentation.
B3: Learn a New Superpower: Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) “Tapping” – Karen St. Clair
Join me at this EFT Tapping presentation and have some fun while you learn how to tame the stressful moments in life that we all experience. In this safe and gentle presentation, you’ll learn how stress is created, how our bodies react and how you can easily lower your stress just by Tapping on certain stress-relieving points.
B4: Having Trouble With The Way You Eat: There is a Solution – FA Panel
Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA) members have found that individual recovery is enhanced when we remember where we came from and share our stories with others who may be struggling currently. Our goal is to share what works for us. We are individuals who have struggled for years, suffered in shame and isolation and have found a recovery process that works like none other did before. We seek any and all opportunities to get our message to those who may be sick and suffering. We regularly present our information in communities around the state both for individuals and for those who may know or may be working with someone who might benefit from knowing they are not alone. The FA program is free. We are volunteers who believe in providing support using the peer to peer model.
B5: Centering Youth Voice in Treatment – Anna Schmidt
Empowering young people to engage in treatment begins with ensuring their voice is heard and valued in decisions that impact their lives. In order to meaningfully do this, we must make youth feel like they belong in spaces where their needs are discussed and that their contributions matter. This is not only their Right, it achieves better outcomes. Presenters will share practical ways adults can genuinely partner with youth through very “adult-centric” processes and incorporate strategies to develop self-determination and decision-making skills. We will also provide information regarding services provided by both Youth Peer Support and Disability Rights Maine, as well as the rights youth have while receiving treatment.
B6: Wellbriety Movement: Writing in Recovery – Melody Paul
This workshop will discuss writing in recovery, how it can be a benefit and how healing it can be to discover oneself. I will talk about how writing in recovery has helped me to discover myself and will include the cultural benefit of Wellbriety and talking in a group that is culturally sensitive to Native Americans.
B7: Housing Rights Advocacy: Not All Assistance is Created Equal – Jane Moore and Mark Joyce
There are many types of housing assistance that people can apply for or may be currently receiving. There are different types of rights that can apply to one type of housing but not another. This workshop gives an overview of some of those differences and strategies on how to advocate for those rights.
Session C Workshops
C1: Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic Session 2 & 3 | Focus Group – Mindy Smith and Sybil Mazerolle
This session will consist of 1-2 separate sessions of Focus Groups with specific topics to consider for input from workshop attendees. In this session participants will be guided through a visioning process of current areas within the existing system to identify where possibilities for improvement may exist and work through specific areas of CCBHC service as identified by SAMHSA for feedback around development and implementation. Prerequisite: Participants must have attended either Session 1: CCBHC Informational Session OR have attended an information session previously hosted via Zoom by the Consumer Council System of Maine. (Note – this session will be offered in Session B and Session C, please select one to attend (not both)
C2: The Family Restored: Coping with a Loved One’s Addiction – Eric Girard
Substance Use Disorder can have a dramatic affect the entire family and coping with a loved one’s SUD can be challenging, frustrating and painful. Oftentimes, family members suffer tremendously with limited resources available for guidance and support. We will present to model of addiction, outlining the symptoms of SUD and how it relates to the family response. We’ll offer appropriate and effective coping skills to help manage your relationship with your addicted loved one.
C3: Recovery is a Joke – Ian Harvie
“If we can’t laugh about it, we’ll die.” – Recovery Author, Comedian & Public Speaker, Felon O’Reilly.
Standup comedy can be a form of expression of ownership of the truth, disguised as a joke. Comedy can give way to relief from emotional burden and offer redemption, it can also subversively teach others about a topic, all while making them laugh. Comedian Ian Harvie will facilitate a comedy writing workshop, centered around taking your experience (no matter how horrific or seemingly ordinary), strength and hope and help you turn it into comedy gold. In this workshop, participants will learn the anatomies of a joke and cultivate ONE JOKE from their recovery story. Please bring a notebook and something to write with.
C4: “Do You Need Meds to Be Well?” – Kevin Bush
This workshop is about looking at the positives and negatives of common psychiatric medications. I am someone who has been using medications since I was 21, and I am 55 now, but after reading other peoples’ accounts of their stories, I want to tell my story as well, and to re-think the issue. I have a panel of a psychiatric doctor, a case manager, and my story as a consumer.
C5: Choosing to Use Your Voice in a Powerful Way in the Legislative Process – April Kerr, Vicky McCarty
In this workshop you will see how sharing your lived experiences will give the legislators a better-informed ability to make decisions with your input during these important times of laws being changed or put into place. Learn how to be empowered as you become an informed part of the process of change affecting you and those around you. We will provide you with handouts on how to access resources and supports to write testimonies and where to go to learn what bills the legislators are looking at. A Legislator’s Q&A will wrap up this workshop.
C6: Identifying and Developing Spiritual Tools to Build Resilience – Lori Whittemore and Jacquelyn Thornton
We will talk about the spectrum of spiritual suffering, from moral distress, injury, outrage and apathy – what these look like, how to understand what is happening to you, and how to move to a place of resilience. This workshop will provide participants with an understanding of spiritual tools to build resilience.
C7: Creating Self Empowerment through Affirmation – Jeanette Jacques
This interactive presentation includes a description on what a positive affirmation is and how they work within the brain. We will discuss how to make positive affirmations a part of your daily life and empower yourself to make changes. In addition, to the presentation, participants will have the opportunity to make an affirmation board to take home and begin the journey into self-empowerment.
Additional Conference Information
Contact Hours –You may collect your certificate of attendance as you depart.
Lodging for one night is available to peers/consumers who travel more than 130 miles one way within the state of Maine to attend. Please contact Simonne Maline – smaline@maineccsm.org for information.
Mileage is reimbursed for peers/consumers using their own vehicle to travel 150+ miles round trip within the state of Maine who are not receiving mileage reimbursement from another organization. Reimbursement forms will be available at the conference. Participants receiving mileage reimbursement are not eligible for the gas card raffle.
Carpooling is recommended for organizations. Participants traveling less than 150 miles to the conference can enter the raffle for a $25 gas card. Those receiving mileage reimbursement are not eligible for the gas card raffle.
Food – A menu that accommodates shellfish, peanut, and tree nut allergies and offers gluten-free and vegan options will be provided. All options will also be mushroom-free.
Special Accommodations – We will do our best to respond to reasonable requests. Please contact Simonne Maline smaline@maineccsm.org or by phone 207-430-8300 by April 19, 2023 with any accommodation requests. For language interpretation services, please contact Simonne as soon as possible with your needs and which workshops you plan to attend.
Book Table – Kelly’s Books To-Go will be available. Checks, Visa, MC or Discover are accepted.
To register by fax and pay at the door, please print and complete the Registration form and fax to 207-878-6172. If registering by fax, you will be responsible for paying the registration fee at the door. There is no registration by mail for this event. For registration questions, contact ccsme@ccsme.org | 207-878-6170
Cancellation Policy – There will be no refunds provided for cancelled registrations. If you need to cancel your registration, please contact ccsme@ccsme.org | 207-878-6170
This conference is presented by the Consumer Council System of Maine.