The Alaska Mental Health Recovery Education Conference is held bi-annually. Peruse our website to learn about the 2009 conference. Check back to learn more about 2011!

In 2010, Alaska Peer Support Consortium is hosting Alaska Peer Support Trainings and a 2-Day Summit, to be held at BP Energy Center in Anchorage. March 22-March 30, 2010. WRAP trainings for youth and adults are available. Please download our brochure for more information.

Download brochure here.

Download application and schedule here.

DVDs of presentations are available for purchase from the 2010 Conference. General Session speakers: Dr. Yvonne S. Butler, Robert Whitaker, Michael Zeeb, Dr. Catherine Reimer, Jim Gottstein and Wilfredo Soto. Contact Eliza Eller at ellers@ionia.org to obtain your copy. (Or Yvonne at YvonneEvans@live.com)

Feedback from 2009 Conference Attendees

Attendance was short of 300 people. 62% were first time attendees!

Ideas for ongoing collaboration and connections with people who have common interests and goals.

“Maybe doing small things together.”
“Sense of balance between med use and alternatives.”
“Start email exchange list.”

What are some new skills I can bring to my community as a result of what I have learned at Renewable Resources, 2009 Alaska Mental Health Recovery Education Conference?

“Peer support. Positive reinforcement.”
“Better peer support.”
“How to get more involved and get the community involved in helping to eliminate stigma.”
“The Medicine Wheel”
“Confidence in my abilities.”
“Better peer support skills – more empowerment and recovery ideas. Excellent nutrition and coping skills.”

What changes would I like to see happen on a community level that I can work on?

“Having a chance to someday be a peer support provider.”
“Organizing needs in community for unified action.”
“Have peer support recognized as a valuable resource by clinicians.”
“More support groups and NAMI groups.”
“Healthier food for school kids.”
“More community based options for adults.”

I met______________________(name)  at the conference who really inspired me.   And why?

“I met Mike Zeeb. He is so full of energy, and good spirit, and friendly.”
“I met Dr. Butler and Bob Whitaker who really inspired me.”
“I met Catherine Reimer who inspired me, with her sharing.”
“Catherine Reimer and the Medicine Wheel relates to everyone in every way.”
“Colleen McKay and Mike Zeeb gave me hope of things I can do to heal and help others to recover.”
“Yvonne Butler is a great lady.”
“Yvonne Butler stands for what she believes, in spite of opposition.”

What is one thing I can do or change in my life today that will have a positive impact on my personal growth? And when will I start?  And how will I stay motivated?

“Think positive. I will start now. I must remember that this is good, and better than thinking negatively.”
“Continue to be informed with updated knowledge.”
“Quit tobacco and start a support group for that.”
“Share what I know and follow my intuition.”
“Confidence building.  Start NOW. Write affirmations.”
“I know I need to eat healthier foods.  I don’t know when I’ll start. I think I need a support network.”

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EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION RATES ARE EXTENDED TO APRIL 30!!

SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION DEADLINE HAS ENDED. You can submit your application for consideration and/or to be on the wait list.

Don't delay. Sign up TODAY!

Go to the Hotels/Transportation Link for information on special parking rates for conference attendees.

The 2009 Alaska Mental Health Recovery Education Conference is sponsored by The Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority Beneficiary Project Initiative.  This mental health consumer and family and leadership conference has been supported by The Trust since 1998 to provide training sessions in leadership, advocacy, and empowerment to help develop consumer participation at all levels of the mental health system.  The conference planning committee are representatives of the Alaska Peer Support Consortium. The Alaska Peer Support Consortium is a fellowship of Alaskan behavioral health peer support organizations, whose goal is to empower the spirit of behavioral health recovery through collaboration, communication and partnership. We are very excited about this opportunity to share new research, innovation and inspiration that our line-up of speakers and workshops bring to the conference.

Please join us May 11 and 12, 2009 at the Sheraton Anchorage.

This year's theme is… Renewable Resources.  It is a theme expressing the collective strength we bring as individuals, organizations and agencies.  As we continue to learn, renew and build partnerships through our common experience and knowledge, we become more involved in and inclusive in our communities for the greater benefit of everyone. We are the resources!

One in four families in Alaska has a family member experiencing a mental health issue. The brain is the most complex organ in the human body. It is good for everyone to be educated regarding mental health - as a consumer, family member, co-worker, employer and neighbor.

We are offering NASW Continuing Education Credits for mental health providers with 20 plus workshops and speakers to choose from.

We are offering Scholarships for mental health consumers on a limited income. You can download an application or submit online.

We are offering complimentary "workshop only" Passes for university students with student identification.

For more details on our speakers visit the Keynote Speakers Page.

Register Sunday Evening & Enjoy Live Music !!
5:00-9:00 p.m. Pre-registration: Kuskokwim
7:00-9:00 p.m. Concert & Mixer: Kuskokwim

A special treat to kick-off a great conference; meet new friends and old friends, and enjoy the music of our popular Alaskan band - Fat Weasel-. They have been playing in folk festivals; with Dancing Bears, and numerous events around the state for many years. Steve Montooth, guitar; Jason Bent, fiddle; Brian DeMarcus, banjo-bass; Aileen McInnis, bass; Christy Williams, vocals and banjo-uke. They play hard driving Appalachian Old Time String Band Music

Dr. Yvonne Sanders-Butler is the author of Healthy Kids, Smart Kids, and Principal of Browns Mill Elementary School in DeKalb County, GA, the first school in the country to go Sugar-Free. She is an international nutritional advocate, consultant, and motivational speaker promoting healthy living for life.  Dr. Butler is a member of the 2008-2010 Robert Woods Foundation National Advisor Committee for Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities.

Robert Whitaker is an award winning journalist and former Director of Publications at Harvard Medical School. He is the author of Mad in America: Bad Science, Bad Medicine and the Enduring Mistreatment of the Mentally Ill, that was named by Discover magazine as one of the best science books of 2002. Mr. Whitaker is currently writing Anatomy of an Epidemic: Magic Bullets, Psychiatric Drugs, and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness in America. It will be published by Crown in the spring of 2010.

May 12th * Tuesday

Dr. Catherine Reimer is an author, researcher and Inupiaq psychologist who has trained at universities, health care organizations, schools, and NAMI. She is author of Counseling the Inupiat and has worked for national organizations as trainer and curriculum writer.  Dr. Reimer integrates spirituality, creativity, and culture in her trainings.  She is also a Voice Dialogue trainer.

Michael Zeeb is one of the co-authors of the Recovery Innovations Peer Employment Training Workbook. Mr. Zeeb has a BA in Liberal Arts and completed post-graduate coursework in Special Education and Psychiatric Rehabilitation. He has worked as a Special Education teacher and Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor. Mr. Zeeb joined Recovery Innovations of Arizona (then called META Services) in 2002. He started receiving psychiatric services when he was in his teens. For him, employment has been one of the keys to his recovery – especially employment that involves “giving back” to the community.

Jim Gottstein is most known around the country and the world for subpoenaing and releasing the Zyprexa Papers documenting Eli Lilly's suppression of negative information about Zyprexa. Jim Gottstein currently devotes the bulk of his time pro bono to the Law Project for Psychiatric Rights (PsychRights®) whose mission is to mount a strategic litigation campaign against forced psychiatric drugging and electroshock around the country. Mr. Gottstein was one of the principal attorney's in the Mental Health Trust Lands Litigation, which resulted in the formation of the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority.

Wilfredo Soto is nineteen years old and is a sophomore at the University of Connecticut.  Mr. Soto has founded and begun his own sole proprietorship called “Guiding Adolescents and Children at Risk (GEAR) Enterprise.” His goal is to travel the world reaching out to all people, especially foster children and youth, who are at risk, of entering the system, letting them know that there is a way out of their pain. Currently he is working for FAVOR as a Youth Coordinator on a wraparound initiative that has been funded by a grant via the University of Connecticut.  Wilfredo is the recipient of the Secretary of Connecticut’s Excellence in Citizenship Award and Barbera Bellinger’s Youth Resilience Award.