2022 CPRS Conference
The 12th annual CPRS Conference was held virtually on October 6-7, 2022. Thanks to everyone who attended and all of the sponsors for making this year's conference a huge success. Make plans to join us in 2023!
9:00 a.m. CT, Friday, October 7: Keynote Address, Amy Brinkley, CAPRCII, CRS/CHW
Amy Brinkley serves as the Recovery Support Systems Coordinator for the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD). She is a person with 13 years of direct lived experience with Mental Health and Substance Use recovery. Her passion and expertise are driven from the loss of three brothers to suicide and her mother to an overdose. Her heart is to advocate for change across the country through effective recovery data collection and evaluation processes that drive recovery-oriented outcomes which will in turn improve the quality of life and sustained recovery for people with substance use disorders and mental illness.
Professionally, Amy Brinkley served for five years as the Director of Recovery Support Services in the state of Indiana with the Indiana Division of Mental Health and Addiction. She most recently served for two years as the Chairperson for NASMHPD's National Division of Recovery Support Services advocating for the professionalization of recovery supports across the country. Amy has also been a contributing author on several American Psychiatric Association Journals related to peer support through her work on the APA Policy Advisory Board and continues to serve in this capacity today. Currently, Amy serves as NASMHPD’s (National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors) Recovery Support Systems Coordinator, is also a wife and mother to four children and resides in Indiana.
10:45 – 11:45 a.m. CT, Guardrails: Understanding How to Support Peer Recovery Ethically and Effectively, Amy Bechtol, M.A., M.S., C.P.R.S.
Amy Bechtol serves as the TDMHSAS Faith-Based Community Coordinator for West Tennessee. This session will help us understand ethical guidelines in peer support as the necessary tool to leverage our lived experience as an asset and to avoid it becoming a liability.
Breakout Session 1 - 1:00-2:00 p.m. CT
Understanding Those Who Grieve
Presented by Beverly Hensley
Our role as peers impacts our clients. Loss is irreversible, but life goes on after mourning. In this workshop we will learn:
1. How to increase awareness of how our personal and professional attitudes may influence the effectiveness of grief work with clients.
2. Increase our knowledge of the impact loss experienced over the course of a lifespan and how effects our personal and professional attitudes.
3. Two grief aspects of loss that are ever present during the bereavement process and how these losses affect our clients
Changing Lanes: How to Navigate Life's Reentry
Presented by Lisa Crawford
In this workshop we will learn holistic life balance, its importance, and its benefits. We will also learn about the difficulties of a life without balance, finding time for self when there is no time and putting it all together.
Breakout Session 2 - 2:15-3:15 p.m. CT
Neurographic Art: Creative Ways for Reaching
Deep into One's Mind and Problem Solving
Presented by Marta Hernandez-Fontenot
Neurographic Art was design and formalized in 2014 by Russian psychologist Pavel Piskarev. Neurographic art is a simple way to work with the subconscious mind through drawing. His creative method stimulates new neural pathways by combining art and psychology. Simply stated, connected neurons process information received. Objectives:
1. Learn a new way to practice relaxation through art and act out an emotional throw
2. Experience a creative process with the focus on creating intuitive responses to develop the imagery
3. Hand into Practice: Create art using simple supplies like black sharpie pen and paper.
Using Social Capital to Enhance Recovery
Presented by Joseph Swinford
The concept of Social Capital provides a pathway to understanding concert ways to how Peer Support can help people in recovery develop and maximize their social connectedness. This targeted approach can provide a pathway for developing one's valued role in their larger community.
3:30-4:30 p.m. CT – Navigating the New Normal: How COVID-19 Has Affected Peer Support
Facilitator: Deven Hazelwood
Panelists: Lynn Keck, Amy Lawrence, Kenneth Knight, Dylan Johnson, and Miles Taylor
This workshop will be a live interactive panel with peers from across the state. We will discuss positive and negative changes within our work and the lessons we've learned from our new normal. We will highlight areas such as increased complicated grief or overdoses within our communities and how we have adapted. Finally, because we are Recovering Together, we hope to leave participants with both inspiration and hope for their own peer recovery work.
