Nationally Renowned Expert on Alcohol and Drug Policy to Speak in Nashville

NASHVILLE – Frances M. Harding, Director of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP), will speak in Nashville next week about the prevention of substance abuse and it’s correlation to mental illness.

 

Director Harding will speak to the Tennessee Advanced School of Addiction’s (TASA) annual conference at 8:00 a.m. CDT on Thursday, May19, 2011, at the Sheraton Music City Hotel in Nashville, TN. The three-day conference is hosted by the Tennessee Association of Alcohol, Drug & other Addiction Services.

 

"It is such a welcomed opportunity for TASA to have Fran Harding in Nashville to speak to an audience that is eager to learn more about implementing prevention strategies in our communities,” said Tennessee Department of Mental Health Commissioner Doug Varney. “Substance misuse and abuse exist on a continuum, and we in Tennessee are committed to taking a strong stand on prevention services."

 

Director Harding recently served as Director of SAMHSA’s Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) from July 2010-January 2011. CMHS leads Federal efforts to treat mental illnesses by promoting mental health and by preventing the development or worsening of mental illness when possible.

 

Director Harding also serves as the lead for SAMHSA’s Strategic Initiative on the Prevention of Substance Abuse and Mental Illness, which will create prevention prepared communities where individuals, families, schools, faith-based organizations, workplaces, and communities take action to promote emotional health and reduce the likelihood of mental illness, substance abuse including tobacco, and suicide.

 

For more information on issues of mental health and substance abuse, please visit www.tn.gov/mental or contact TDMH’s Office of Communications at 615-253-4812. For more information about the Tennessee Advanced School of Addiction, please visit www.taadas.org/TASA.htm or contact TASA at 615-780-5901. For more information on the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, please visit www.samhsa.gov/about/csap.aspx.