NADA's Will Hall and David Eisen to present at Rethinking Psychiatry conference in Portland

Two NADA innovators, David Eisen and Will Hall, will present on their work in providing alternative therapies for people diagnosed with mental illness at the upcoming conference May 13 and 14 in Portland, "Rethinking Psychiatry."  The conference, convened by award winning journalist Robert Whitaker and co-sponsored by the National Association of Social Workers, marks the latest in a national movement to create a holistic, effective and humane mental health system, according to the press release.

NADA co-founder and former NADA president, David Eisen, Executive Director of Quest Center for Integrative Health, will present on working in dual diagnosis treatment utilizing a variety of alternative therapies as adjunct to mental health and addictions recovery, including the NADA protocol.  Eisen is known for his experience researching and spearheading NADA programs in the field of mental health, addictions, on Native American reservations, including one of the largest acupuncture-based public health programs in the country, Central City Concern.   He is a professor at the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine, and developed the curriculum for NADA used in acupuncture schools across the country.

Will Hall will present on the use of alternative therapies within peer mental health programs in the US.  Will also co-founded Freedom Center (click here to read Guidepoints' profile on Freedom Center), a peer recovery program using NADA and other non-pharmaceutical therapies as an alternative to psychiatric medications for people diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar in western Massachussetts. Freedom Center is featured in the May 2011 issue of Guidepoints, co-written by NADA practitioner, Lee Hurter.  Hall, an international speaker for peer mental health recovery, started Madness Radio, the Icarus Project, Portland Hearing Voices, and has served on the board for the advocacy group, the Mental Health Association of Portland.

Will is also a board member of the Foundation for Excellence in Mental Health Care, recently started with the assistance of Whitaker aimed at promoting innovative mental health therapies.

Whitaker, the keynote speaker at the NADA conference in Kansas City just a week later on May 20-21, recently wrote on a blog in Psychology Today about the launch of the Foundation for Excellence in Mental Health Care, a group that will fund research "to support studies and pilot projects of a type that aren't being funded today (studies, for instance, that involve using psychiatric medications in a selective, limited way.)"   

"This, I believe, is the very endeavor that could lead to a new paradigm of care that truly promotes long-term recovery and wellness," wrote Whitaker.

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Rethinking Psychiatry Two Day Symposium

Friday and Saturday, May 13 and 14, 2011

First Unitarian Church in Portland

1011 SW 12th, Portland, Oregon

$5 to $20 Donation suggested *** No one turned away for lack of funds

FEATURED PANEL MEMBERS:

· Maggie Bennington-Davis, M.D. - Chief Psychiatric Medical and Operating Officer, Cascadia BHC

· Brandon Chambers - Youth advocate for a holistic mental health system

· Satyanarayana Chandragiri, M.D. - Psychiatrist, Oregon State Hospital; Professor, OHSU School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry; President of the Oregon Psychiatric Association

· Terry Danielson - Representing mothers and families advocating for holistic mental health options

· Laura Van Tosh - A mental health service user who works as the Adult Mental Health Policy and Planning Coordinator for the Oregon Health Authority