New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies

November 19th Virtual Conference Reinforces and Honors Providers' Vital Roles

After spending time - in some cases, years - in psychiatric hospitals or using Psychiatric Emergency Screening Services multiple times, individuals with serious and persistent mental illness often need ongoing support to transition back to their communities and rebuild their lives. Integrated Case Management Services (ICMS) providers empower individuals to thrive in these new circumstances by helping them to secure housing; develop life skills; pursue educational, vocational and employment goals; and continue with their mental, as well as physical, health care, both on their own and with the help of professionals. While ICMS work has always been challenging, as much outreach work is needed to engage individuals and serve them in their homes and communities, the pandemic has made this work more difficult. To fortify New Jersey's ICMS providers' endurance and resilience in their critical roles, the New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies (NJAMHAA) and the New Jersey Association of Integrated Case Management (NJAICM) will host a virtual conference, Delivering Hope Post-Pandemic, on November 19, 2021 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

"While the conference is open to all behavioral healthcare providers, we are focusing on ICMS case managers because they do so much under unique, challenging circumstances. This conference will provide opportunities to grow and learn, as well as to step back and highlight ICMS providers' critical importance to the entire mental healthcare system and especially to those they help on the journey to recovery," said Debra L. Wentz, PhD, President and CEO of NJAMHAA.

"ICMS teams are among the unsung heroes in the mental health field, rarely receiving the recognition they deserve for their daily acts of kindness and the emotional lives they save," said Anna Kline, MAE, Director of ICMS and Justice Involved Services, Preferred Behavioral Health Services. Kline also serves as Chair of NJAICM. "The conference presentations and awards ceremony will serve as a tribute to ICMS providers' many contributions to their communities and the vulnerable individuals they serve," Kline added, referring to ICMS Case Manager Awards that will be presented during the last portion of the conference.

The event will begin with an uplifting keynote presentation, Maximize your Greatest Wealth…Invest in Mental Health, by Carol A. Kivler, MS, CSP, a nationally recognized mental health speaker, international executive coach/trainer and author. In honor of Kivler's powerful advocacy and sharing of her personal experience with severe depression to inspire others with similar challenges, NJAMHAA will present her with the Hope and Inspiration Award.

Following the keynote presentation, concurrent workshops will address the following topics: self-care and compassion; the importance of health equity in case management; treatment of co-occurring disorders; and recognition of secondary traumatic stress and strategies for coping with it.

Please visit www.njamhaa.org/events to access additional program details and online registration.