Getting BaltiMORE for Your Dollar: The PRA Summit Experience as a Faculty Member

As a member of PRA’s Academy Advisory Council, I was honored to be invited to the Recovery Workforce Summit in sunny Baltimore as faculty. With hundreds of attendees eager to connect, learn, and advance their skills – at the Summit it was clear that PRA is continuing to grow and train the recovery workforce. The diversity of sessions offered allowed participants to polish up old skills, network with colleagues and learn about their programs, make new connections, and dive in headfirst to something new and exciting. Innovative morning sessions geared at improving health and wellness, and lively evening sessions fed our souls.

This year my colleagues, Dr. Lisa Razzano and Marie Hamilton from UIC’s Center on Mental Health Services brought our two agencies and three minds together to share our expertise in working with individuals who have experienced trauma. With well over 100 participants in the session it was clear that this was a topic that needed some attention. Working with individuals who have experienced trauma is not just about making sure that services and support are available, but offered by individuals skilled and trained in working with this population. It is just as critical to make sure the staff that is working with survivors manages their wellness and self-care. Findings from The National Comorbidity Survey Report (NCS) report based on interviews with individuals between the ages of 15 and 54 indicated that almost 8% of adult Americans have experienced PTSD at some point in their lives, with women (10.4%) twice as likely to be victims as men (5%). With numbers like these, it is clear that there is a continuous need for training and education for our growing workforce.

Our 90 minute session supported individuals in recognizing the impact of trauma on mental health, recovery, and wellness. We encouraged a discussion of services that promote recovery and wellness within the psychiatric rehabilitation (PSR) settings and instructed individuals on how to utilize tools and other materials within their programs that enhance service delivery and promote recovery. The focus of our conversation was evidence-based practices in PSR and trauma-informed services. Attendees resonated with the need for more training around safety, supporting survivors, and a need for more information specific to different populations and cultures.

The 2015 Recovery Workforce Summit is sure to be even better and more robust as PRA heads to Philadelphia. If you missed this year’s summit, I encourage you to attend next year in the place of brotherly love and sisterly affection to feel inspired, empowered, and recharged with your peers ready to return to your home programs and continue to do the work that moves our mind, bodies, and field forward.

Nicole J. Pashka, MS, CRC, CPRP, has diverse and extensive experience presenting information related to psychiatric rehabilitation programs, services, and research. She has worked for two national research and training centers as well as many community service providers and advocacy groups working to improve the lives of individuals with a disability. She has presented at several of PRA’s national and state conferences on employment, diversity, and wellness. In addition to PRA, other conferences and invited presentations include the University of Scranton Psychology Conference, the U.S. Conference on AIDS, the