The next quarterly meeting of the State Board of BHDS has been changed to a newdate. It will now be held on Tuesday, August 28^th (this is a change from July 17^th).

The meeting will still be at the Northern Virginia Training Center, Fairfax, and will begin at 8:30 a.m. 

Information about meetings of the Board can be found at this link: http://www.dbhds.virginia.gov/adm-StateBoardDefault.htm

WRAP for Everyday Lives: A Webinar with Gina Calhoun and Dina McFalls
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July 10^th at 10:00 a.m.

Gina Calhoun, The Copeland Center's National Director of Recovery and Wellness Education, and Dina McFalls, Director of Philadelphia Coordinated Health Care, present WRAP for Everyday Lives, based on the Wellness Recovery Action Plan, a system developed by Mary Ellen Copeland and a group of people with mental health challenges. This system supports a person to discover/rediscover their skills and strengths, while staying as well as possible on a daily basis.

They will be introducing the infinitely do-able structure of WRAP to adults with distinct learning needs. Through the experience and expertise of several people with various intellectual abilities, they have developed a language for describing the parts of WRAP that accepts each person, as they are, unique, special individuals.

For more details and to register, visit the event page on our new website.

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"Strengthening Our Response for Improved Refugee Mental
Health" in RIC and Hampton
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Holiday Inn Koger Conference Center, 1021 Koger Center Boulevard, Richmond 23235

August 14th 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Register here-

Although refugees benefit from protective factors such as spirituality and strong family support, they face enormous social and economic factors that expose them to higher levels of stress and disadvantages due to poverty, unemployment, lack of English proficiency, discrimination and the trauma associated with the immigrant experience. As many states become more diverse, it challenges providers in the mental health system to adopt culturally and linguistically competent ways to prevent, diagnose, treat and address barriers to appropriate and timely mental health services.

DBHDS is hosting a free training for mental health providers, refugee staff, volunteers dedicated to exploring critical topics in refugee mental health. This conference is ideal for all professionals providing service, formally or informally, to immigrants and refugees. These professionals include health care practitioners, policymakers, settlement practitioners, volunteers, sponsorship agreement holders, educators, general practitioners, psychiatrists, multicultural liaison workers, translators, other human-related service providers, immigrants, refugees and consumers interested in the practice of Mental Health.

This conference will be offered for FREE under the Office of Newcomer Services -Virginia Refugee Health Prevention Grant and hosted by the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. Six contact hours will be provided by DBHDS.

IMPORTANT NOTE- please do not register for this conference if you are not sure that you can attend. Although this conference is offered free of charge, we make seating and refreshment plans based on the number of people registered. You will receive a confirmation email the day of the registration deadline. Please let us know if you are not able to make it once you have registered.

REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS AUGUST 6^th. For questions, contact Cecily Rodriguez at 

An open house will be held this Thursday, July 12^th from 2:00-4:00 p.m.
13^th Floor Conference Room, DBHDS
Jefferson Building, 1220 Bank Street in Richmond

Parking for People with Disabilities: Private vehicles are able to park and unload passengers on Bank Street. There is no public parking on the Capitol Square grounds.

Public Parking: There are four free general public spaces (1 hour) on the north side of Bank Street, between 9th and 10th Streets. A limited number of metered public parking spaces (2 hours) are located on the west side of 10th Street, between Main and Bank Streets, on Bank Street, between Governor and 14th Streets, on the south side of Main Street, between 9th and 12th Streets, on 14th Street, and on 12th Street between Main and Bank Streets.

Pay parking lots and decks are nearby on 8th and Grace Street and 7th and Marshall Streets. 

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Registration for Alternatives 2012 is Officially Open!
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You can find all information on how to register, view a list of keynote speakers, and see the Schedule at a Glance at the Alternatives 2012 website:

www.alternatives2012.us/registration/

A study published in the June 2012 edition of Psychiatric Services is the first randomized, controlled trial to support evidence that the Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) helps reduce feelings of depression and anxiety, according to an article in Mental Health Weekly. The study involved 519 people in community mental health settings in six Ohio communities; some were assigned to WRAP, others to services as usual. The researchers found "significantly greater improvements" among the WRAP participants than among those in the control group, and these improvements were sustained over a six-month period, Mental Health Weekly reported. WRAP is already included in SAMHSA's National Registry of Evidence Based Programs and Practices; this research confirms its benefits.

Source: http://www.nyaprs.org/e-news-bulletins/2012/2012611MHW.cfm