Thank You for Attending the
21st Annual Bexar County Behavioral Health and Wellness Conference!
Free two-day conference for families, consumers, caregivers, and professionals featuring educational workshops about mental health topics/resources and a health /wellness resource fair.
Track A
Cypress Room
May be best suited for caregivers or professionals.
9:30-10:00 a.m. Using SACRD.org to Find Mental Health Resources
Presenter: Bill Neely (San Antonio Community Resource Directory)
Hear the experiences of social workers helping their clients find mental health resources and how SACRD.org was beneficial. Learn and understand the attributes of comprehensive resource guides and see the SACRD.org Mental Health Portal firsthand.
10:10 -10:40 a.m. Family Support and Illness Management
Presenters: Yolanda Ortega
This session will share a personal experience about several diagnoses such as Schizoaffective Disorder (with hallucinations), Panic and Anxiety, PTSD from Sexual Abuse Trauma, ADHD, Borderline Personality Disorder and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
Track B
Live Oak Room
May be best suited for consumers, people in recovery, people who have a loved one in recovery.
9:30-10:00 a.m. The Essence of Wellness
Presenter: Leonor Bermea (The Center for Health Care Services), Valessa Agosto (Our Lady of the Lake University)
Wellness is the act of practicing healthy habits on a daily basis to attain better physical and mental health outcomes. This assures that you’re not just surviving, but that you’re thriving! It is essential for everyone to understand the importance of overall wellness. This workshop will further explain what the dimensions of wellness are and important tools to utilize when feeling emotionally, physically, and socially drained.
10:10 -10:40 a.m. My Place is in the Community
Presenters: Judith Laufer (San Antonio League of Self Advocates)
In this workshop, attendees will meet four men and women with an intellectual or developmental disability who exemplify different lifestyles in the community that they have chosen for themselves.
Track C
Elm Room
May be best suited for people with an interest in behavioral health or professionals.
9:30-10:00 a.m. Help My Unbelief: A Conversation on Mental Health and Faith
Presenter: KanDace Brock (Jesse C. Fletcher Seminary)
Mental Health and faith can be two polarizing topics when forced to pick one. As community leaders, people, and organizations, it is important to understand how mental health and faith complement one another. In this workshop, participants will discuss mental health, faith/ spirituality, and how one’s understanding, or the lack thereof, can impact themselves and the community they serve.
10:10 -10:40 a.m. Hospice: What Is It and How Can It Support You?
Presenters: Kristina Meyer (The Center for Health Care Services)
This workshop session will go over what is available at end of life through hospice care and what to do to prepare for the end of life. Many of us don’t think about what we want for our end of life until it is time. Planning ahead and considering your options is very important.
Track D
Pecan Room
May be best suited for people in recovery from substance use, friends or family of people with a substance use disorder or professionals.
9:30-10:30 a.m. History and Evolution of Peer Services- What Does the Future Hold?
Presenter: Tu’Sheila Stewart (The Center for Health Care Services), Jacob Benavides (The Center for Health Care Services)
This presentation will explore the history and development of peer-to-peer services and discuss how peer influence has been instrumental in the change of mental health and recovery services as seen today. Learn how the role of peer professionals can present as a first step in career reentry and provide an opportunity for further development towards careers as LCDCs, mental health clinicians, leadership, and a multitude of other career paths.
10:10 -10:40 a.m. Peer Services in Action- Interactive Group Session
Presenters: Armando Sanchez (The Center for Health Care Services), Erinn Graber (The Center for Health Care Services)
What do peer-to-peer services look like and how do they differ from clinical services? This interactive experience will give participants the opportunity to experience how peer connection can differ from traditional clinical approaches through shared experience, storytelling, and motivating through example. Learn about common ethical considerations and how to best navigate these situations as a peer professional.
Track E
Magnolia Room
May be best suited for people looking to improve their life, well-being, and self-care skills, or professionals.
9:30-10:00 a.m. Pearls of Wisdom in a World of Mental Health Disparities
Presenter: Dr. Keely Petty (NAMI Bridges to Care)
In this session attendees will be provided with pearls of wisdom from The Companionship Movement, a “practice of presence” developed by Rev. Craig Rennebohm who developed a way to engage with individuals who may experience mental illness. The Companionship Movement is a principled practical relational response to the suffering and struggle of those in isolation and distress. It is rooted in the support of healing and recovery through community. Attendees will be provided with 5 strategies that offer pearls of wisdom to address and successfully promote a sense of compassion and empathy. Attendees will be given tools to utilize the “practice of presence” to effectively and confidently assist for those living with mental health infirmities.
10:10 -10:40 a.m. “ONE PILL KILLS!” Awareness & Initiatives to End Fentanyl Poisoning and Opioid Overdose
Presenters: Ginger Treanor
Attendees will learn ways to empower others to find their way out of darkness, how to discuss the dangers with their children, and how to open the doors of communication by building trust. Understand how to administer Naloxone/Narcan in case you ever need it. Discover the 6 bills being proposed in Congress, those that have passed like test strips and Narcan, and the availability to get people the help they need. Listen to the stories of real lives lost to fentanyl as told passionately by the moms who walk in grief in a positive way to spread awareness to others.
