Transformation Conference
This past weekend (March 22-25), I had the opportunity to attend the “Second Transformation Institute in Consumer Studies: An Introduction to Evaluation and Use,” which was sponsored by CONTAC and the National Empowerment Center in Charlestown, West Virginia. As the newest member of the Clearinghouse staff (but not new to mental health policy and advocacy), I want to express my appreciation and awe about what I learned, and of what I was reminded.
My primary duties here at the Clearinghouse -- to provide technical assistance to consumer-run programs on conducting evidence-based evaluations -- will be greatly enhanced by all that I learned from the distinguished faculty members, who included Drs. Jean Campbell, Dan Fisher, and Jeanne Dumont. But it is what I received from my fellow participants that I believe will enable me to become a better researcher and more effective technical assistance provider.
In the course of doing some of the most important work that consumers can do -- telling our stories -- I was reminded of the historic inequities to which our brethren have been subjected, and witnessed some of the most awe-inspiring scenes I have ever experienced. Everywhere we gathered -- conference rooms, restaurant tables and the hotel lobby -- people representing a remarkable diversity of ages, ethnicities, backgrounds, and abilities from all over the country worked cooperatively to educate themselves and each other on how to foster real and significant change by learning how to prove what we know to be true about the effectiveness of helping each other.
What a remarkable sight it was to watch everyone -- folks with long held and newly acquired Ph.D.’s in everything from nuclear engineering to the social sciences; individuals schooled in law, art, teaching, journalism and a host of other hard-won degrees; those still in school as well as those whose educational pedigree consists only of the life lessons of being a mental health consumer -- work so effectively together. What an example the consumer movement sets! You are my heroes, and I thank you.
Posted by Debbie Plotnick
My primary duties here at the Clearinghouse -- to provide technical assistance to consumer-run programs on conducting evidence-based evaluations -- will be greatly enhanced by all that I learned from the distinguished faculty members, who included Drs. Jean Campbell, Dan Fisher, and Jeanne Dumont. But it is what I received from my fellow participants that I believe will enable me to become a better researcher and more effective technical assistance provider.
In the course of doing some of the most important work that consumers can do -- telling our stories -- I was reminded of the historic inequities to which our brethren have been subjected, and witnessed some of the most awe-inspiring scenes I have ever experienced. Everywhere we gathered -- conference rooms, restaurant tables and the hotel lobby -- people representing a remarkable diversity of ages, ethnicities, backgrounds, and abilities from all over the country worked cooperatively to educate themselves and each other on how to foster real and significant change by learning how to prove what we know to be true about the effectiveness of helping each other.
What a remarkable sight it was to watch everyone -- folks with long held and newly acquired Ph.D.’s in everything from nuclear engineering to the social sciences; individuals schooled in law, art, teaching, journalism and a host of other hard-won degrees; those still in school as well as those whose educational pedigree consists only of the life lessons of being a mental health consumer -- work so effectively together. What an example the consumer movement sets! You are my heroes, and I thank you.
Posted by Debbie Plotnick
Labels: Transformation Conference
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