NAMI Convention Focuses on Global Impact of Mental Illness

Posted on July 2, 2001

Arlington, VA - The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI), the nation's largest grassroots organization dedicated to improving the lives of people with severe mental illnesses, will hold its 22nd annual convention July 11-14, 2001 at the Washington Hilton & Towers Hotel, 1919 Connecticut Avenue, Washington, D.C.

Approximately 2500 NAMI members will address issues concerning scientific research, access to treatment and cultural stigma. Representatives from more than 20 countries will participate.

Speakers at an international plenary session on "The Global Impact Impact of Mental Illness" on Thursday, July 12 from 4:00-5:30 p.m. will include U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher; Dr. David Brandling-Bennett, Deputy Director of the Pan American Health Organization; Professor Susie Kim of Ewha Women's University in South Korea; and Dale Johnson, President-elect of the World Fellowship for Schizophrenia & Allied Disorders.

Related forum and workshop topics include:

• International human rights advocacy for people with mental disabilities
• Family support & service models in different cultures and countries
• Autonomy and family responsibility in Japan
• Empowerment of families & consumers: the case of AMEND in India
• Transitions from hospitals to community in Canada
• Mental health policy in Australia
• Collaboration between consumers and providers in Australia
• International stigmabusting