Conference Overview
Thank you for your interest in this, the third annual
In My Mind: LGBTQ People of Color Mental Health Conference
“Navigating Mental Health Care: Concerns, Developments, Promises”
Responding to the demands from conference participants at the previous two conferences, a coalition of organizations and agencies will host a two-day conference on Thursday, October 5 and Friday, October 6, 2017 at The Stewart Hotel (formerly The Affinia Hotel), 371 Seventh Ave, New York, NY 10001. Programs for both days commence at 9:00 am (check in/registration at 8:00am) and conclude at 5:30 pm. Following the success of last year’s conference at the Alexander Hamilton US Customs House Building, each day brings mental health consumers, clinicians, students and academics together in formats intending to encourage that rare cross pollination of concerns and experiences. Often, these groups do not have opportunities to speak with and listen to each other on the many subject areas impacting the mental health of LGBTQ peoples of color.
Conference Mission:
This year’s conference focuses on mental health care: navigating concerns, acknowledging developments and looking to the future for LGBTQ peoples of color, through the collective strengths and wisdom of clinicians, consumers, academics and advocates to confront the issues affecting these communities.
The collective efforts of the organizations hosting this two-day conference encourages presenters to focus on how LGBTQ peoples of color navigate mental health care in the age of the new administration. Presentations will examine concerns with the new administration's funding cuts declarations, developments and progress to date, and what the future holds. Each day will begin with presentations intending to establish common starting points. These will be followed by concurrent small group workshops, panel discussions, and stand-alone presentations; some geared for clinicians and others for community members. At the end of the second day, we will continue our traditional "Community Speak Out" – an opportunity for conference participants to have their “say”, express their thoughts on ways of addressing the mental health of LGBTQ people of color and the necessary next steps for improving this conference.
Program:
The Conference invites abstract submissions which examine, discuss and provide methodologies and techniques for healing, including resources, for LGBTQ peoples of color; consisting of the following subject areas:
Existing:
* Women - Bisexual, Lesbians, Pansexual (women with mental health issues killed by police or other law enforcement)
* Interaction of police/law enforcement and peoples of color with mental health issues, including incarceration/reentry programs/recidivism
* LGBTQ peoples of color in immigration detention or asylum proceedings
* Juvenile LGBTQ peoples of color mental health in criminal justice and health care
* Mental health care of LGBTQ veterans of color
* Mental health care for LGBTQ peoples of color seniors/elders
* LGBTQ peoples of color with abnormal personality disorders
Developing:
* Cultural competency in education, health and mental health care, law enforcement, criminal justice
* LGBTQ peoples of color in foster care/aging out of foster care
* Mental health and HIV
* Mental health care for youth and young adult peoples of color
To come:
* Access and advocacy for resources
* Mental health services in the age of the Affordable Care Act (ACA/ObamaCare) - expansion and retraction of Medicaid and Medicare
* Personal mental health stories - coping and survival
* PTSD and Trauma: Examining and Healing LGBTQ peoples of color
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Click here to submit an abstract (submissions begin Apr 1 and end May 31)
Conference Planning Core Committee:
Antoine Craigwell (DBGM), Chris Adams, LMSW (DBGM), Charles Tarver (NAMI-Delaware), Sandra Tooks, MBA and Barbara Liang (NBLCA), Kenya Crawford (Columbia University), Daton Haywood, DeAngelo Kearns, and Richard Sullivan.
The Conference Planning Team included in the abstract submission process questions to satisfy the requirements for application to the New York State Department of Health, Office of Mental Health (OMH) for and to provide Continuing Education Credits (CEUs) for those who require.
The conference this year focuses on how LGBT peoples of color navigate their mental health concerns, developments and promises, through the collective strength and wisdom of clinicians, consumers, academics and advocates to confront the issues affecting these communities, which are often compounded by shame and stigma.
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: The call for abstract submissions began on Apr 1, 2017.
Please REVIEW abstract before submitting; submissions are FINAL.
Deadline for abstract submissions, May 31, 2017
ABSTRACT SELECTION CRITERIA
Abstracts are to be submitted through Google Forms link below:
The Conference program consists of three primary subject areas:
About Conference Subject Areas
Existing: Workshops and panel discussions in this track focus on challenges and difficulties experienced by LGBT peoples of color, paying attention to the emergence of issues attributed to social (family, school, work, church, community), civil and government acts, which include innovative and/or effective interventions and research that address and educate about the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health of LGBT POC, as well as explore difficulties in capacity-building, and examining best practices.
Developing: Workshops and panel discussions in this track examine the physical, mental, and spiritual well-being of LGBT POC, as well as treatment of various states of illness and dis-ease facing LGBT POC communities. Workshops and panel discussions are encouraged to be innovative and creative in highlighting the latest research findings, complexities related to the prevention, diagnosis, natural history and management of both physical and mental health issues that affect LGBT POC communities. Creative and innovative presentations can include methods such as dance, word expression, and meditation.
To Come: How does the future appear for the mental health of a LGBTQ person of color? What efforts are being made toward more self-acceptance and acceptance from family, friends, co-workers, church community, society - as a whole and how do notions of acceptance affect/influence a LGBTQ person’s mental health/stability? Are LGBTQ peoples of color equipped, prepared and ready to fight, in and on as many fronts, for their right to exist and be accepted on the spectrum of human sexuality? What does mental health diagnoses, treatment (therapy and or medication), and referral landscape look like for LGBTQ peoples of color, at city, state and federal levels? What can providers/clinicians do to ensure their clients are healing?
About Workshops, Panel Discussions and Single Presentations:
Panel Discussions: Panel Discussions will be a 75-minute session (structured as 60-minutes for presentation and 15-minutes for Q&A) and intended to provide an overview of the topic area, highlighting some key issues needing further exploration, and subsequent policy and program intervention.
Workshops: Workshops should be designed to serve as 75-minute information sharing and skills-building sessions (structured as 60-minutes for presentation and 15-minutes for Q&A). Handouts, use of audiovisual materials, and participant interaction are highly encouraged.
Single Presentations: Single presentations are 75-minutes in duration (structured as 60-minutes for presentation and 15-minutes for Q&A), allowing for information and material to be presented clearly and succinctly.
Subject Matter:
NOTE: Conference Organizers encourage presenters (workshop, panel, single/stand-alone) to adhere to the title and subject of their accepted abstract/proposal submission and not change their presentation without first obtaining permission from the Conference Organizers. Your abstract was reviewed and selected based on satisfying several criteria. Unapproved changes to presentations on the day of means that the lead presenter and co-presenters (if applicable) will not be invited to present at subsequent conferences. Abstract submissions deemed to be self promotion, marketing or advertising will not be considered.
Evaluations:
Participants in each session (workshop, panel discussion, single presentation) will be encouraged to complete evaluations that will look at presenter’s knowledge and grasp of subject matter, presentation, and although subjective, listener’s comprehension and sense of applicability.
Abstract Submissions DEADLINE: Midnight May 31, 2017.
LATE AND OR INCOMPLETE ABSTRACTS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.
NOTE: Late abstracts will ONLY be considered in the event there is some breaking news or an issue with a significant impact on the mental health of LGBT peoples of color emerges; a presenter would then be selected and invited to submit an abstract.
Submit abstracts here:
Abstract Selection Process
Abstract selection criteria will look at and include topic relevance to the mental health of LGBT POC and related services, level of interest expected in the proposed session and the overall clarity of the abstract.
The abstract review team will make selections and recommendations; the conference programming planning committee will make final selections and approvals. All decisions by the conference programming committee with regard to abstract selections and the program are final. The conference programming committee reserves the right to reject any abstract, even if recommended by the review team, and also reserves the right to formulate and populate the conference program according to need, applicability, relevance and timeliness.
Late and or incomplete abstract submissions WILL NOT be reviewed or considered. To ensure abstracts are accepted and considered, below is a requirements check list:
Abstract Submission Requirements - A CHECKLIST:
Please use the checklist below to ensure that you are properly following the abstract submission guidelines. Complete this checklist before emailing your abstract. It may be necessary to prepare a draft on a separate Word document, to ensure you comply with the required word count.
_______ Abstract submission through
_______ Abstract title – should be catchy, creative and interesting
_______ Resume/CV attached
_______Abstract introduction (will be used in conference journal), maximum 75 words
_______Abstract description – maximum 250 words or less
_______ Use 12-point font size (Arial font)
_______The first person listed on the abstract, with email and phone number, is the principal author/presenter
_______ All co-authors are listed and aware that their names appear on this abstract
Please REVIEW your abstract before submitting; there is no opportunity to edit after submission.
Abstracts received after midnight, May 31, 2017 will not be accepted
Notification of abstract status, acceptance or rejection, will be sent during the third week of June, 2017.
Notification of abstract acceptance and rejection will be sent to first author ONLY. If you are notified of your abstract’s acceptance, you will have one week to confirm (correct name spelling, academic credentials and presentation title) that you will be presenting at the conference. In the event you fail to respond within the given confirmation timeframe, we will consider that you abandoned your submission and we will choose another abstract/presenter. If the abstract submission consists of more than one author/presenter, the first person listed on the submission is responsible to notify co-authors/presenters. The decision of the Programming Planning Team regarding abstract selection is final. Due to the overwhelming response and abstract submissions, planning team members will not be able to respond to individual enquiries.
All presenters MUST register for the conference. Confirmed presenter(s) receive complimentary admission.
Presenters, coming from outside the NYC area/region, are responsible for their own travel and accommodation arrangements. The conference does not offer reimbursement, honoraria or scholarships. The conference's host hotel, The Stewart, located in the heart of NYC and obliquely across from Madison Square Gardens, offers conference attendees, including presenters, a specially designed discounted accommodation package - an upgrade from Standard to Deluxe Rooms.
This Conference is innovative in its audacity to address the mental health of LGBTQ peoples of color communities, attracting attention – presenting is competitive.
To submit your abstract, click on the link below: