Join the Tucson brain injury community as Opening the Way, Inc. presents its 3rd annual Brain Injury Awareness Day. The awareness day activities will offer you the opportunity to learn “best practices,” network with others in the community who share your concerns and interests, and assist in creating better opportunities for persons with Brain Injury in Southern Arizona:
The Process of Empowerment symbol to the right, the enso, is represented in Zen art as a circle which encompasses the universe in one endless line...
Theresa
Rankin is a national community educator on traumatic brain injury.
In her work, Theresa is a consultant to federally funded TBI grants and the
National Institutes of Health on projects dealing with research, rehabilitation,
prevention, policy and community education. She is a national advocate working
in partnership with individuals, communities, universities & organizations
including Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, the National Center for Family
Support, the Alliance on Self-Determiniation, the International Conference on
Self-Determination and Individualized Funding, and the Dana Alliance for Brain
Initiatives.
The Brain Injury Association acknowledged her national work with the distinguished BIA Founders Award. The 25 years of advocacy and community education began in 1977, when Theresa survived multiple injuries and a traumatic brain injury as a passenger in a car crash off a cliff in Northern California. The journey of Theresa's life after brain injuryn is featured in the internationally and nationally awarded WETA/PBS documentary "Stress, Trauma and the Brain," and the recent National Public Radio program "Gray Matters: Trauma and the Brain," hosted by The Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives. Theresa can be reached at rankint@earthlink.net.
Theresa is a featured keynote speaker at community and government events, an author, an institute director, a university and medical college lecturer, an NIH educator, a PBS consultant, and an editorial and publication review specialist. She speaks to a new and challenging shared mission as a community of advocates to hit home the three R's of self-determination: 1) Recovery of self-identity, 2) Re-habilitation, and 3) Resumation of personal goals and dreams.
The
Tucson Brain Injury Advocacy Panel was developed from the Healing
Bridge Advocacy Panel model in Eugene, Oregon, which began in 1990. The Advocacy
Panels have been the primary “voice” for brain injury advocacy.
The panels are comprised of individuals with traumatic and acquired brain injuries,
and at times, family members. The participants have a passion and a purpose:
to increase awareness about brain injury. In doing so, they empower themselves
and others. One cannot simultaneously be a victim and be empowered. Individuals
with brain injury are marginalized by society and often seen as victims by others
and by themselves. As members of a Brain Injury Advocacy Panel, they can begin
to see and feel themselves, not as victims, but rather as participants and equals
in life. These panels address geographic, cultural, economic and ethnic concerns
specific to individuals with brain injury and their families and educate their
communities about the effects of brain injury from onset to long-term consequences.
Meira
Yaer, RN, MA is a Nurse and Marriage and Family Therapist specializing
in the field of brain injury advocacy, trauma recovery and rehabilitation. She
began her work in brain injury over 15 years in Eugene, Oregon. She is the author
of The Process of Empowerment© - A Therapeutic Model After Brain Injury
and has presented at national and international conferences. Her work focuses
on the healing of body, mind and spirit through self-awareness, animal-assisted
psychotherapy, and other intuitive therapies. She is the founder of Opening
The Way, Inc. a non-profit brain injury program, and facilitator of The Tucson
Brain Injury Advocacy Panel, which provide panel presentations and in-services
to community members and health care professionals in the field of traumatic
and acquired brain injury. Contact Meira at 520-825-0896 or akada@earthlink.net
Les
McAllan, Ph.D., CRC., NCC is an Arizona Licensed Psychologist, a National
Certified Counselor, and a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor with over 30 years
of experience teaching counseling, leading groups, and counseling people through
loss and transition. He believes in a holistic approach to healing that includes
creating community, connecting with nature, and finding the courage to look
within. Dr. McAllan is a professor in the Department of Special Education, Rehabilitation
and School Psychology at the University of Arizona where he teaches counseling
and interviewing classes for undergraduate and graduate students. He has taught
at the Univeristy of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Edinboro University of Pennsylvania;
provided professional continuing education at the University at Buffalo and
in cooperation with San Diego State University; volunteered for the Milwaukee
and Western New York AIDS Projects and Sunstone Healing Center in Tucson; and
provided individual and group therapy for persons dealing with losses related
to health and disability, partciularly persons with head injury. Dr. McAllan's
primary practice is based primarily on Gestalt and Person Centered theoretical
approaches. Contact Les at lmcallan@email.arizona.edu
Joe
Violette, M.S.,CCC-SLP began his work in human services in 1977, prior
to completing his dual Bachelor degrees in Psychology and Communication Disorders
at the University of New Hampshire, Durham. He continued to work with mentally
and physically disabled adults in community and institutionalized settings through
the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health until 1983. During this period,
Joe worked as a mental health technician, speech therapist, and case manager.
His personal interests in the rights of disabled persons included serving as
a legal guardian and citizen advocate for several institutionalized adults,
who were transitioning into the local community. Joe relocated to Arizona in
1983, working as a speech therapist for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Western
Navajo Agency until 1985, when he joined the graduate program at the University
of Arizona, Tucson, to pursue his Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology.
Since graduating in 1987, Joe has worked as an SLP for various state, hospital,
and home health care agencies in the Tucson community. His special interest
in brain injury recovery has fostered his pursuit of continuing education in
cognitive, behavioral, and social-emotional rehabilitation approaches for individuals
with CHI, TBI, and CVA. Joe piloted a study in 1991 for fostering voice recovery
in brain injured adults who demonstrate mutism during their initial stages of
recovery. Joe recognizes the need for a comprehensive brain injury rehabilitation
program in the Tucson community, and, therefore, supports the continued development
of Opening the Way as it strives to promote self-actualization in individuals
with brain injury.
Dr. Robert
Crago, Ph.D, is a Licensed Psychologist with certifications in pain
management, biofeedback, neurofeedback, quantitative EEG, and disability assessment.
He is currently Director of Neurobehavioral Health Services, Tucson, Associate
Fellow to the Program of Integrative Medicine at University of Arizona, and
Consulting Editor, Journal of Neurotherapy. Dr. Robert Crago received his Ph.D.
in clinical psychology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He has
resided in Tucson for the last 26 years, working primarily in the area of behavioral
medicine and applied psychophysiology. He has extensive experience in treating
chronic pain conditions, fibromyalgia syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, chemical
hyper reactivity (MCS), anxiety disorders, post traumatic stress disorders,
sleep disorders, autistic spectrum disorders (ADD/ADHD, LD, Tourette’s
syndrome, Asperger’s, etc.), epileptic spectrum disorders, traumatic brain
injury, and a wide range of psychophysiological and stress-related problems.
Dr. Crago has applied principals of applied psychophysiology in the treatment
of mild to moderate traumatic brain injury resulting from concussion, stroke,
and exposure to environmental toxins and chemicals. The primary methodology
utilized in this area is biofeedback, especially neurofeedback (EEG biofeedback).
He utilizes his expertise in quantitative EEG or brain mapping to assist in
diagnosis and treatment planning. Dr. Crago lectures both locally and nationally
in regards to the application of quantitative EEG and neurofeedback for a wide
range of disorders. He participated on national committees and boards that established
national certification for neurofeedback providers. Dr. Crago plans to expand
his practiceto a dual clinical and research facility in the next year.
Juliet Niehaus, Ph.D., MSW is coordinator of Tucson Botanical Garden's Horticultural Therapy Program where she uses gardening and nature-related activities to foster health and well-being for those with disabilities. She taught social work and anthropology and practiced social work in both hospital and community mental health settings in New York City before coming to Tucson and the Botanical Gardens five years ago. Trained in Horticultural Therapy at New York Botanical Gardens and Brooklyn Botanic Garden, she is a Registered Horticultural Therapist (HTR) and sits on the Board of Directors of the American Horticultural Therapy Association.
Rose enjoying herself at the Tucson Botanical Gardens!
Social workers, physical therapists, occupational therapists, teachers, counselors, rehabilitation counselors, nurses, direct caregivers, managers, and others interested in exploring practical ways of facilitating empowerment in others while maintaining their own personal and professional sense of empowerment.
Thursday, March 24, 2004
Community Forum (Free Admission), 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.: "Best Practices in Brain Injury Community Forum." Organizations and vendors specializing in brain injury services will be present to answer questions and provide information. Book signing. There is no charge for this activity and anyone in the community is welcome to attend.
The Tucson Jewish Community Center is centrally located with plenty of free parking. It boasts a state-of-art auditorium and meeting rooms and is located on the SE corner of N. Dodge and East River Rd. Click here for more details.
Box lunches will be available for $8 per person during the day with advanced reservations. Special diets can be accommodated with advanced notice.
Participants will be able to earn .5 (one half) continuing education unit (CEU) for attending the entire workshop. This CEU has been approved by the University of Arizona Extended University. CEUs measure, record, and report participation in continuing education activities. They are a nationally recognized and respected method of granting nondegree credit for qualified continuing education programs. A total of 5 (five) pre-approved Certified Rehabilitation Counselor continuing education units are also available for registered participants with this credential.
This facility is ADA accessible, but please contact Meira to discuss inclusive options.
•Payment in full is due upon registration. Full refunds are available if cancelled prior to 2/24/05. After this date it is up to the discretion of the organizers. Checks payable to: "Opening the Way, Inc"., PO Box 8766, Tucson, AZ 85738
Make checks payable "Opening the Way, Inc."