Volume 3 . Spring 2008 . Issue 2
In the first recorded interview of the Community Legacy Project, Bill Emener described his thoughts and recollections about the events leading up to the first National Rehabilitation Counselor Training Conference. It was a particularly timely topic. Back in the mid 80’s there was much contention and divisiveness in the profession brought on by external threat and an internal failure to see the larger professional community. I invite you to visit Dr. Emener’s portal at http://ncrtm.org/course/view.php?id=37 for the entire story. In the meanwhile let me entice you with an excerpt:
At the national level, people from different sectors of the rehabilitation landscape also were beginning to talk more cordially and openly with each other. For example, when Dr. Stan Smits and Dr. Richard Luck and I edited the first book on rehabilitation administration and supervision, we made sure that each chapter in the book was co-authored by a professor (a university-based rehabilitation educator) with a field-based practitioner (a state agency director, a deputy director, a manager or supervisor, a HR specialist, etc.). We affectionately referred to it as an “intellectual marriage.” As a result, people from across the aisle were talking to each other – focused on doing something proactive, something to improve the situation. Simultaneously and to some extent as a result, people were being invited into each other’s camps. For example, rehabilitation counselor educators were being invited to give presentations at meetings of the Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation (CSAVR, which is primarily composed of state VR agency directors), state VR agency directors and rehabilitation facility directors were being invited to make presentations at NCRE meetings, etc. And, now to return to what I said I would return to, instead of our counterparts being one of them (“those who were out to get us”), they became our friends.
Somewhere during one of our cocktail-lounge conversations at a convention, the idea of having such a happening at a national level emerged. To wit, in the spring of 1989 (at least that’s when I think it was) with the direct and indirect involvement and excellent work of CSAVR people (state VR directors such as Mr. Peter Griswold from Michigan, Mr. Claude Meyer from North Carolina, Mr. Joe Dusenbury and Dr. Bob Brabham from South Carolina), RCEP Directors (such as Mr. Jim Stephens at the time at Georgia State University and Dr. Jimmy Miller at the time at the University of Tennessee), and NCRE leaders (such as myself, Dr. Don Dew and Dr. Don Linkowski from George Washington University, Dr. Jeannie Patterson at the time from Florida State University, Dr. Stan Smits from Georgia State University and Dr. Fred McFarlane from San Diego State University), we planned the first National Rehabilitation Counselor Training Conference. And so that the attendees could piggyback their attendance with a stop in Washington, DC to visit people at the Rehabilitation Services Administration and others from their respective states, we set up the Conference near Washington, DC – just across the Potomac in the Crystal City Holiday Inn in Alexandria, Virginia. There were numerous reasons for this location. For example, while five or six of us who were planning the Conference had a private meeting with the RSA commissioner before getting it off the ground, everyone agreed that the Conference “should not look like it was a RSA sponsored or initiated event.” Even the RSA Commissioner told us that while she understood the need for, indorsed and was supportive of the activity, she would not be in attendance (I vividly recall Mrs. Will insightfully, graciously and genuinely saying something like, “My mere presence would impact people’s perception of the Conference and possibly tarnish its effectiveness and ultimate outcome.”
Many cover letters and flyers announcing the Conference were sent out, followed by personal phone calls, trying to get people to attend (and remember – this was way before the Internet). Within a few weeks, however, reservations began pouring in – it even came to a point where people were becoming afraid not to be there, it was almost as if they were afraid that they’d miss something.
In addition to formal presentations, the Conference was replete with small interactive work-group and brain-storming sessions, as well as mix-and-mingle activities – all composed of combinations of rehabilitation counselor educators, RCEP educators, facility directors, and state VR agency directors and other VR staff.
The tangible outcome was the Conference Proceedings (which I had a copy of but now can’t find – I must have lost it in one of my many moves and travels). In my opinion, however, the most important outcome was the intangible one: people arrived at the Conference ready to defend their agencies and programs “in case they were confronted by one of them,” BUT left the Conference with deeper understanding and appreciation of the challenges confronting their counterpart agencies and programs as well as genuine empathy for the leaders of such agencies and programs – their new friends. In spite of arriving at the Conference with our narrow-minded and self-focused “part of the problem” attitudes, we left with a collective “we all can be, and now are part of, the solution” attitude.
n n n
This is Bill’s perspective on the “Crystal City Experience”. The personal story is his, but the history belongs to everyone who was there. If your name came up in Bill’s excerpt, let me now invite you to add your perspective to this, or other stories of interest. If you visit the Community Legacy Project Portal and simply want to get involved, let me invite you to contact me as well. And finally, let me send out a call for the missing “Conference Proceedings” mentioned in the last paragraph: if you know where I can find it, email me at michael.millington@usu.edu. The Community Legacy Project and the Oral History Archive are now fully functional. They were created to help the profession capture its own history. To make the project work requires that you, the community responds. As Dr. Emener said, “we all can be, and now are part of, the solution”.n
Just when you thought it was safe… The day before travel the biggest snowstorm of the year causes USU classes to be canceled for the first time in 15 years (Julie Smart misses her snow day).
Just when you thought it was safe… Saturday, Feb 16, severe weather causes flight delays. Outbound flights are delayed. Sitting on the tarmac for an hour brings new meaning to playing IPod’s one hundred and one games.
Once cleared for take-off from San Antonio, a 30-minute flight turns into an hour flight while the pilot avoids severe weather (Gilligan’s island anyone? A three-hour tour, a three-hour tour!)
Connecting flight is missed on a codeshare flight. We stand in the customer service line to confirm new reservation on late night flight 9:30 p.m. while helping stranded passengers to use help-seeking skills, especially a mother with an eight-month old.
Just when you thought it was safe… to eat airport food…We discover that the late flight is delayed one hour. Unfortunately, procuring the last chicken at Popeye’s 10 minutes before closing doesn’t settle a nervous stomach.
Just when you thought it was safe… Taking Dramamine and decongestants before the flight and finding out that the flight is delayed again doesn’t help.
Just when you thought it was safe… The flight crew scheduled to serve the late flight is also serving a flight from St. Louis that was diverted to San Antonio.
Just when you thought it was safe… to trust an aircraft… With the diverted crew on site we finally board the plane at midnight. The pilot discovers a mechanical problem with the fuel gauge. Passengers de-board plane while plane is refueled and we wait for clearance.
Just when you thought it was safe… A family booked on the flight is seated in the Exit row. We trade seats only to discover that the Exit row seats don’t recline so sleep is impossible.
Just when you thought it was safe… to reach the final destination at 6:00 a.m… A wait at the baggage carousel reveals that your baggage made the connecting flight on a codeshare airline. A trip to the luggage office reveals that the office is closed until 7:00 a.m. The agents finally inform you that the codeshare flight was canceled and doesn’t arrive until 10:00 a.m. You decide to leave the airport without your luggage.
Just when you thought it was safe… to park in long term parking… The shuttle driver taking you to long term parking announces a mechanical problem and you are required to transfer to another shuttle.
Just when you thought it was safe… car travel is thankfully uneventful. However, despite staying up all night, a one-year-old and two-year-old are excited to see their moms after a long weekend and are ready to play. The children discover it’s fun to play “watch mommy’s head bobble.”
Despite all this, attending NCRE 2008 is worth it!n
Christine B. Anderson, MRC, CRC, CCLS
Rehabilitation Counselor, Doctoral Student
Utah State University
Kristi Openshaw, MRC, CRC
Rehabilitation Counselor, Doctoral Student
Utah State University
Knowledge Sharing
Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life. — Immanuel Kant
May is National Mental Health Month
Mental Health America
http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/go/home
Mental Health America 2008 Conference:
http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/annualconference/index.html
Mental Health America (formerly known as the National Mental Health Association) is a leading nonprofit dedicated to helping all people live mentally healthier lives. With more than 320 affiliates nationwide, they represent a growing movement of Americans who promote mental wellness for the health and well-being of the nation.
NAMI National Alliance on Mental Illness
NAMI 2008 National Convention:
http://www.nami.org/template.cfm?section=convention
Great mental health resource in the NCRTM Digital Library:
Psychopathology Handbook: A Clinical Skills Manual for Rehabilitation
and Mental Health Counselors—3rd ed.
by Kelley, Susan D.M. Ph.D.
Tampa, FL:University of South Florida, 2007.
This 223-page handbook has a lot of information. It provides terminology and assessment guides for mental illnesses and substance-related disorders. It also contains case studies and treatment plans. It is intended to be used in conjunction with traditional materials in psychopathology courses. Catalog number 163.033
Thanks
for your submissions to the NCRTM Digital Library
• U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs
• Center for Rehabilitation Counseling Research and Education
• National Technical Assistance Center for State Mental Health Planning (MTACSMHP)
Utah State University
It's springtime in the Rockies!
Clearinghouse Team
Michael J. Millington, Director
Jared Schultz, Principle Investigator
Julie Hoffmann, Office Manager
Ken Tingey, Research Fellow
Gail Christensen, Information Coordinator
Karl Smith, Technical Support
Kristi Openshaw, Graduate Assistant
Cassie Walker , Office Assistant
Melyn Petersen , Office Assistant
Click here for accessible PDF file of the Spring 2008 Newsletter (printable).