June 21, 2016
Creating a future plan – a guide for a person to lead a good life as independently as possible – is important for all people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Please join us for a panel discussion on strategies that people with dual diagnoses of IDD and mental health needs and their family members can use to create future plans that build on the individual’s strengths, likes, and dislikes.
We will identify challenges in planning for people with dual diagnoses and explore how to identify and implement strategies to provide the greatest opportunity for independence and growth for each individual, as well as ways to support people through the grief and loss that comes with transitions.
Speaker Bios
Joan B. Beasley, Ph.D.
Joan B. Beasley, Ph.D., is a licensed mental health counselor and holds a Ph.D. in Social Policy from the Heller School at Brandeis University. Dr. Beasley has worked to promote the development of effective services for people with disabilities and their families for more than 30 years, and is the recipient of the 2010 Frank J. Menolascino Award for Excellence from the NADD. She is the author and co-founder of the START program, first developed in 1989.
Marisa C. Brown, MSN, RN
Marisa C. Brown, MSN, RN, is a research instructor in the Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development, University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCDD) in Washington, D.C. She has been associated with Georgetown University for the past 33 years serving in many capacities. She is an advanced nurse practitioner specializing in the health care of individuals with developmental disabilities, and has over 30 years of experience in this specialty. For the past 10 years she has directed the DC Developmental Disabilities Health Initiative, an effort aimed at improving health care quality and access for adults with intellectual disabilities. She recently completed a training course on dementia and intellectual disabilities from the National Task Group on Dementia and is authorized to use their curriculum. As the parent of a young adult with autism spectrum disorder, she is particularly interested in advocacy for services to support community integration and independence.
Robert J. Fletcher, DSW, ACSW
Robert J. Fletcher, DSW, ACSW, is the founder and CEO of the National Association for the Dually Diagnosed and has more than 35 years of clinical experience in providing individual, group, and family psychotherapy for persons with a dual diagnosis. He is the author or editor of several books in the field, including Therapy Approaches for Persons with Mental Retardation, and is the chief editor of the Diagnostic Manual–Intellectual Disability. He lives in Kingston, New York.
Karyn Harvey, Ph.D.
Karyn Harvey, Ph.D., has worked as a psychologist for over 25 years. She is currently the Assistant Executive Director of Quality Support at The Arc Baltimore, where she oversees psychology, nursing, training and quality assurance. Karyn has written two books on working with individuals with Intellectual Disabilities, one focused on clinical intervention and the other on trauma and programmatic issues. Karyn also teaches a graduate class in the psychology of trauma at The University of Baltimore.