Click here to listen to the audio.

By Dennis Miller, BHC Senior Writer

At most conferences on substance abuse treatment and recovery, treatment professionals meet with other professionals to share their ideas on the most effective treatment approaches, the latest research results, and the challenges facing the industry. The Art of Recovery Expo is not at all like those kinds of conferences.

Instead, this one-day, free event provides a space where individuals and families seeking help, hope or just more information about substance abuse recovery can meet with representatives of treatment centers, government agencies, advocacy organizations and anyone else who has a positive message to share on the life-affirming and amazing phenomenon known as recovery.

Now celebrating its fifth year, this year's Art of Recovery Expo will take place during National Recovery Month on September 19, 2009, at the Phoenix Convention Center. Growing larger and more robust each year, this year's Expo is expected to attract thousands of individuals interested in sharing their experience, strength and hope, or learning more about recovery for themselves or a loved one. They will be met by almost a hundred exhibitors and a full day's slate of events, workshops and speeches.

This year's keynote address will be delivered by Christopher Kennedy Lawford (whom Behavioral Health Central interviewed earlier this year). Lawford is the child of famous Rat Pack actor Peter Lawford and President John F. Kennedy's sister Patricia. He is also a former actor himself now turned bestselling author and speaker who shares his addiction experience with others in his memoir, Symptoms of Withdrawal, and at frequent speaking engagements.

Behavioral Health Central recently spoke with the Art of Recovery Expo's energetic founder and driving force, Barbara Nicholson-Brown, about what inspired her to create this unique event, what's planned for the Expo this year as it celebrates its fifth anniversary, and how those who would like to get involved in this annual celebration of the miracle of recovery can do so.

To listen to this moving interview, click the audio icon above. The following is a written transcript of our interview.

BHC: This is Dennis Miller of Behavioral Health Central. I'm speaking with Barbara Nicholson-Brown, founder of the Art of Recovery Expo and Publisher of Arizona Together Newspaper. The Art of Recovery Expo is an annual one-day event, free to the public, offering education, resources and solutions for addiction recovery and mental illness. It's held as part of National Recovery Month each September. This year's Expo will be held on September 19th, 2009, at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona.

Barbara, thanks for joining us today.

Barbara Nicholson-Brown: Thank you, Dennis. I appreciate you speaking to me today.

BHC: What is the Art of Recovery Expo?

BNB: The Art of Recovery Expo is a one-day event that is open to the public where there's no admission, no registration and people can come and go as they please throughout the day. What we do is we bring together what we believe to be some of the top professional treatment facilities and state agencies, counselors and therapists for people to come in and meet them and speak. It's all anonymous, basically, because I think when people are looking to find a way to get treated or they know someone who needs help or they may be struggling because of someone in their lives' addiction problem, people don't know where to go. And so this offers them an opportunity to really, one on one, get to meet the professionals and find the resources that are available to them.

And it's been very successful. This is our fifth year. It was a dream that came to me and we pursued it, and it's become a reality, and it's done very well. We want to offer hope. I mean, that's really what the bottom line is - to let people know that there is hope. And I think when you're in the middle of a crisis, you really don't know who to call or where to go. I know from my own experience if there was an event like this when I was going to get sober, I think it might have helped my family because they really didn't know what to do with me.

BHC: So your primary audience is people in recovery, family of people interested in recovery, people interested in learning about recovery from addiction.

BNB: All of the above.

BHC: And your exhibitors are primarily treatment professionals, treatment centers and that sort of thing, or are there others in the mix?

BNB: It's mostly treatment providers. A lot of state agencies here. Like the Arizona Department of Health for one, are there. The Governor's Office, which has a division for youths and families and substance abuse awareness and prevention. And we do do a lot of prevention. And we have specialized therapists and counselors because there's all kinds of problems that people face - not only drugs and alcohol, for instance, but there may be a family member who has someone in their family who has a gambling problem. And there's a lot of people that are struggling with eating disorders. So it's really open. It's very open to all sorts of problems that people have.

BHC: Tell us a little bit about the name. Why did you call it the "Art" of Recovery?

BNB: Well, I'm an artist. But we had our group meeting in the beginning of about 15 people that are in [the] treatment [industry] - providers, counselors, and therapists. And we had a roundtable discussion about what were we going to call this. And there was one gentleman who said, "You know, there's an art to living in recovery." And everybody said, "That's the name."

And it's just really how it is. It is an art. There's an art to living well. And the name stuck, and that's what it's been ever since.

BHC: So the name doesn't mean the event has anything specifically to do with art therapy, for example?

BNB: No, but we do have a few art therapists. And also what we do is we have about four or five - I always look for artists in recovery who want to come and show their work, so we also have that as well. Because a lot of recovering people are very creative in many different ways.

So we do have artwork. But it was just a name that everybody felt resonated with everybody in the group and that sounded very upbeat and that's what it is. And I don't think we're ever going to change it, because it works.

BHC: About how many exhibitors and about how many attendees come every year?

BNB: We have about 100 exhibitors, and that includes treatment providers, treatment facilities, the state agencies, counselors and therapists. And it's usually up to 100. And as far as the attendees, last year I think probably 5,000 or more people walked through the door throughout the day. It's not like everybody's there at once.

And it's not like a traditional tradeshow where there'll be exhibits and then people will go off into workshops, and then the exhibit area is pretty quiet while people are at the lectures and things. This is just continuously going on throughout the day, so it's not like the exhibitors are bombarded by 5,000 people at once, like a rock concert. They come in and out throughout the day, and we also have workshops that go on throughout the day that are within the same hall. So people can spend the day if they want; spend a few hours - it's up to them.

BHC: Well tell us a bit about this year's speakers and events and other highlights.

BNB: This year we're bringing back Christopher Kennedy Lawford, who I know you interviewed a while back. He was with us at our first event, and he has an incredible story of recovery and hope, So we're very excited to have him back this year. And since the last time he was with us, in the beginning in 2005, when he had written Symptoms of Withdrawal, this past January, I believe, Moments of Clarity came out. And his newest book Healing Hepatitis C came out, I think it was, in May or April.

And he is a tremendous speaker. I think his story just will resonate with everybody that listens to him, because he grew up with everything, and it just shows that addiction doesn't discriminate against who you are or what family you come from; how much money you have. And we're really excited to have him back with us this year.

And then we are also going to have a mom that I met here in the valley who lost her daughter two years ago to prescription medication. And she has been an advocate to bring the message that parents need to understand the dangers of the prescription pills that kids are taking. So she is going to be one of our speakers this year. It was a very sad story. Her daughter, somebody said, "Here, why don't you try one of these pills," and I think it was OxyContin. And I don't know if she snorted it or how she did the drug herself, but she became very ill, and the people that were with this 17-year-old, they didn't know what to do. They were too afraid to call 911, and the girl died.

And that's the reality of what happens and there are a lot of parents that really don't understand the dangers. I think what's been going on in the media with Michael Jackson and the prescription medications, people are maybe paying more attention, and it's just unfortunate that another life has to be lost.

It's a difficult thing to admit that my kid maybe might be looking around in my medicine cabinet or whatever. There's lots of ways that kids get drugs. And parents. A lot of parents - it's difficult. I know how difficult it was for my family. Because I remember. I'm sober now 19 years this past June, and it's just been an amazing journey for me. I want to bring hope, and I want others to know that recovery is possible and with the stigma attached, it's still there, and people need to know that there are others that have been through this and have come out through the other side. And there is hope for a wonderful life, and it takes a lot of work and a lot of support.

BHC: So this is your fifth year this year?

BNB: This is our fifth year.

BHC: How has the event changed over time?

BNB: It keeps getting better. In Arizona we keep getting more attention through the media. More people come, and it seems like every year it just builds gradually. People look forward to it. They want to know when the next one is when they're at the one they're attending. There's always new therapists and counselors that want to be involved or facilities, and it's grown.

Really, when we started this, we didn't know what we were doing or what it was going to look like. And it took out a life of its own and it became a tremendous event here in Arizona. There was never anything like this here in this state for Recovery Month. So it is its own entity and it's something that is very dear to my heart, and it's just been very successful for everybody.

BHC: And how do you financially support this undertaking? It must be a huge expense every year.

BNB: It is. And the prices go up every year. But through our sponsors and our exhibitors, it pays for the cost of renting the Phoenix Convention Center and everything that is entailed with it. Because we don't want to charge anybody admission. We all pay a big price for what we do when we're out there and we want people to know that you can't put a price on it, and we've always been able to manage it where the support that we do get from our sponsors and exhibitors pays for the event and the speaker fees and all the other details so we can open up the doors and it is free. And we hope it will always remain a free event.

BHC: What are the benefits for exhibitors participating in the expo?

BNB: Besides networking with one another and seeing their colleagues, it's an opportunity for them to reach people - the general public who they might not have a chance to ever see or meet. And it also gives the attendees the opportunity to browse through the exhibit hall, and they can talk to any of the specialists there and ask questions. And it could be a learning experience for them. They can get guidance, and I think when people are maybe looking around to think, "Where might I send my teenage daughter?", it's good to just get a few options and talk about what maybe one particular facility would have or another, and make comparisons and decide and talk about it. And it's a very low-key but safe atmosphere.

BHC: Well, great, Barbara. If anyone in our audience of treatment professionals is interested in learning more about the Expo or possibly being an exhibitor, how can they get in touch with you? How can they set that up?

BNB: Well they can call me at (480) 767-7880, and they can go online to our Website www.artofrecoveryexpo.com. And on the Website, there's a list of all our sponsors and exhibitors to date who are going to be with us this year, and we are always adding to that, usually every three or four days. They can call, the contract for exhibit space is online - everything is available online.

And then another thing that we do besides having our keynote speaker and this Valley mom, we have workshops that go on throughout the day and this year we will be having a panel discussion on, "Interventions: What Are They All About?", by a few intervention professionals, and we're going to have a special workshop on, "Gambling: When the Fun Stops."

And then this year we are going to have "Love Addiction and Love Avoidance," which is going to be put on by The Meadows, and this will provide continuing education credits for therapists and anybody who needs to get some hours. That will be taking place at 10:30 on Saturday the 19th, and if anybody is interested in attending that lecture, they can go to The Meadows website at www.themeadows.com and look under Events, and register. It's only $15 for an hour and a half. This is the first time that we are doing that, continuing education credits.

BHC: And the main Art of Recovery Expo Website is what?

BNB: www.artofrecoveryexpo.com.

BHC: Barbara, anything we haven't covered here that you want to add?

BNB: We look forward to this event. It's coming up soon, but its really going well and we're getting a lot of calls. There's just something beautiful about it, because every year what happens is somebody comes up to me and says, "Today saved my life!" or, "I really needed to come today. I didn't know that this was available to me." And that's what makes it all worth it to me. There are people that just don't know where to go and there's a lot of fear about it still. I believe there's a lot of fear about it, and it's overwhelming and confusing.

And the Expo just offers this opportunity for people to just come in and they don't even have to say anything. They really don't. They can just come in and listen and talk and spend the day with us and see that recovery is a beautiful thing and there's a lot of hope and a lot of people whose lives have been saved. And any way that we can help anybody, that's what we're here to do. Because my life is just precious to me today and I really wish, back when I got sober, my family would have known about something like this for them, because they were just pulling their hair out. They did not know what to do with me. And so, I'm a product of recovery. I'm proud to be in recovery today, and it's given me a whole new, a whole new life. It's amazing. It's absolutely amazing!

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed