Ask Me Anything about Employment BUCPR

You’re invited to ask an expert about another interesting topic related to employment. This free event is not a presentation, but rather an interactive question & answer webinar. And YOU provide the questions!

Anneliese de Wet completed her PhD in Psychology at Stellenbosch University in South Africa in December 2020. Prior to coming to the United States, she developed an individual measure of recovery for a South African context by exploring the understanding of recovery, as well as the barriers and facilitators of recovery, for people using services, their careers and service providers. Previously, she explored the lived experience of recovery from first-episode psychosis in a South African sample and worked on a Canadian CIHR-funded international, multi-site study on community engagement in HIV vaccine research.

Anneliese is particularly interested in peer support work. She recently completed a research project in which she tried to understand how mental health peer specialists withstand or shield themselves against experiences of prejudice and discrimination on the job.

You're invited to ask an expert about another interesting topic related to employment! This free event is not a presentation,but rather an interactive question & answer webinar. And YOU provide the questions.



Noah Abdenour, Certified Mental Health Peer Specialist, is the Director of Peer Support and Recovery at Texas Health and Human Services Commission. A subject matter expert on recovery-oriented care, peer specialist integration, and person-centered care, Noah has provided training and consultation at the local, national, and international levels. Prior to working for HHSC, Noah served as Director of Peer Support Services for Bluebonnet Trails, a community service provider for 8 central Texas counties. He also worked as a peer specialist in the state hospital system for five years, ultimately serving as the Peer Support Discipline Director for the Texas state hospital system. Noah helped lead the advocacy effort to create a peer support Medicaid benefit during the 85th legislative session (TXHB1486). He served as the presiding officer of the stakeholder workgroup that assisted with the creation of the benefit.

Ask the experts ANYTHING that you want to know about Supervising the Peer Workforce in Behavioral Health Settings.   



This AMA webinar was produced by the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation at Boston University, and jointly funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research and the Center for Mental Health Services within the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The content of this webinar does not represent the views or policies of the funding agencies and endorsement by the federal government should not be assumed.

Ask the experts ANYTHING that you want to know about Supported Employment and IPS

About this event
Guest Panelists:

David Lynde: David Lynde is an independent mental health services consultant and trainer who specializes in the effective implementation of Evidence-Based Practices for young adults and adults whose lives are affected by mental illness. David serves as a consultant and trainer for the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center to the New Hampshire Bureau of Mental Health Services; and he is a deputy program director for dissemination and implementation resources on the SAMHSA National Registry for Evidence Based Programs and Practices.

Darius McKinney: Illinois Statewide IPS Program Manager for the Illinois Division of Mental Health. Darius McKinney has been directly and indirectly helping people with serious mental illnesses find and maintain work at regular jobs of their choosing for the past 19 years. Darius has been an employment specialist and IPS team leader at Thresholds in Chicago, Illinois for 9 years and a contracted Division of Mental Health [DMH] IPS Trainer for 5 years.

Guest Expert: Melanie Whetzel, M.A., CBIS

Lead Consultant, Cognitive / Neurological Team

Melanie joined the JAN staff as a consultant on the Cognitive / Neurological Team in February 2008. She has a fourteen year history of teaching and advocating for students with disabilities in the public school system. As a member of the Cognitive / Neurological Team, Melanie specializes in learning disabilities, mental impairments, developmental disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, and brain injuries. She presents nationally on topics ranging from mental health impairments to conduct and performance issues, learning disabilities, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, brain injuries, and more. Melanie became a certified brain injury specialist in December 2014, and completed a graduate certification in Career Planning and Placement for Youth in Transition.

What is the difference between Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI)? Can a person who gets SSDI or SSI get ahead financially by working? Can they keep their SSDI and SSI? Can they keep the medical benefits that come along with SSDI and SSI? What happens if a person earns enough to stop SSDI or SSI? These and other questions will be answered by our guest experts, Michael Dalto & Melody Riefer, MSW, during our Q&A webinar.