By Denise Ortuno Neil
There are all kinds of addictions. From drugs, to alcohol, gambling and even sex. For women, there has been a sort of closet effect to dealing with their addictions. Many women feel stressed about admitting that they have a problem, and even once they do, they may feel pressured to keep it a secret. The Beautiful Face of Recovery Conference for Women on January 24th, 2015 is geared to change all of that, and to encourage women to embrace their recovery and face it head on.
The conference is organized by psychotherapist, Carol Teitelbaum MFT (Marriage and Family Therapist), co-founder along with her husband, Robert Teitelbaum, of Creative Change Conferences. The 501 c3 non-profit organization is a subsidiary of Palm Springs Theatre Sports Inc. Creative Change Conferences focuses on providing Education Workshops and Conferences to the Coachella Valley area, as well as other places and offers scholarships to children raised in foster care.
Carol Teitelbaum has been a licensed psychotherapist since 1985. She moved to the Coachella Valley in 1993 and opened her private practice in 1999 in Rancho Mirage. She specializes in working with men who have been abused as children and women who are going through recovery from addiction. She is co-chair of Prevent Child Abuse, Riverside County and past President of Desert CAMFT (California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists). The Teitelbaums have had great success with their It Happens to Boys Conference which will be coming up on its 7th year this coming March.
The Beautiful Face of Recovery Conference for Women takes place on Saturday, January 24th 2015 from 8:30 to 5:30 at the Desert Princess Hotel in Cathedral City. The tickets for the event are $125.00 and include lunch. Carol Teitelbaum is proud that her inspiration behind the conference is fueled by Betty Ford, one of the first prominent women to step forward in the spotlight about her own addition. The Betty Ford Center is one of the sponsors of the conference. There will be an impressive line-up of speakers at the conference.
Keynote speakers are, Two Addiction Ladies, Candy Finnigan and Jeanie Griffin. Finnigan is an interventionist and has appeared on A&E’s hit show Intervention. She is a recovering alcoholic herself, and wrote the book, When Enough is Enough: A comprehensive guide to successful intervention.
Griffin is the Founder and Director of FRESH OUTTAPLANS, an addiction assessment, consulting and counseling service in Grapevine Texas. She is also a faculty member at UCLA addiction counselor training program.
Featured speakers will be, Christine Stevens, Mary Gordon M.A., Kimberly Nichols and Alyssa Farrell.
Christine Stevens is co-founder of UpBeat Drum Circles, which offers diversity training, teambuilding and wellness presentations around the world.
Mary Gordon M.A., is the Director of Family and Out Patient Services at the Betty Ford Center. She also has a private practice where she incorporates movement and dance for healing.
Kimberly Nichols has her company, Tapping the Inner Palette, which helps guide people to heal themselves through creative and spiritual outlets.
Alyssa Farrell, is a Fitness Therapist with almost two decades of experience behind her in her field. She helps to encourage her students by guiding them to connect with their bodies.
There will also be a panel which will be interviewed by Carol Teitelbaum that include, Susan Moffitt, Josie Ramierez-Herndron, Yvette Patterson M.A., Melissa Thornburg and Rena Rodman.
The conference invites all sorts of women who are in recovery. The event also offers continuing education credits for professional counselors, therapists and nurses.
Carol Teitelbaum points out that the conferences main focus is on women coming forward and working towards recovery, “We want them to be able to talk about, and for them to know that they are not alone,” said Teitelbaum.
In a world where outside perception seems to be everything, it is hard to sometimes see behind the façade that people hide behind. Women in particular fall victim to this harness, choosing to try and deal with their addiction on their own, than exposing their problem to friends and family in fear of shattering the idea of how people see them. But like Carol Teitelbaum stresses, the stereotype of someone who is struggling with addiction is not reality. It could be anyone around you who is suffering and needs help. We are fortunate to have a conference such as the Beautiful Face of Recovery Conference for Women in the Coachella Valley, hopefully it will help those who have been towing the hard line of addiction in the dark, finally see the light of recovery.
For more information visit www.creativechangeconferences.com
