Some popular topics being featured in 48 workshops during our EBP Conference 2014. / Today's Spotlight! / Veterans Affairs in Ohio implements integrated treatment for co-occurring substance abuse and mental illness and presents five challenges and solutions  for systems change + Learn why effective team leadership includes more than supervision + Discover clinical solutions for the complexities of co-occurring disorders.

My name is Russell Lawrence Cummins. I was born on November 9, 1959 in Rotterdam, a city in the Netherlands. Five years ago, my wife told me there was a vacancy for a peer specialist at the Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) team. We peer specialists are in one way pioneers for a new profession. As a peer expert, I try to build bridges between the ACT team and sometimes very reluctant clients, and I represent the client's point of view in important decisions made in the team. I dare to state that I have the most expensive education for this job among my team members.

There is hope for people who are most at-risk of psychiatric hospitalization, homelessness, and institutional recidivism. It is called Assertive Community Treatment (ACT). Jonas Thom, MA, PCC, of Cincinnati describes the core principles and practices of ACT and tells two stories of consumer recovery—one of a veteran of the armed services and the other of a classically trained librettist.