Betty Seery
NAMI Southern Arizona Board Member
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Betty Seery is currently employed as the Program Director for D K Advocates, Inc., an agency which provides employment and training services for people with disabilities. She has almost 20 years of experience in the field of Psychiatric Rehabilitation and is a Certified Psychiatric Rehabilitation Practitioner. She began her personal experience with mental health issues dealing with her own depression and then was thrust into the world of Community Behavioral Health as the result of a serious suicide attempt by her son. Betty oversaw the development of comprehensive vocational programs at a behavioral health provider agency which increased employment opportunities for participants through community job development and carving out of positions within the agency as well as the creation of a small business. The agency received statewide recognition for their innovative employment services, as a presenter at the Arizona State University, College of Public Programs Summer Institute. The employment services program encompassed the research that people with a mental illness fare better if they are working, and the presence of symptoms is not an indicator of success in the workplace. Betty has been a NAMI Provider Education and Family to Family trainer as well as a trainer of trainers. She has also participated in the Police Department Crisis Intervention Training as a family member presenter.
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