2026 NAMI Indiana State Conference
Description
The NAMI Indiana State Conference brings together people looking for new and better ways to manage and live with serious mental illnesses and how they can help others.
The 2026 State Conference will spotlight Indiana's latest advancement in mental health response, while exploring ideas for navigating mental illness in various stages and for different demographics. Individuals living with mental illness will share hope through their own experiences, and experts will introduce treatment methods and resources you may have not considered. There is something new and insightful to be gained for everyone in attendance.
For more details on this conference and our speakers, visit our website.
Continuing Education
Up to 5.0 Category 1 CEUs for social workers, addiction counselors, marriage & family therapists and mental health counselors through the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency
Indiana Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) credits for Law Enforcement Officers
All continuing education credits are included with registration and are not an additional cost. It is up to the individual to properly record continuing education.
Offline Registration
If you would like to mail a check, please use this printable registration form to mail with your check.
If interested in booking a hotel room, please call the hotel directly at 800-228-9290 and let the hotel staff know that you are attending the NAMI Indiana State Conference when you make your reservation.
If you need special meal accommodations, you must contact Caroline Chastain at cchastain@namiindiana.org in advance.
Scholarships
Scholarships are available for eligible applicants at no cost to them, thanks to generosity from sponsors and the Indiana Division of Mental Health and Addiction. Click here to apply for a scholarship.
Sponsors & Exhibitors
If you are interested in getting in front of over 300 people who are interested in mental health, please contact Caroline Chastain at cchastain@namiindiana to learn about sponsorship and exhibitor booth opportunities.
Please note, that as an attendee of the NAMI Indiana State Conference, you agree to adhere to our event code of conduct.
Lineup
Morning Keynote: Dr. Glenda Wrenn Gordon
Glenda Wrenn Gordon, MD, MSHP, DFAPA is a board-certified psychiatrist, mental health equity leader, and Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. She serves as Chief of Clinical Strategy at Mindoula Health and Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Morehouse School of Medicine, where she has trained the next generation of psychiatrists for over a decade. A graduate of West Point, Jefferson Medical College, and the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Wrenn Gordon has dedicated her career to advancing integrated care, reducing health disparities, and building resilience in underserved communities. She serves on the NAMI National Board and chairs the APA Council on Quality. She is also a mother, advocate, and keynote speaker whose personal journey through her family's experience with mental illness and recovery informs her most meaningful work.
Afternoon Keynote: Randye Kaye
Randye Kaye is the co-creator and host of the popular podcast, Schizophrenia: 3 Moms in the Trenches. She is the Connecticut State Trainer for NAMI’s Family-to-Family Course, and is the author of Ben Behind His Voices: One Family's Journey From the Chaos of Schizophrenia to Hope (Rowman & Littlefield,), and Happier Made Simple: Choose Your Words. Change Your Life (Front Porch Press, 2022). She's also an actor, voice talent, radio broadcaster, audiobook narrator, teacher and speaker. She has spoken at CIT International, American Psychiatric Association, APNA, Johns Hopkins, and The Missouri Behavioral Health Council. She also hosts the NPR/WSHU podcast Good at Heart: conversations with people who quietly make the world better. Her son, Ben, has been hospitalized over ten times for schizophrenia.
Workshop: Beyond the Student: Engaging Families to Strengthen Youth Mental Health
Families are among the most influential factors in a young person's mental health journey, yet they are often the least supported. Caregivers frequently report feeling overwhelmed, isolated, and uncertain about how to help as they navigate complex behavioral health, education, and community systems. Drawing from the development of a comprehensive family engagement model at Hope Academy, Indiana's only recovery high school, presenters will share practical strategies for engaging families as active partners in youth mental health. Participants will explore approaches that strengthen communication, increase caregiver confidence, reduce isolation, and build meaningful connections between families, schools, and behavioral health providers. The session will highlight adaptable strategies, including caregiver education, peer support, family-centered programming, transition planning, and community partnerships. While developed in a recovery high school, these approaches can be applied in schools, mental health organizations, healthcare settings, and community agencies serving youth and young adults. Attendees will leave with practical ideas for strengthening family engagement, building collaborative systems of support, and creating environments where young people and their families can thrive.
Workshop: Caring for Chronic and Acute Mental Illness in Corrections
Presently, there are more than 26,000 people incarcerated within the Indiana Department of Correction. This presentation will examine how individuals with chronic and acute mental illness are cared for and advocated for in a correctional setting. Additionally, we will discuss the impact of such treatment on our staff.
Beyond the Launch: Building the 988 Indiana Crisis Continuum
Since the launch of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, the Indiana Division of Mental Health and Addiction and 988 Indiana have continued building a coordinated statewide crisis continuum through collaboration with contact centers, mobile crisis teams, behavioral health providers, emergency response partners and communities. This session will highlight progress made, lessons learned, established partnerships and the use of data to strengthen crisis services. The session will also explore what’s next for 988 Indiana and opportunities to further connect Hoosiers to the right support at the right time.
Workshop: Know Your Rights: Empower Your Mental Health Journey
This session will explore the rights of Hoosiers receiving inpatient mental health treatment, ways to self-advocate, and where to turn when they believe their rights have been violated. Participants will gain practical knowledge and leave the session able to more confidently advocate for themselves and others using IDR's resources.
Workshop: Answering the Individual, Not the Call: A Compassion Driven Policing Concept
This presentation explains how the Decatur County Crisis Intervention Team has transformed how individuals, especially those experiencing mental health issues, are responded to in the community as well as the detention facility. By adopting a compassion based approach by officers and utilizing a community wide continuum of care philosophy, the team has not only reduced the amount of individuals in crisis taken to the emergency room or been placed into the justice system, but has markedly reduced the recidivism rate for the county.
Workshop: Occupation is Mental Health: Expanding Recovery Through Occupational Therapy
Mental health recovery is about more than reducing symptoms—it is about helping individuals reclaim meaningful lives. Everyday occupations such as establishing routines, managing a home, maintaining relationships, returning to work or school, engaging in leisure, and participating in the community are often disrupted by mental illness and addictions. Occupational therapy uniquely addresses these challenges by helping individuals build the skills, confidence, and habits needed to live with greater independence and purpose. This interactive presentation will introduce participants to the role of occupational therapy in mental health across inpatient, outpatient, community, school, and recovery centers. Through evidence-based practice, real-life case examples, and practical strategies, attendees will discover how occupation serves as a powerful therapeutic tool that supports recovery, resilience, and long-term wellness.
Medicaid Work Requirements for the Mental Health Community
Join Covering Kids & Families to learn more about recent changes to Medicaid eligibility enacted in the One Big Beautiful Bill and by the Indiana General Assembly. This session is designed for Healthy Indiana Program (HIP) members, providers, and community partners to receive clear, consistent information about the new 80‑hour monthly requirements, exemptions, screening tool, and the Benefits Portal. Participants will learn ways to guide and support Hoosiers through the transition that officially begins January 1, 2027.
Tickets for good, not greed Humanitix dedicates 100% of profits from booking fees to charity
