Good Morning, my name is Aloysius Joseph, every one calls me AJ.I feel very privileged to be given this role to summarize the proceedings of this great conference.

As we, once again, come to the end of our time together, it is befitting that we reflect on our journey. It is said that the joy is not in the destination but in the experiences we encounter along the way. So--- let us look at this process and consider how exciting and joyful these past four days have been.

We come from distant places, from China to Brazil, from Italy to Australia, individuals from nearly every corner of the world. We are men and women, nurses and doctors, counselors and psychologists, social workers and ministers; we are people, people who believe that the suffering from addiction can be overcome. We come because we believe that people can change and that when men and women come together in community, the experience is therapeutic and transformative.

Our belief in the values of the therapeutic community did not come without debate. For over forty years now, our discussions have helped to shape the essence of the TC. Our diversity has resulted in the cultural fine-tuning that makes the model relevant in every corner of the world. And not unlike the men and women who come to us for help with their drug addiction, we come to share our stories, learn from each other, feel the power of belonging, search for meaning, and discover love. - We share the same song

At first the encounters are formal, and the structure provides a venue for the work needed to be done. During these four days we tried to bring clarity to issues we face, and the discussions spilled beyond the workshops, plenary, and meeting to hallway discussions. We share research outcomes and experiences in working with Adolescents or people with AIDS and those with other disorders. We bring insight to the special needs of women and children, gender issues, the impact of Hepatitis C, co-occurring illnesses, family recovery and the challenges of culture in developing competency in the field of treatment.

It never fails; however, whether we converge in Majorca or Melbourne, St. Petersburg or San Francisco, that the magic of community reminds us of our common humanity and our citizenship in the world. As our community expands, we consistently recognize that the solutions to the problems of addiction require a community effort.

During this past four days we focused on four distinct areas of our work: The Original TC Concepts, the Evolution of the Modern TC, its Management and Administration, and last but not least Prevention and Intervention in Family and Community.

The conference opened with the parade of flags. It was a majestic feeling when Daytop residents wearing T-shirts from different programs from around the world came in to the “Fanfare of the Common Man.”-This moment brought meaning to the word World Federation.

For next 30 minutes we sat glued to our seats as we witnessed on screen the Journey of the TC movement and listened to our pioneers recounting their journey. I did not want for the movie to end. And my heart was filled with sadness as we saw our heroes who were not with us anymore.

Friends, fasten your seat belts as I take you for a quick spin around the past four days of our conference.

Believe it or not, during the last four days we had: 2 general plenary sessions, 11 Mini Plenary Sessions, 10 Technical Assistance and 55 Breakout sessions. All this was delivered by more 200 hundred speakers. WOW. We had 650 participants and 200 of them were presenters. Well, this was done in a true TC fashion, where we are students and teachers at the same time.

The Conference General Plenary…way back on Friday, (remember that?) gave us insight to addiction as a disease of the human brain, awareness of current and future visions on accountability and creativity and how to manage the TC in a changing world.

The Workshops that afternoon helped us to integrate and foster spirituality, improve retention and go beyond the TC to family and community. We learned that mothers and children required a healing community and services that are much greater than substance abuse issues alone.

If that wasn’t enough to consider, our Breakout sessions provided presentations from all four tracks.

When focusing on the evolution of the modern TC’s populations, setting and issues:

We continued, and rightfully so, to hear about the special consideration for women’s treatment, how to enhance treatment options for the dually diagnosed client and how the Ohio’s TC’s Initiative is bridging services in diverse settings.

Now, I don’t know about you…but by the time we were heading off to the United Nations, I felt intellectually satisfied and was ready for some fun. A quick change and off we went across town to one of the most recognizable buildings in NY…the United Nations.

It was here that one of the most significant elements of the TC…the “philosophy” was highlighted by no other than its author, Mr. Richard Beauvais. And the “kids” from the Daytop Choir gave us a musical rendition of those inspiring words.

For me personally, this was a magical moment: Meeting the man whose words have impacted the lives of thousands of people around the globe. I know first hand, from my travels, I have heard the philosophy in almost 15 languages. Many who have recited the philosophy for years now met the man who wrote it. Whew….boy was it not a packed first day.

Ok…so the next day, we all got up a little late…and thank God for “Ernesto,” the perfect conference weather (weather story).
Day Two’s Mini Plenary covered all four tracks.

Starting with the TC’s Original Concepts, the house was full to listen to the Advances and Challenges of Today’s TC by noted pioneers in the field. Martien Kooyman brought clarity and definition to the concept of addiction as a disorder rather than a disease. Naya Arbiter, talked about the necessity of the creation of a sanctuary in our programs, something that in today’s treatment world is severely threatened. Naya then asked us to reflect on a question: “if those of us who came with a T-shirt and jeans and today are in suits went back to the same TC will then be accepted?” Dr. Provet caught my attention when he said that the way out is to let others in.

Under Management and Administration of the Modern TC our next mini-plenary focused on Organizational Challenges with presentations from known experts in the field. Because today’s TC operates in a complex public health system, the strategies presented offered suggestions to ensure future stability.

Confirming our belief that trauma and substance abuse are linked, we heard that 30-60% of our clients meet the criteria for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The next plenary session spoke to us of improving TC treatment through research and evaluation and linking practice and research. Once again we hear the words “Evidence-based treatment” and learn that a client’s perspective is important in evaluating treatment quality and effectiveness.

Treatment of co-occurring disorders, also known as Dual Diagnosis…consistently challenges the modern TC. Prevalence, Etiology, Assessment and Treatment and experience inform us that the TC family is an effective healing environment for clients suffering from mental health issues.

Promoting Organizational Functioning and Change was the focus of a mini plenary involving panelists that provided research findings and practical experiences that tell us that organizational change based on research can be a positive force for system, staff, and client functioning. .

Saturday’s Technical Assistance Workshops gave us presentations in all four tracks including:

Creating Sanctuary through curriculum based teaching
Motivational Interviewing and its application within the TC
Assessing and Building Chemical Dependency Counselor Skills
And Implementing Seeking Safety Therapy
All workshops provided practical interventions that work.

Saturday’s Breakout sessions covered a wide range of topics relevant to current issues faced by TC professional in various settings and populations. These sessions ranged from Prison-based treatment to the utilization of Buprenorphine in TC. The emphasis of these sessions was on the needs of different populations, such as Adolescents, the elderly, families and women and children.

Saturday evening’s Awards Dinner provided the perfect atmosphere to honor excellence. Monsignor presided over this warm and touching ceremony. This year we honored Thom Brown, from INL, by awarding him the O. Hobar Mower Award, and there were three awardees for the Harry Sholl Award: Fr. Rahm, from Brazil, Dr. Shankman, from Second Genesis, and Dr. Bianca Costa-Bozzo from Italy. Although Dr. Costa-Bozzo was unable to attend, her son and nephew were able to accept the award on her behalf. I know we all send her prayers and wishes for a speedy recovery.

A nice surprise of the evening was the presentation of an award of recognition to Charles Devlin for his superb organization and skills for an immensely successful conference.

Sunday brought us an end to the rain, sunshine and a free day to explore New York City, the capital of the world. For some it was a chance to sleep in and rest, for others an opportunity to see the city that never sleeps, visit the empire state building, central park, visit the WTC memorial site, or hit the road for a visit to Daytop’s upstate facilities. The day was perfect to do almost anything. A special presentation of “The Concept” was held at WFTC headquarters and once again evoked emotion and appreciation of the TC’s impact. The WFTC held its annual board meeting.

Monday’s program, once again provided plenary sessions that covered our four tracks of interest. Cultural development and the challenge of diversity offered insights to cultural identity in the European, South American and Indian TC’s.

With an emphasis on the importance of research and evidence-based practice, we were exposed to the most recent exciting research outcomes in the forefront of criminal justice treatment, women’s population, and adolescent clients. The research implications and recommendations for clinical practice by research leaders in the field of TC’s and Special Populations were timely and highly relevant. These presentations also provided insight as to policy considerations.

Workforce development is a consistent concern for the managers and administrators of TC’s around the world. Staffing issues, training, motivating and retaining were some of the topics presented as crucial to the TC’s long-term survival.

Prevention and Intervention in the Community is a natural extension of the TC program. Creating healthy communities that support prevention facilitate empowerment, breaking the cycle of addiction while establishing relapse prevention effectiveness.

Family has always been the focus of our concerns and the mini plenary on Family Therapy provided relevant information and strategies for supporting family recovery, highlighting the complex interactions between addiction and family life as well as the challenges and benefits of integrative interventions with fractured families.

Monday’s TA workshops provided further explorations of treatment with special populations including, co-occurring disorders, clients with mental health, trauma and violent issues, adolescent outpatients. The Breakout session offered participants yet another opportunity to focus on a wide range of international experiences, concepts, challenges, strategies and perspectives. So many topics and not enough time!

Then we all gathered at BB King and this time our feet did the talking and danced with great music. When I saw George de Leon on the floor I know this must be therapeutic.

(Add on the feedback from the round table discussions)

Finally, I want to take a quote from Thomas Browne of INL, he said “ this the best program brochure that I have seen in a long time” He was referring to the design, layout, contents etc. It my single pleasure to introduce to the fanatic people who were this wonderful scientific program, so can please ask the scientific committee to stand up.