The Treatment Advocacy Center will be hosting the first ever National Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) Symposium on October 10-11 in Columbus, Ohio. The free event will be open to teams from communities throughout the country interested in developing a new program or improving one already in existence.

The symposium will:

• Showcase model Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) programs;
• Highlight the core elements of effective programs;
• Emphasize the importance of treatment engagement using the “black robe effect” and support and encouragement by the treatment team;
• Offer a road map on how to implement an AOT program and improve and sustain existing programs; and
• Provide an opportunity for judges, mental health professionals, attorneys, advocates, family members and individuals living with mental illness, to hear from and discuss concerns, challenges and successes with their counterparts.