Family First hosted its second annual Adolescent Clinical Excellence (ACE) conference in Nashville, Tennessee in May. Unlike last year’s event, this year’s ACE event was held live and in person, drawing speakers and participants from all over the country to learn about and discuss today’s best practices and treatments in adolescent mental health and substance use disorders. The two-day event took place at the W Hotel in downtown Nashville.  “The purpose to bringing everyone together at the ACE conference is so that maybe they can meet someone, or learn something that they can then take back to their practice and help save a child’s life” said James McManus Owner and CEO of Family First. Having these professionals gather in one location to lecture, learn, and interact with one another brings out the true spirit of the conference. All of the 2022 participants are so passionate about their role in assisting adolescents, and being together in this way generated some very positive and productive energy. We know that the same positive and productive energy will carry over to next year’s conference slated for Spring 2023.      https://youtu.be/s2MoYn3E50U The 2022 ACE agenda drew from three primary pillars of adolescent care: treatment modalities, family systems, and trauma-informed care. The agenda featured more than 30 clinical educators from a diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise. Specific workshops and lectures included topics such as mental health and addiction treatment, digital use disorders, faith and its relationship to treatment, family relationships with LGBTQIA+ adolescents, ADHD and executive functioning, resiliency through sociometrics, core complexities of trauma, eating disorders, and demystification of telehealth.   Formal sessions were interspersed with networking breaks for participants to engage with speakers and one another to further explore the lecture topics and determine how they might be applied to their respective organizations, practices, and patients.  “It’s not like anything else,” said Brandy Klingman, CEO and Owner of STC Addiction Wellness. “There are clinical presentations, so that you can get your clinical training, but it is also very beneficial to business marketing. The ACE conference truly helps you expand your resources for your clients and grow your business at the same time.”  While a great deal of the time was spent in professional education and development, attendees were also given the opportunity to explore Nashville and take in a live performance by Blue October front man Justin Furstenfeld. The concert was held at the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum. There were also opportunities for free Yoga and casual receptions for socializing and talking through the day’s topics and take-aways.  Family First served as ACE’s presenting sponsor. Adolescent Recovery of Cumberland Heights was the Diamond Sponsor. Newport Healthcare and Silver Hill Hospital were the Platinum Sponsors, and the Gold Sponsors were Pyramid Healthcare, Embark, and Visions. Silver and Bronze Sponsors included Aware Recovery Care, Charlie Health, The Berman Center, Caron, NYCFL, Skyland Trail, and SUWS.  In addition to speakers, Family First is tremendously grateful for all of the sponsors that made ACE so successful this year. We had tremendous support from organizations of all sizes, and their generous participation and financial commitments were crucial to the overall success of the conference.  We are excited to announce that the 2023 ACE conference will once again be hosted in Nashville next Spring. Check out the ACE Conference website to stay up to date on time, location and speakers for next year’s event.    The goal is to evolve ACE into the preeminent adolescent care conference in the world. There is so much value in having leaders in the adolescent treatment field gather and share their knowledge and experiences. Just like guests of ACE Conference 2022, we can’t wait to see you in Nashville for the 3rd Annual ACE Conference! 

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