Ms. Naya Arbiter is a leader in the field of therapeutic rehabilitation for persons suffering from addiction. She is recognized nationally and internationally as a leader in developing new restorative paradigms for persons with histories of chronic addiction, criminality and violence. Naya Arbiter continues to develop and teach specialized curriculum for populations who have been ignored or underserved and is the principal of Extensions, LLC a private consulting group.
Naya Arbiter Conferee to the White House Conference for a Drug-Free America
editMs. Arbiter was one of 125 national experts on drug abuse selected by President Regan in 1987 to serve as a conferee to the White House Conference for a Drug-Free America. She played a key role in the development of the conferences' recommendations on drug abuse treatment and national policy for the President and Congress. Ms. Arbiter has presented on adolescent drug use, prevention, and treatment; cultural competence and has published articles on substance abuse in the Journal of Adolescent Research, American Jails, and the International Journal of Addictions, as well as contributing several chapters to books on these topics.
Early in 1990, Ms. Arbiter gave testimony regarding Drug Treatment in the Criminal Justice System to the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources under the Chair of Senator Edward M. Kennedy. Later in 1990, she was published in the United States Congressional Record, 101st Congress, Second Session on the topic of services to addicted women. She was also a member of the Inter-American Commission on Drug Policy, which made recommendations to all governments in the Western Hemisphere on a comprehensive drug policy.
Ms. Naya Arbiter's Current Work
editMs. Arbiter is currently developing a comprehensive written curriculum for a six-month residential therapeutic community for male and female adult substance abusers with extensive criminal histories who are under criminal justice (probation or parole) supervision. She is currently providing staff training for several organizations, including three who work intensively with criminal justice populations: Center Point, Inc. (San Rafael, California); Amity, Inc. (Tucson, Arizona); and the Amity Foundation of California. She is also providing consultation and training for states and jurisdictions developing therapeutic community interventions in correctional settings including the Alabama Department of Corrections, Connecticut Department of Corrections, Nevada Department of Prisons, Louisiana Department of Corrections, and Florida Department of Corrections, to name a few.
Ms. Arbiter has been a featured speaker at many national and international conferences and is called on frequently to speak about the culture of violence and degradation in which addicted women find themselves.
Ms. Naya Arbiter Selected Publications
editMullen, R., Schuettinger, M., Arbiter, N., and Conn, D. (1998) "Reducing Recidivism: Amity Foundation of California and the California Department of Corrections demonstrate how to do it." In Frontiers of Justice, Volume 2: Responding to Crime ed. Miller, T. Biddle Publishing Company, Brunswick, Maine.
Stevens, S.J., Arbiter, N. & McGrath, R. (1997) "Women and Children: Therapeutic Community Substance Abuse Treatment." In G. DeLeon (Ed.) Community as Method: Modified Therapeutic Communities for Special Populations in Special Settings. The Greenwood Publishing Group, NY
Stevens, S., Arbiter, N., and Mullen, R., and Murphy, B. (1996) "Issues and Intervention: Substance Abuse Treatment for Adolescents Using a Modified Therapeutic Community Model." in Inciardi, J, McCoy, C., and Metsch, L. Intervening with Drug Involved Youth. Sage Publications.
Stevens, S.J. and Arbiter, N. (1995) "A Therapeutic Community for Substance-Abusing Pregnant Women with Children: Process and Outcome. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs. Vol.27 (1) Jan-March 1995. Pps. 49-57
Mullen, R., Arbiter, N. (1992 ) Against The Odds: Therapeutic Community Approaches to Underclass Drug Abuse. In Peter Smith (ed.) Drug Policy in the Americas. Westview Press, Publishers, Boulder, Colorado.
Arbiter, N. (1991) Residential Programs for Women. NIDA National Conference on Drug Abuse Research & Practice "An Alliance for the 21st Century" Conference Highlights. Community and Professional Education Branch, Office of Policy and External Affairs, National Institute on Drug Abuse by CSR, Incorporated under Contract NO. 271-90-2205. DHHS Publication No.(ADM) 91-1818.