Join Caregiver Action Network’s Upcoming Webinar
From Daily Management to Sustainable Care: Long-acting Medication, System Barriers, and Caregiver Relief
January 22, 2026 — 1:00 p.m. EST
Long-acting medication/injectable (LAI & LAM) and long-acting medication (LAM) treatments can support continuity of care for individuals living with serious mental illness, while also easing the burden on family caregivers. Yet caregivers often face significant emotional, logistical, and system barriers, especially during periods of uncertainty, delayed diagnosis, and fragmented care.
This webinar explores LAIs/LAMs as a caregiving support tool, examining how long-acting treatment pathways can reduce daily treatment demands, improve communication with care teams, and help caregivers navigate insurance and access challenges. Featuring clinical, community, and lived-experience perspectives, the discussion centers caregiver mental health, advocacy, and equity, while highlighting unbranded educational resources that can help caregivers better understand treatment options and reduce uncertainty.
What You Will Learn
Meet the Hosts
Featuring voices from community leadership, lived experience, and clinical expertise, this conversation will highlight first-person caregiver perspectives—particularly in schizophrenia caregiving—alongside community and clinical insights, underscoring the importance of equitable, accessible, and caregiver-centered mental health support. The discussion will also highlight unbranded educational resources, including tools such as Teva’s LAI Tool, that can help caregivers better understand treatment options, advocate effectively, and reduce uncertainty across LAI care journeys.
Moderated by Caregiver Action Network’s Marvell Adams Jr. and Chance Browning.
Carolyn Rekerdres MD | Medical Expert, Pecan Valley
Dr. Rekerdres is native Texan and dedicated community psychiatrist with experience in providing recovery oriented Psychiatric treatment to individuals with severe and persistent mental illness. She graduated college cum laude with a degree in Philosophy from the University of Dallas. From there, she went on to earn her doctorate in medicine from UTMB in Galveston, TX and then completed her psychiatric residency at UT Southwestern in Dallas, TX where she serves an adjunct clinical professor for the rural psychiatry track.
Dr. Rekerdres has clinical experience in Emergency Psychiatry, Inpatient Psychiatry, Rural Psychiatry, Homeless Psychiatry, Medication Assisted Treatments, Telepsychiatry, First Episode Psychosis, Family and Couples Therapy, IDD populations with dual diagnosis mental health issues and Assertive Community Treatment. She has a primary clinical focus in psychotic illnesses and comorbid substance use disorders. She also has Psychiatric Administrative experience as the former Medical Director of Child and Family Guidance Center in Dallas, the former Chair of the Psychiatric Leadership Advisory Group for the North Texas Behavioral Health Authority and currently she is the Associate Medical Director of Pecan Valley Center in Texas. Dr. Rekerdres has served as a member of the National Council for Mental Wellbeing’s Medical Director Institute since 2017 and is an inaugural member of NAMI’s scientific advisory board.
Kristy Stonehill
Kristy Stonehill has served as an advocate in several capacities over the past twenty years. She currently serves as the Director for her local NAMI Affiliate and has lived experience as a caregiver supporting an individual diagnosed with a psychotic illness.
Lisa Bright | Founder & Executive Director, Will Bright Foundation
Lisa Bright is the mother, founder and CEO of the Will Bright Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to breaking the barriers between addiction and recovery through awareness, education, advocacy, and transitional living. After losing her son, Will, to a heroin overdose, Lisa and her husband transformed personal tragedy into a mission of hope and restoration for others.
Lisa served as an elected Trussville City Councilor and Council President and has worked extensively at the local, state, and national levels on opioid policy and recovery initiatives. She is a national board member of Voices for Non-Opioid Choices and has spoken on Capitol Hill advocating for legislation to address the opioid crisis and currently serves on Governor Ivey’s Opioid Task Force.
A former business owner with 24 years of entrepreneurial experience, Lisa brings a strategic, compassionate, and results-driven approach to leadership. She is also a co-founder of Huskies Together, focused on student mental health, and was recognized on Positive Maturity’s Top 50 Over 50 list. Lisa and her husband, Bill, have two daughters and four grandchildren.
Maria Case | Family Caregiver & Advocate Founder of Kompashion
Maria Case is a first-generation Latina entrepreneur and founder of Kompashion, a nonprofit organization that provides free consultations with providers while hosting community events to raise mental health awareness. As a caregiver for her mother who lives with schizophrenia, Maria brings lived experience navigating medication management, including long-acting injectables, and understands firsthand the challenges families face in accessing quality mental health care. As one of the few Latina voices openly addressing mental illness and caregiving, Maria is passionate about breaking the silence in minority communities and ensuring families receive the culturally-informed support and resources they need.
Made possible with support from Teva Pharmaceuticals.
About Teva Pharmaceuticals:
Teva Pharmaceuticals is a global pharmaceutical company focused on improving patient access to medicines. Teva develops and provides a broad portfolio of generic and specialty treatments, including therapies for mental health, with a commitment to education, innovation, and patient-centered care.
About Caregiver Action Network (CAN):
Caregiver Action Network (www.CaregiverAction.org) is the nation’s leading family caregiver organization working to improve the quality of life for more than 90 million Americans who care for loved ones with chronic conditions, disabilities, disease or who are meeting the living needs of older adults. CAN serves a broad spectrum of family caregivers ranging from the parents of children with significant health needs to the families and friends of wounded soldiers, from a young couple dealing with a diagnosis of MS to adult children caring for parents with Alzheimer’s disease. CAN reaches caregivers on multiple platforms. CAN (the National Family Caregivers Association) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization providing education, peer support, and resources to family caregivers across the country free of charge.
