About the Author- Naya Arbiter
Naya ArbiterNaya Arbiter is the principal of Extensions, LLC, a private consulting group, which she founded. Ms. Arbiter has, in the past two years, been in twenty-two states consulting and providing training to state agencies and to professionals in human services. Simultaneously, she has continued her ground-breaking work in developing specialized curriculum for populations who have been ignored or underserved. Naya Arbiter's career spans over two decades during which she has developed services for pregnant addicts; addicted mothers and their children; teens with histories of chronic addiction, criminality, and violence; IDVU's and crack users at high risk of HIV infection; adolescent and adult addicts with lengthy histories of criminality and violence; and incarcerated substance abusers. She is nationally and internationally recognized for her ability to develop new restorative paradigms and practices for adults and adolescents, men and women who have been marginalized.
Naya 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 conference recommendations on drug abuse treatment 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.
Naya 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. 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 and her and company are 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 training for states and jurisdictions developing therapeutic community interventions in correctional settings: Alabama Department of Corrections, Connecticut Department of Corrections, Nevada Department of Prisons, Louisiana Department of Corrections, Florida Department of Corrections, etc.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Mullen, 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. "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. (1996) Sage Publications.
Mullen, R. and Naya Arbiter "Changing the Paradigm about Youth Violence and Drug Abuse" Prison Based Treatment Programs in America ed. Early, Kevin. (1996) Praeger.
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
Arbiter, N. "Hope for A Culture of Indifference and Hopelessness?" Perinatal
Addiction Research and Education Update, November 1993.
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.
Mullen, R. and Arbiter, N. and Glider, P.. "A comprehensive
Therapeutic Community Approach for Chronic Substance-Abusing Juvenile
Offenders: The Amity Model." In T. Armstrong (ed.) Intensive Interventions
with High Risk Youths: Promising Approaches in Juvenile Probation and
Parole. (1991) Criminal Justice Press (division of Willow Tree Press, Inc.)
Publishers, 1991, Monsey, New York 211-2430.
Arbiter, N. September 1992. Proceedings of the 13th World
Conference of Therapeutic Communities "Know Thyself". Sponsored by
World Federation of Therapeutic Communities. Presentations: Origins and
Basic Assumptions of the TC: Community-Building Technology; Women
Residents: Expanding Their Role to Increase Treatment Effectiveness in the
Therapeutic Community; Spirit of Community: Family Groups.
Stevens, S., Arbiter, N., and Glider, P. 1989 "Women Residents: Expanding Their Role to Increase Treatment Effectiveness." International Journal of Addictions.
Glider, P., Stevens, S., and Arbiter, N. 1988. "Adolescent Substance Abusers: Ethnic Differences in Treatment Effectiveness." Journal of Adolescent Research.
Arbiter, N. 1988. "Drug Treatment in a Direct Supervision Jail: Pima County's Amity Jail Project." American Jails.
