HYBRID EVENT: You can participate in person at Orlando, Florida, USA or Virtually from your home or work.

6th Edition of Global Conference on

Addiction Medicine, Behavioral Health and Psychiatry

October 20-22, 2025 | Orlando, Florida, USA

GAB 2024

Visual cues trigger emotions

Speaker at Addiction Medicine, Behavioral Health and Psychiatry 2024 - Mia W McNary
Artist and Visual Storyteller, “Picture Recovery”, United States
Title : Visual cues trigger emotions

Abstract:

Picture Recovery is a visual roadmap through the journey of alcohol recovery. It's much easier to remember a picture than words, and with 65 percent of the population identifying as a visual learner, this is the only book of its kind in the alcoholism recovery category. This visual aid (relatable images!) is intended to help people stay on the recovery path. It's a great companion to attending meetings, other literature and connecting with people doing well in the program. Mia’s readers should be confident that this is a necessary companion to attendingmeetings because she used it herself and is now close to three decades sober! It is difficult to recall what is said in meetings, especially at the beginning of the journey, and this was the recall tool she relied on, especially in difficult times. Created from over 30 years of Mia’s sobriety journey attending meetings, Picture Recovery is a reminder to slow down, and find more self compassion. Mia’s goal is to help others like herself who need visuals to retain the suggestions of the program. This book was created to help people recall the incredible suggestions heard in recovery rooms. These images are a reminder to all suffering that each day is an opportunity to discover an amazing potential. Picture Recovery’s goal is to have the reader spot their true super sober self. Together with her editor, the books’ mission is to help save one life.

Audience Takeaway Notes:

  • Picture Recovery will help those struggling with addiction to have visual tools toretain these new suggestions heard in meetings, and to be able to recall later when needed. Especially in a crisis moment, it’s much easier to remember a picture than words, and the idea is so simple-it’s bite-sized graphics depicting recurring themes heard in meetings. Today’s reader needs and wants to digest visually, with updated graphics for today’s evolving language, intended to be understood at a glance.
  • Picture Recovery is an integrated approach to help the visual learner who needs to understand and learn how to live the BIG PICTURE of the recovery process. By using visually engaging, bite-size images to demonstrate the steps of recovery, there’s an opportunity to go at the reader’s pace, visually digesting actions that take place at each stage. It’s imperative to think about the journey and the visual aids necessary, in a manner that supports the learning path of 65 percent of the population.

Biography:

Educated at Carnegie Mellon University and at Studio Art Center International in Florence, Italy, Owner of Masters In Art Studio Chicago,IL. McNary worked in the advertising industry for years. Mia is married with three adult kids, is the published author of ”Picture Recovery,” and an advocate for autism and always sketching her life journey. -Sober date 1/3/1995

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