World-renowned speaker and author Dr. Patrick Carnes will give the key-note address at the start of the Multi-Addictions Conference beginning next week.

The three-day conference is designed to help attendees understand and prevent all kinds of addiction and is being hosted by the Ministry of Health and Family Services from Thursday, March 31 to April 2 at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess Hotel.

Dr. Carnes, a certified sexual addiction therapist is an expert on addiction and recovery issues, most notable in the area of sex addiction.

He is the founder and current co-editor of Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity: The Journal of Treatment and Prevention and is a best-selling author.

Dr. Carnes will give the key-note address on What is Addiction at 6.15-7.45 p.m. on Thursday, March 31.

For a $50 fee the public can hear Dr. Carnes? address, as well as addresses by several other highly-regarded international speakers who will talk about all kinds of addictions including substance abuse, sex addiction, financial disorders, eating disorders and cyber sex. The fee includes lunch.

On Friday April 1, a special ?Youth Track? portion of the conference is being offered free of charge to young people.

Other speakers include:

? Julie Holland, who has specialised in the treatment of self-esteem, eating and body image issues for adults and adolescents for over 23 years

? Dr. Donald R. Vereen, Jr. is the Special Assistant to the Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse at the National Institutes of Health in the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Online registration is at www.gov.bm. Telephone registration is by calling 294-3040 or 292-9741, ext. 104.