11-year follow-up of mortality in patients with schizophrenia: a population-based cohort study (FIN11 study)

An article published online today by The Lancet:

By Jari Tiihonen, Jouko Lönnqvist, Kristian Wahlbeck, Timo Klaukka, Leo Niskanen, Antti Tanskanen, and Jari Haukka

Background
The introduction of second-generation antipsychotic drugs during the 1990s is widely believed to have adversely affected mortality of patients with schizophrenia. Our aim was to establish the long-term contribution of antipsychotic drugs to mortality in such patients.

Methods
Nationwide registers in Finland were used to compare the cause-specific mortality in 66,881 patients versus the total population (5.2 million) between 1996, and 2006, and to link these data with the use of antipsychotic drugs. We measured the all-cause mortality of patients with schizophrenia in outpatient care during current and cumulative exposure to any antipsychotic drug versus no use of these drugs, and exposure to the six most frequently used antipsychotic drugs compared with perphenazine use.

Findings
Although the proportional use of second-generation antipsychotic drugs rose from 13% to 64% during follow-up, the gap in life expectancy between patients with schizophrenia and the general population did not widen between 1996 (25 years), and 2006 (22·5 years). Compared with current use of perphenazine, the highest risk for overall mortality was recorded for quetiapine (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 1·41, 95% CI 1·09–1·82), and the lowest risk for clozapine (0·74, 0·60–0·91; p=0·0045 for the difference between clozapine vs perphenazine, and p<0·0001 for all other antipsychotic drugs). Long-term cumulative exposure (7–11 years) to any antipsychotic treatment was associated with lower mortality than was no drug use (0·81, 0·77–0·84). In patients with one or more filled prescription for an antipsychotic drug, an inverse relation between mortality and duration of cumulative use was noted (HR for trend per exposure year 0·991; 0·985–0·997).

Interpretation
Long-term treatment with antipsychotic drugs is associated with lower mortality compared with no antipsychotic use. Second-generation drugs are a highly heterogeneous group, and clozapine seems to be associated with a substantially lower mortality than any other antipsychotics. Restrictions on the use of clozapine should be reassessed.

Funding
Annual EVO Financing (Special government subsidies from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Finland).

To download the entire article, please click here (PDF).

Posting of this abstract is for the purposes of research into schizophrenia.

Housing First ACT Team

To understand 'housing first' and Assertive Community Treatment (ACT), the following is an excellent overview.

From the RainCity Housing and Support Society's website:

Housing First ACT Team

In response to the growing challenge of homelessness in Canada, the Mental Health Commission of Canada is sponsoring Research Development Projects on Mental Health and Homelessness. These projects will take place in five cities across Canada, including Vancouver, with services beginning in September 2009 and ending on March 31, 2013.

Each project is designed to answer questions about what services and supports best achieve housing stability and improved health and well-being for persons who are homeless and living with a serious mental illness.

In Vancouver, the research will also have a focus on people with a concurrent substance addiction. It will be conducted on four service models:

• An Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) team with rent supplements

• An Intensive Case Management team with rent supplements

• A staffed building with clinical and support services

• The usual care provided in the community

RainCity Housing’s ACT team

RainCity Housing’s role in the Vancouver Project Team is developing the ACT team. The ACT team is based on the Pathways to Housing model from New York which incorporates a ‘housing first’ approach into the Assertive Community Treatment model.

Housing first is a recovery-oriented supportive housing approach that offers homeless people living with a mental illness immediate access to rent supplements so they can live in the same kinds of apartments that are typically available to people that don’t have a mental illness.

The rent supplements are provided without requiring participation in psychiatric or substance use treatment and will be available to clients throughout the course of the project. Self-determination, choice and harm reduction are at the centre of all considerations with respect to the provision of housing and ACT services.

ACT is a well researched evidence-based transdisciplinary model that includes a broad array of clinical and support services. The team will support 100 clients at a client-staff ratio of 10:1. 80% of the work will occur in the community and crisis support is available seven days a week, 24 hours a day. Program staff are closely involved in hospital admissions and discharges. Clients will be randomly assigned to the ACT team by the research team.

The Healthy Minds Cooperative

From the Healthy Minds Cooperative website:

The Healthy Minds Cooperative is a member owned and democratically controlled not-for-profit enterprise. Its shareholders are people who possess lived experience with mental illness, and/or an interest in the topic of mental health.

What is the Healthy Minds Co-op about?

The Co-op is about people who have mental illness/mental health issues helping themselves.

It is made up of people who are committed to improving mental health in their communities. Many of its members have experience with mental illness or mental health issues, and know there is a need for change in the system and society. HMCo-op provides public education to reduce the stigma of mental illness offers peer support and facilitates connections to community services.

The Co-op has identified five areas of priorities, they are:

• Better access to mental health services

• Public education regarding mental illness

• More participation of those with lived experience in the design, development, delivery and evaluation of mental health services

• Providing peer-support and advocacy for consumers and their families

• Developing better connections to existing community services
  

To contact the Healthy Minds Cooperative, call (902) 404-3504 or send an email to info@healthyminds.ca.

Proceedings of the Senate Subcommittee on Cities

I saw this on CPAC yesterday. It was a very informative session to view, in my opinion.

From June 5th, 2009:

Today we are having a round table discussion about national strategies on poverty, housing and homelessness. As you know, last June, after quite a number of hearings, we produced an issues and options paper on this subject. Many of the people who came before the committee, both on our road trips and here in Ottawa, said let us have a national strategy on poverty; let us have a national strategy on housing and on homelessness.

We will explore further today how we should develop our recommendations relevant to the federal government dealing with these issues. We will consider whether it should be called a national strategy or whether another approach should be taken.

To read the entire transcript, please click here.

Howard Hyde Death Inquiry: System failing mentally ill

An editorial published in today's edition of The Chronicle Herald:

THE SYSTEM for dealing with mental health emergencies in Nova Scotia broke down almost totally in the tragic case leading to the death of Howard Hyde.

A judicial inquiry into the circumstances of the Dartmouth man’s death in November 2007 has so far heard just a few days of testimony. Even so, it’s already abundantly clear that both better training for police officers on how to handle mental health cases as well as a stronger commitment across the justice system to properly deal with mental health issues are urgently needed.

When Mr. Hyde, who weeks earlier had stopped taking his medications to treat his schizophrenia, became violent on the night of Nov. 21, his common-law wife appropriately called the mental health emergency help line.

Mr. Hyde never got the help he needed.

Records show dispatch informed the officers of the mental health nature of the call. Mr. Hyde’s widow has testified she told at least one officer of her husband’s schizophrenia and the fact he’d been off his medications. Despite that, the officer who arrested Mr. Hyde told the inquiry he doesn’t recall any evidence at the scene that would have led him to reasonably assume a mental health problem.

After Mr. Hyde was Tasered twice at the police station after trying to escape and had to be revived using CPR, he was taken to the QEII emergency. The doctor who examined him obviously believed Mr. Hyde had mental health issues, as she gave the officers directions to return him to hospital if he could not get a psychiatric evaluation.

Her instructions were ignored. Instead, Mr. Hyde stayed in police custody, made a court appearance and then spent the night in the correctional facility in Burnside. When his wife called there to inform them of Mr. Hyde’s mental health condition, she testified staff told her they couldn’t deal with her because of confidentiality concerns.

The next morning, Mr. Hyde collapsed after a physical struggle with jail staff. He was pronounced dead at hospital shortly afterwards.

The police have admitted they could use more training on dealing with mental health issues.

There are still weeks of testimony left for Judge Anne Derrick to hear. The inquiry cannot find anyone liable, criminally or civilly.

Still, it’s clear the system badly mishandled a case involving mental health. Since Mr. Hyde was hardly the first or last person with mental health problems to come in contact with law enforcement, we look forward to Judge Derrick’s ideas on how to best fix what’s broken.

Fatality Inquiry Into the Death of Howard Hyde -- Live Web-Cast and Video Archive

ONGOING

The Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia (SSNS) has standing at this inquiry and is represented by a total of five (5) lawyers, all of whom are working on a pro bono basis. The SSNS thanks Blair Mitchell (lead counsel), Angela Byrne, Michele Cleary, Marion Ferguson, and Sharmi Jaggi.

Howard Hyde

Adapted from the Nova Scotia Department of Justice's Howard Hyde website (the proceedings commence at 9:30 am on each day listed below):

Pursuant to the Fatality Investigations Act, S.N.S. 2001 C. 31

Presiding:
The Honourable Judge Anne Derrick of the Nova Scotia Provincial Court

Inquiry Counsel:
Dan MacRury Q.C., Chief Crown Attorney for the Cape Breton Region

Schedule:
July 6-10, July 13-17, July 20-24, August 4-7, and August 10-14, 2009

Location:
The Law Courts, 1815 Upper Water Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia - Courtroom #304

Video and audio of the Inquiry will be streamed live on the scheduled hearing dates (above).

To view proceedings live, please click below:

LIVE WEB-CAST OF HYDE INQUIRY

To view archived recordings of completed proceedings, please click below:

HYDE INQUIRY ARCHIVE

Also see:

Saturday, July 11th

Hyde: 'What are you doing?'

Friday, July 10th

Screams of tasered man fill Halifax court room

N.S. inquiry shown video of police shocking Hyde with Taser

Inquiry sees video of mentally ill man being Tasered, 30 hours before his death [To view the entire video, please click here, select Session 19, and move the slider to time 19:45.]

The inquiry into the death of Howard Hyde was shown jail cell video of his altercation with police officers just before he was tasered. Jennifer Stewart reports. (CBC News, RealVideo clip, runs 1:52)

Hyde’s mental health had cop radios buzzing

Thursday, July 9th

Halifax police knew man they stunned was unstable, inquiry hears

Wednesday, July 8th

More training might help police deal with the mentally ill: N.S. police officer

Police admit they need more mental health training

Tuesday, July 7th

Hyde needed psychiatric help, widow tells inquiry

Treatment of mentally ill also part of Hyde story


Monday, July 6th:

Hyde video can't be downloaded, judge rules

Judge will not allow taser footage online

An inquiry into the death of a Dartmouth man who died after he was tasered by police, is now underway. Jennifer Stewart reports. (1:58 | RealVideo)

Canadian hospital pioneers mental-health treatment

An article published is yesterday's edition of The Globe and Mail:

By Anne McIlroy

A Canadian psychiatric hospital will be the first in the world to use a combination of genetic testing and brain imaging to help determine the best course of treatment for patients with schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder and other mental illnesses.

A few dozen patients will take part starting in the fall, and the experimental program will slowly ramp up to include 100 people, says James Kennedy, director of the neuroscience research department at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto. If it proves successful, the program will be a step toward giving psychiatrists more precise tools to assess patients with common psychiatric conditions.

“It is a small revolution, a great opportunity to change, in a fundamental way, how we treat patients,” says Dr. Kennedy, who along with his colleague, Sylvain Houle, is leading the new research initiative.

To read the entire article, please click here.

Also see:

CAMH combines genetics with brain imaging to personalize treatment for mental illness and addictions

I thank John Devlin for bringing this article to my attention.

Strengthening Families Together (SFT) Online Project

The Schizophrenia Society of Ontario has posted a series of videos adapted from the Strengthening Families Together (SFT) program developed by the Schizophrenia Society of Canada. To view the videos, please click here.




In-person delivery of SFT by the Halifax Chapter of the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia will resume in the fall of 2009 in both Halifax and Windsor. To register for either of these 10-week SFT sessions, please contact contact Donna Methot at (902) 462-8658 or send an email to hrmchapterssns@accesswave.ca.

SSNS "Recovery" Quilt Raffle

The Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia is raffling a hand-made "Recovery" Quilt valued at over $1,000. A photograph of the queen-sized quilt is shown below.

Tickets are $2 each or three (3) for $5. To purchase tickets online, please click here. The draw date is Thursday, October 1st, 2009.



Please click on the photograph to enlarge it.


The "Recovery" Quilt depicts life after a diagnosis of mental illness. Picking up the pieces to create something beautiful and functional, yet often different from what we had initially intended.

The Iris represents the individual; and the blades of grass, the support system. Supports include: family, friends, caregivers, co-workers, medical staff, education, skills, jobs, housing, religion, community and various organizations. All help weather the storm; for alone the Iris is vulnerable and frail.

The checkerboard border is suggestive of the journey, and how each move we make has an impact on the outcome.

The gently scalloped edge illustrates that the road to recovery is not always straight, we have to expect some curves along the way.

In 1994, The Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia chose the Iris as an emblem for its crusade against mental illness. The Iris’ three petals represent courage, wisdom and hope. The Iris takes its name from the Greek word for “rainbow”.

The "Recovery" Quilt was hand-made by Cecilia McRae and Roberta Smith. It was hand-quilted by the Merigomish Presbyterian Church Guild in 2009.

Nova Scotia Lottery License No: AGA-223603-09

Gene clues to schizophrenia risk

An article posted July 1st by BBC News:

Scientists have identified thousands of tiny genetic variations which together could account for more than a third of the inherited risk of schizophrenia.

They also showed the condition is genetically similar to bipolar disorder also known as manic depression.

The findings came from work by three separate teams, who analysed DNA from thousands of people.

The studies - the biggest ever into the genetics of schizophrenia - appear in the journal Nature.

The findings suggest that schizophrenia is much more complex than previously thought, and can arise not only from rare genetic variants, but common ones as well.

It is hoped the work could lead to new diagnostic tests and treatments for the condition.

To read the entire article, please click here.

Also see:

Common polygenic variation contributes to risk of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder

Hoopla, and Disappointment, in Schizophrenia Research

men-tal'-i-ty magazine ...

...now has a website. Please click here to visit it.


I thank John Devlin for bringing this website to my attention.

Evergreen Child and Youth Mental Health Survey

Posted yesterday on the Teen Mental Health Blog:

Evergreen Child and Youth Mental Health

View more documents from Dr. stan Kutcher.

Canada has a proud history of valuing health care as part of the fabric of this country and a basic right for all citizens. However, despite our commitment to overall health care, our attention to mental health care is overdue.

In Canada, approximately 1 in 5 children and adolescents experience some form of mental disorder. Most major mental disorders begin prior to the age of 25, making this period a critical time for the promotion and treatment of mental health problems.

One of the key initiatives of the Mental Health Commission of Canada is to develop a Mental Health Strategy for Canada. As part of the strategy the Child and Youth Advisory Committee of the Mental Health Commission of Canada will support the development of a framework specific to the needs of child and youth mental health.

We need your help!!

We invite all Canadians to share their thoughts and opinions in an online survey about values and principles relating to child and youth mental health.

TAKE THE SURVEY NOW

The survey [please click here] will take about 30 minutes to complete (but you can save your answers and come back to it at any time).

It is important that we get the thoughts and opinions from as many different people as possible. Please pass this information along to your network, family, friends, or anyone who you think should join this consultation.

Consultation on the Ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Submission Deadline, Friday, July 31st!

From the Human Resources and Skills Development Canada website:

Minister’s greeting

Welcome and thank you for visiting our consultation Web site.

Canada’s signing of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in March 2007 demonstrates our government’s commitment to advancing the rights of persons with disabilities.

Human Resources and Skills Development Canada is seeking input from Canadian organizations, individuals residing in Canada, and any Canadian citizens residing abroad who are interested in sharing their views on the ratification, implementation and reporting of the Convention. In particular, we encourage people with disabilities and those who are familiar with disability issues to participate and have a voice in this consultation. Your experience and knowledge on these issues make your contribution essential to this process.

You will be able to provide your comments through the consultation Web site until July 31, 2009. Web-based consultations are an innovative way to reach people across Canada by providing them with a means of participating from the comfort of their own home or office. The Web site features many resources and background information, which are meant to guide you as you fill out the consultation questionnaire. Among others, you will find links to the full text of the Convention, as well as an illustrated and simplified text version.

I strongly encourage you to create a link to the consultation Web site from your own Web site, and to share the link freely with others who may have an interest in taking part in this consultation.

Thank you for your participation, and I look forward to receiving your feedback.

Yours sincerely,

The Hon. Diane Finley, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development

Dedicated group

A letter to the editor published in today's edition of The Chronicle Herald:

I was touched by Heather Amos’s June 20 story subtitled "Mother: With no services to help her daughter, she’ll continue to run away," about Kim Clark and her daughter Koral Lynn [pictured].

I would like Ms. Clark to know that there is a dedicated group of community leaders who are volunteering their time to raise funds so that her daughter will have a place to heal and recover.

The Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia is in the early stages of our province’s first-ever capital campaign for mental health. The Opening Minds Capital Campaign is raising funds for the construction of new residences that will be home to individuals who have experienced a period of stability and are ready to begin their transition back into the community.

If you’ve driven down Pleasant Street in Dartmouth lately, you will have noticed a dramatic change in the skyline as Simpson Hall at the Nova Scotia Hospital site comes down to make way for these new residences.

We’re also creating a dedicated fund for mental health care programs throughout Nova Scotia so that patients have access to services and support closer to the place they live.

I would like to commend Ms. Clark for fighting for a better quality of life for her daughter and thank her for sharing her story.

Our group of volunteers is committed to a better quality of life for the one in five Nova Scotians who have a mental illness. For more information, visit www.mentalhealthns.ca.

Greg Grice, Regional President
Atlantic Provinces, RBC
Chair, Opening Minds Capital Campaign

A New Kind of First Aid

July 23rd and 24th, 2009!

From the Nova Scotia Department of Health website:

Research shows that at some point in their lives, mental health problems affect one in three Canadians. So the chances are good that each of us knows someone with a mental health problem such as a substance-related disorder, depression, anxiety, or a psychotic disorder.

While thousands of people across the country know how to provide first aid to someone with a physical injury, a lot fewer people are able to recognize the signs of and support someone needing mental health first aid. But that’s changing thanks to a new mental health first aid training program for the general public, being offered coast-to-coast by Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Canada.

"Mental health first aid is help for a person experiencing a mental health problem or a mental health crisis. Just like physical first aid, the goal is to offer a person immediate assistance until they can receive appropriate professional treatment or until the crisis is over," says Tony Prime, Instructor, MHFA.

MHFA Canada is an interactive course for anyone and no previous mental health experience is necessary. It can benefit teachers, health care professionals, emergency service workers, human resource professionals, employers, managers and supervisors, community groups, and the public.

The 12-hour course provides general information about what is meant by mental health problems and illnesses, how to identify signs of mental health problems in yourself and others, effective interventions and treatments, and how to support an individual and help them find out about and access the professional help they may need.

It also dispels common myths surrounding mental health problems and reduces the stigma around mental illness, since estimates suggest that more than half of people with a mental health problem will never seek treatment.

"The course doesn’t train people to diagnose mental illness or be a therapist or counselor," says Prime. "It provides the first aider with actions to guide a person in need to appropriate professional help when a problem first arises. We know the sooner a person with a mental health problem gets help, the better their chances of recovery.”"

More information about mental health first aid can be found at www.mentalhealthfirstaid.ca.

For more information, contact:

Tony Prime, Instructor
Phone: (902) 424-7235
Email: primets@gov.ns.ca


Schedule
Thursday & Friday, July 23 & 24, 2009
Boardroom 11
Joseph Howe Building
1690 Hollis St., Halifax, Nova Scotia

Monday & Tuesday, August 24 & 25 , 2009
Same location as above.

Tuesday & Wednesday, September 8 & 9, 2009
Same location as above.

Thursday & Friday, September 24 & 25, 2009
Same location as above.

Tuesday & Wednesday, October 6 & 7, 2009
Same location as above.

Thursday & Friday, October 22 & 23, 2009
Same location as above.

Thursday & Friday, November 26 & 27, 2009
Same location as above.

Thursday & Friday, December 10 & 11, 2009
Same location as above.


Registration

Registration Fee:

Approximately $35.00 if lunch on own and free room rental (free room rental is the case for all sessions listed above).

If room rental and catering is required, and/or travel for instructor, the registration will be $120.00.

Register by Phone or Email:

Instructor: Tony Prime
Phone: (902) 424-7235
Email: primets@gov.ns.ca

Admit you have an illness

An article published in today's edition of The Chronicle Herald:

By Christine Stapleton {pictured]

IN 1957, the American Medical Association accepted alcoholism as an illness. At about the same time, alcoholism found a place in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual — the hallowed handbook that doctors use to diagnose mental illness (and that insurance companies use to deny your claim).

In other words, alcoholism is an illness. It is a mental illness. People who have alcoholism, like me, are not weak or lacking discipline. In fact, most of the alcoholics I know — in recovery and still drinking — are very strong and very disciplined. That’s how we convince ourselves that we are in control and what makes us so annoying.

Learning that alcoholism is a legitimate illness helped me immensely. It gave me some self-esteem, hope and the final word in conversations with know-it-alls who believe we could quit drinking if we really, really tried: "Well I guess you know more than the American Medical Association because the AMA decided that alcoholism is an illness 50 years ago."

Depression is different. There are a lot of people who admit that depression is a real illness. They feign sympathy and tell you about someone else’s struggle with depression.

But you can tell by their zealous enthusiasm that they don’t really believe it. I hate to admit this: I was among them.

I knew that Hippocrates declared depression a real illness several thousand years before the American Psychiatric Association.

Folks that I admired — Michelangelo, Eric Clapton and the guy who played Beaver’s brother, Wally — all suffered from depression. But when dealing with someone with depression, I privately thought: "Get a grip already, will ya?"

When I was diagnosed with a depression — a major clinical depression — what helped me more than the manuals and medical endorsements were the aw-shucks comments from friends: "I’ve been on antidepressants for years." Or, "Actually, I am on two antidepressants." Or, "I have to be on either antidepressants or hormones or I’m a mess."

Really? Who would have guessed?

The moral is simple: Do whatever it takes to accept and forgive yourself for being mentally ill.

Also see:

Accepting problems hard, but worth it

Summer party raises thousands to help homeless

Posted today on myKawartha.com:

By Lois Tuffin

The two worlds couldn't be further apart.

Mentally ill people living on the streets. The ultra wealthy on a manicured lawn, dropping $20 bills on raffle tickets then bidding thousands of dollars on auction items.

These two worlds crossed paths Saturday night as Farsad Kiani and Joan Bush opened their north-end property to 417 guests in hopes of raising $100,000 to support a program that supports street people with mental illness so they can move into stable housing and get help for their addictions and health problems. Mr. Kiani is president and CEO of Ensil International Corporation, an electronics engineering company whose Canadian head office is based in Markham.

He hosts fundraisers at his farm regularly, supporting the Alzheimer Society, Princess Margaret Hospital and other health-related charities. However, he turned his attention to the Peterborough branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) when he learned one of its vital programs was in jeopardy if not funded.

The Peterborough Homelessness Outreach and Support Project's two case workers, nurse practitioner, registered nurse and trustee work with clients to secure housing, basic health care, mental health and addictions services to break the cycle of repeated visits to the shelters. In the past year, it has served more than 200 clients and has moved 90 of them into proper homes.

The program was facing a $115,000 shortfall next year.

When Mr. Kiani learned about the gap, he decided to host a summer lawn party to bridge it.

"People on the streets would be on their own," he says. "That's not the kind of community we want to live in."

To read the entire article, please click here.

Fighting against stigma

An editorial published in yesterday's edition of The Globe and Mail:

Canadian soldiers deserve the very best in mental health care

Canadian soldiers face many challenges on the battlefield in Afghanistan, but one of the most difficult often does not surface until after they return home: operational stress injuries that inflict invisible but devastating psychological wounds. In the past, the military did little to protect or rehabilitate these soldiers, leaving them to languish, ostracized and isolated. There is hope that is changing.

On Thursday, after a House of Commons defence committee report that revealed significant gaps in the military mental-health system, General Walter Natynczyk, the Chief of the Defence Staff, announced a mental-health awareness campaign, as part of a new strategy to tackle operational stress injuries in the military. The campaign also features two non-clinical mental health programs, including a speakers series and peer counselling.

The announcement is significant, because it breaks the military's silence on a sensitive subject. For people in the profession of arms, toughness is a cultural ethos. Soldiers don't like to admit to physical pain, let alone anything as invisible and intangible as psychological anguish. Those in uniform who suffer from posttraumatic stress syndrome have injuries as real as any gunshot wound, yet the stigma around psychological injuries is still so painful and career-limiting for many that they will confide behind closed doors they would prefer to have been shot.

The Canadian Forces have made progress since they arrived in Kandahar a few years ago. They are struggling to cope with a wave of young Afghanistan vets who have served in an overtasked and under-strength military. The CF are learning; joint personnel support units, to help those suffering from PTSD, have been established across the country; decompression time in Cyprus is now built in to tours of duty; Independent military-family resource centres offer a variety of programs to family members. But progress is slow, waiting lists are long, and stigma is still very real.

The military still faces significant hurdles. Cultural change does not occur overnight. In spite of programs to increase understanding of PTSD, many soldiers maintain it is career suicide to admit to an operational stress injury. As long as that view remains, OSIs, which emerge primarily through self-reporting, will remain an insidious problem.

It is easy for civilians to judge the military harshly for failing to remedy this very serious problem more completely or quickly, but the reality is that Bay Street and Main street are hardly in a position to crow about their own compassionate treatment of the mentally ill.

The military deserve the very best in care; they risk their mental health just as much their physical health in the service of the nation. Stigma and skewed perceptions about OSIs must be overcome, because the cost of failing to do so is too high, with casualties on the home front among Canadian soldiers and their families.

Bold emphasis in the text of the editorial is mine.

MacGillivray new chair of Nova Scotia Mental Health Foundation

An article published online today by The Chronicle Herald:

The Mental Health Foundation elected Fred MacGillivray [pictured] as their new chair for the Nova Scotia board of directors.

Mr. MacGillivray has been a board member for many years and has been instrumental in the foundation’s A Different Stage of Mind campaign which raised $1 million for Nova Scotia mental health programs and services.

“With mental health in the spotlight now more than ever before, this is an exciting time to be leading this foundation that is committed to enhancing and improving the quality of life for Nova Scotians with mental illness,” said Mr. MacGillivray.

The foundation was created in 1987. It raises mental health awareness and supports organizations that provide mental health care in Nova Scotia.

The election occurred at their annual general meeting on Thursday. Mr. MacGillivray is replacing Robert Hunt who has been chair since September 2007.

Mr. MacGillivray was the president and chief executive officer of Trade Centre Limited between 1994 and March of this year.

Photograph courtesy of Atlantic Business Magazine.

I am not sick, I don't need help!

Dr. Xavier Amador is an adjunct professor in Clinical Psychology at Teacher’s College, Columbia University in New York City and is on the Board of Directors of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI). He is a clinical psychologist who treats adults, children, and adolescents in individual, couples and family therapy.

In this video he talks about dealing with anosognosia, the lack of insight regarding a mental illness. The video was recorded during the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia's Annual Conference in 2005.

For a PowerPoint presentation on Dr. Amador's Listen-Empathize-Agree-Partner (LEAP) approach, click here.



Click on the arrow to start the video.

This video was loaded on Google Video by the SSNS on December 11, 2006. It is rated 4.5 stars out of 5 (35 raters).

Here is a comment entered on September 29, 2007
"I listened to this video in the morning, used the techniques in the afternoon with [an individual living with schizophrenia], and every step worked like a charm! I went to the wrong graduate school."

The video was reviewed by Schizophrenia.com on December 27, 2006. To read the review, click here.

Thoughts on Support Groups

Posted yesterday on the Overcoming Schizophrenia weblog:

What other support groups have you participated in? What did you like or dislike about them?

I've participated in NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) groups, WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Plan) groups, and others; including online groups. I prefer small groups, less than ten people. I enjoy sharing my story and relating to other people. Ideally, I would like to find a group that I can grow with, meet friends and people I can trust and spend time with outside of the meetings. I remember in WRAP meetings we developed rules that respected members of the group, that made me feel a little more comfortable. NAMI groups allowed me to bring my family, that was a plus, so that members of my family can be educated about things relating to mental illness too.

Online groups are great because of its diversity of experiences. You learn so much from other people's experiences and questions and answers. The plus for online groups is you get stay anonymous.

I can't say I disliked anything particular about the support groups I've attended. What are your thoughts on support groups?

Also, check out a new support group, Embracing My Mind. To learn more about schizophrenia visit NAMI or Schizophrenia Society of Novia Scotia (Canada).

Youth Mental Health on Facebook

Posted yesterday on Teen Mental Health Blog:

So after months of team discussion we have finally made our first foray into Facebook! Yeah I know … we are a little behind the trend - but better late than never.

Our goal is to get over 1,000 people to become a fan of our “Help Canada Create a Youth Mental Health Strategy” page.

The Facebook page is an offshoot of our Evergreen project - a collaborative initiative with the Mental Health Commission of Canada to produce a document to help improve policy and programming related to child and adolescent mental health across Canada.

We created the Facebook page for 4 primary reasons:

1. Engagement - we want people to share their opinions with us about what values and principles Canadians want to uphold in relation to mental illness and child and adolescent mental health services. On July 1st the public forum will be open for you to share your voice.


2. Education - an informed public is a strong public. Our Facebook page will feature some of the guides and information uploaded on our teenmentalheatlh.org site. We want to give people the best available info to make good decisions about their mental health.


3. Advocacy - the Mental Health Commission of Canada is committed to creating a comprehensive mental health strategy for Canada and are in support of a component specific to the needs of children and youth. Youth mental health will stay in the shadows unless we speak up and advocate for change - Facebook is just one of the ways you can speak up.


4. Connection - facebook is a great way to connect with people who share similar causes to you. By creating this page we want to connect people who care about youth mental health and want to make a difference to Canada’s mental health system.
   

Help make a difference for thousands of young people. Join “Help Canada Create a Youth Mental Health Strategy“.

Mental Health Learning Lunches - Bridgewater, Nova Scotia

The Lunenburg County Chapter of the SSNS, the Lunenburg-Queens Branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), and the Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) are partnering to organize Mental Health Learning Lunches beginning in September 2009 at the NSCC Lunenburg Campus in Bridgewater. There are plans to video conference the Mental Health Learning Lunches to many of the 22 remaining NSCC campuses around the province. Video conferencing is seen as an important means of providing information, youth mentoring, and peer support; while addressing the concerns of access, awareness, equity and opportunity for support.





The objectives of the Mental Health Learning Lunches are:

• To raise awareness about the importance of maintaining good mental health

• To provide clear, concise, and current information about mental health issues and the possibilities for recovery

• To dispel the myths surrounding mental illness in order to reduce stigma and encourage students experiencing symptoms of mental illness to seek help

• To assist students in navigating the mental health system by providing contact information for mental health services and supports available in the community

Schedule

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009
Stress Management
Anne Marie MacLeod, Executive Director, Lunenburg-Queens Branch of the CMHA

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009
Schizophrenia
Dr. Neal Morgan, Psychiatrist, South Shore Regional Hospital, Bridgewater

Wednesday, November 25th, 2009
Addictions
Sadie Watson

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010
Depression and Bipolar Disorder
Dr. Stanley Kutcher and Youth Speak (Laing House)

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010
Eating Disorders
Speaker to be announced

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010
Autism
Cynthia Carroll, Executive Director of the Provincial Autism Society


Youth Survey

The Lunenburg County Chapter of the SSNS is also working with the Lunenburg-Queens Branch of the CMHA, the NSCC Lunenburg Campus, and the Youth Advocacy Committee to produce a Youth Survey in order to get input with regard to existing mental health services. Plans are to hire two youth with existing mental health/addictions issues to conduct the Youth Survey. The NSCC Lunenburg Campus, Bridgewater Probation Services, and Empire House in Bridgewater have agreed to encourage youth to participate. We are particularly interested in the reaching individuals between 17 to 30 years of age as this demographic continue to be left behind with respect to recovery programs.

The Lunenburg County Chapter of the SSNS has applied for a Canada Post Foundation for Mental Health grant on behalf of all partners to assist with funding the Youth Survey.

Photograph of Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, by Robert Keereweer. Used under a Creative Commons License.