Webcast Recording - Review of the Involuntary Psychiatric Treatment Act by Stephen Ayer

Recording of the Webcast

Review of the Involuntary Psychiatric Treatment Act

by

Dr. Stephen Ayer

Executive Director

Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia

Presentation made during the February 10th, 2014, meeting of the HRM Chapter of the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia

To view the webcast recording, please click here.

Royal Assent was given to Nova Scotia’s Involuntary Psychiatric Treatment Act on December 8, 2005. The Act came into effect on July 3, 2007. An independent review of the Act, conducted by the Honourable Justice Gérard La Forest and Professor William Lahey, was made public on December 12, 2013.

An overview of the Act and its application was provided, as was a review of some of the many important findings of the independent review. The availability of and access to a broad range of treatment and support options for people diagnosed with mental illnesses was also discussed.

Flawed reasoning

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

There is a flaw in John Roswell’s reasoning when he writes (Jan. 17), “I believe that most people who have experienced psychosis would agree with me that people should be held responsible for their criminal acts, no matter what their state of mind was when they committed the crime.”

It is the accused who ultimately determines whether or not to proceed with a defence of not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder. Therefore, if the accused, once found fit to stand trial, believes that psychosis, for example, is the reason they should be found not criminally responsible, they will instruct their defence counsel to present this argument in court.

With regard to better access to mental health services, many people experiencing psychosis have lost contact with reality to such an extent that they do not believe they are ill. Therefore, they do not seek treatment for their mental disorder, despite the efforts of family and friends to assist them. This is one reason why the Nova Scotia legislature passed the Involuntary Psychiatric Treatment Act in December 2005.

Stephen W. Ayer, Executive Director, Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia

Using Theatre to Illustrate and Explore Serious Mental Illness

A November 9th media advisory from the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia:

November 9, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Halifax, Nova Scotia

Media Advisory

Living with serious mental illnesses featured in two original plays.

What

An Evening of Forum Theatre & Heartwood (by, Laura Burke)

Who

Jill Rogers, Catriona Wallace, Stephen Ayer, and Courtney Siebring perform an interactive piece of theatre that explores what it is like to live with a serious mental illness. The audience is invited to enter the world of the play – one filled with discrimination, condescension, and injustice – and create change.

Written and performed by Laura Burke, Heartwood is a one woman play that illustrates a young woman's struggles with serious mental illness and explores how she begins to heal from its impact through the use of humour, and through the discovery that giving back to others is exactly how she will recover, and reinstate meaning in her life.

When

Friday, November 9, 2012
7:30 pm to 10:00 pm

Where

5568 Cunard Street
Halifax, Nova Scotia


About the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia

The Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia works to improve the quality of life for those affected by schizophrenia through education, support programs, influencing public policy, and encouraging research.

In addition to the provincial office located in Dartmouth, the Society has chapters or support groups conducting monthly support group meetings in Cumberland County, Halifax Regional Municipality, Kings County, Lunenburg County, and Pictou County.

Media Contact

Dr. Stephen Ayer
Phone: (902) 465-2601
Email: ssns@ns.sympatico.ca

Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia on Mental Illness

Stephen Ayer of the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia talks the perceptions of mental illness following the death of Raymond Taavel.




Also see:

Stephen Ayer interviewed on Information Morning

Mental Illness Awareness Week: opening Canadians’ eyes

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

By Stephen Ayer (pictured)

Mental Illness Awareness Week, Oct. 2-8, is an annual national public education campaign designed to help open the eyes of Canadians to the reality of mental illness. The week was established in 1992 by the Canadian Psychiatric Association. It is now co-ordinated by the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health in co-operation with its member organizations, including the Schizophrenia Society of Canada, as well many other supporters across Canada.

As a kick-off event for the week, the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia (SSNS) presented a special screening last Sunday of the movie The Soloist, based on the true story of Nathaniel Ayers, a musician who develops schizophrenia and becomes homeless. The screenplay by Susannah Grant is based on the book The Soloist by Steve Lopez, a columnist for The Los Angeles Times.

The same day, the society also highlighted the recovery journey of Laura Burke, a young Nova Scotian who lives with schizophrenia, by screening Superhero — A Visual Poem, a documentary short film featuring Ms. Burke’s spoken word poetry. Ms. Burke was honoured during Mental Illness Awareness Week in Ottawa last year as a 2010 Champion of Mental Health.

Today, the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia is partnering with other local mental health organizations and supporters to present the Fourth Annual Festival of Hope, a celebration of hope, healing and recovery. This free event takes place from 3 to 8 p.m. at the Olympic Hall, 2304 Hunter St. (corner of Cunard and Windsor in Halifax).

The core belief of the SSNS is that people with mental illnesses such as schizophrenia can live a life of meaning and purpose. The society’s focus is to promote the goal that each individual will be able to return to a quality of life which meets each person’s own perception of needs and expectations.

The vision of the SSNS is to reach all Nova Scotians who are directly or indirectly affected by schizophrenia — to focus on the individual, not the illness, to promote wellness and recovery, and to reduce the stigma and discrimination so often associated with mental illness.

The society’s mission is to improve the quality of life for those affected by schizophrenia through education, support programs, influencing public policy, and supporting research. The SSNS provides a community-based network of knowledgeable and dedicated volunteers whose personal experience with the illness allows them to share their stories of hope and recovery with people affected by schizophrenia for the first time.

Stephen Ayer is executive director of the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia. He lives with a mental illness and experienced homelessness in the 1990s. Dr. Ayer is a 2009 recipient of an Inspiring Lives Award from the Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia and the CMHA — Nova Scotia Division.

Photograph by Ryan Taplin / Metro Halifax

The Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia - 2011 Annual General Meeting

The Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia’s 2011 Annual General Meeting was held in Springhill, Nova Scotia, on Saturday, September 24th, 2011.

Please click on any photograph to enlarge it.

Cecilia McRae, president of the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia, delivers her President's Report

Phil Rogers, treasurer of the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia, delivers his Treasurer's Report.

Hilary Thorne, the SSNS's project coordinator, speaks about the growth of the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia.

Frank Allen, president of the Cumberland County Chapter of the SSNS introduces the guest speaker, Dr. Pippa Moss.

Dr. Pippa Moss, Chief of Psychiatry, Cumberland Health District, talks about strategies to reduce the stigma and discrimination so often encountered by people who have experienced mental illness, as well as by those who love them. To view Dr. Moss' PowerPoint slides, please click here (PDF).

Rev. Dr. Roger Cann, president of the Kings County Chapter of the SSNS, speaks about the activities of the Kings County Chapter.

Donna Methot, president of the HRM Chapter of the SSNS, speaks about the activities of the HRM Chapter.

Photographs by Stephen Ayer

New Nova Scotia guidelines for stun gun use

An article posted yesterday by CBC News:

Nova Scotia has issued new guidelines for the use of stun guns and they go into effect immediately.

The guidelines call on police officers, court security and jails guards to consider whether a person is mentally ill before they use a shock to try to subdue them.

When confronting someone who is known to suffer from a mental illness, the officer or guard should only use a conductive energy weapon — more commonly known as a stun gun or Taser — as a last resort.

If there's a danger that shock could seriously hurt that individual, paramedics should be called to the scene before deploying a stun gun.

"We're educating not only the officers that are involved, but the health care services when an incidence occurs what the response should be," said Justice Minister Ross Landry [pictured].

Landry said Nova Scotia is the first province in the country to spell out when a Taser should be used on someone who may be mentally ill.

Officials with the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia are pleased.

"These guidelines direct the officer to make the best possible decision as to whether or not this individual... actually is affected by a mental illness and in crisis," said Stephen Ayer, the executive director of the society.

Ayer said the key to the new rules is proper training and awareness.

Image credit

Also see:

Stronger Guidelines for Conducted Energy Weapons

Nova Scotia Guidelines on Conducted Energy Weapons (CEWs)

Conducted Energy Weapons (CEW) Fact Sheet (PDF)

Taser guidelines still in works

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

Justice minister promises rules resulting from Hyde inquiry will be released soon

By Michael MacDonald, The Canadian Press

More than three years after the jail cell death of a mentally ill man, the province’s Justice Department has yet to introduce new guidelines describing when peace officers can use Tasers.

Howard Hyde died on Nov. 22, 2007, after a struggle with guards at a Halifax-area jail. His tragic story attracted national attention because Halifax police Tasered him multiple times during a psychotic episode about 30 hours before he died.

In December of last year, provincial court Judge Anne Derrick released a fatality inquiry report that concluded the Tasering did not cause the death of the 45-year-old musician, who had long suffered from schizophrenia.

However, Derrick did find that the Tasering worsened Hyde’s rapidly deteriorating mental state, and she recommended that stun guns should not be used to immobilize emotionally disturbed people unless crisis intervention techniques have failed.

In its formal response to Derrick’s report, the provincial government said Thursday its revamped guidelines are still being finalized.

Justice Minister Ross Landry [pictured] said he is still concerned about the ability of police officers to recognize mentally ill people in distress.

"It’s very difficult in situations where . . . there’s a high level of disturbance for the police officer to determine whether the person is suffering from mental illness," Landry, a former RCMP officer, told a news conference.

Landry said he had hoped to have the guidelines ready before the government issued its response to Derrick’s inquiry. He didn’t say why there was a delay, but he confirmed the new rules will be released within two weeks.

During Derrick’s fatality inquiry, which lasted 11 months, Halifax Regional Police argued that its officers are trained not to stun anyone until de-escalation techniques have been tried. But Derrick rejected that position, saying police policy and the province’s standards made no mention of this requirement.

Despite the absence of new guidelines, the government’s response indicates police have already changed the way they use so-called conducted energy weapons.

Since 2007, the year Hyde died, police use of the type of stun gun used on the man has dropped by 74 per cent in Nova Scotia.

Landry said the dramatic decline was the result of a growing body of knowledge about the weapon. He said police were still learning about the impact of the weapon in 2007 when a medical examiner declared Hyde’s death was caused by a condition known as excited delirium.

The condition, also known as autonomic hyperarousal, is characterized by increased strength, paranoia and suddenly violent behaviour marked by profuse sweating and an elevated heart rate. Hyde demonstrated most of the traits in the hours before he died.

However, Derrick’s report rejected excited delirium as the cause of death, finding instead the death was caused by Hyde’s struggle with jail guards. The judge concluded the guards applied restraint techniques that may have interfered with Hyde’s breathing.

Kevin MacDonald, the lawyer representing Hyde’s sister, Joanna Blair, said his client was troubled by the fact that the government’s response says that police and corrections officials require a clear understanding of how conducted energy weapons may affect people in an autonomic hyperarousal state.

"There appears to be a suggestion that the police be trained to recognize the symptoms of (excited delirium) when . . . judge Derrick’s report states that the province should not emphasize in its policies or training the phenomenon of excited delirium," MacDonald said in an interview.

"It’s significant because excited delirium . . . can be used as a justification for the use of force, which is what happened in Mr. Hyde’s case. I think it’s wrong that they’re taking this position. It’s contrary to what judge Derrick found, and it indicates there’s not an acceptance of the cause of the death."

In her inquiry report, Derrick said she agreed with one expert who testified that citing excited delirium as a cause of death resulted in Hyde being "identified as the culprit."

"(Derrick) specifically cautioned police officers . . . from looking for signs of excited delirium," MacDonald said. "And here is the province suggesting they’re going to train them in recognizing it."

Most of Derrick’s 80 recommendations called for improved training, more funding for mental health services and better co-ordination and communication between justice and health officials.

On Thursday, Health Minister Maureen MacDonald said the province has already implemented some of the judge’s recommendations, but some will have to wait because the government has yet to receive a final report from a committee appointed last year to draft a provincial mental health and addictions strategy.

"There are a number of actions and activities that are very significant that will make a real difference for people who are suffering from a mental illness," MacDonald said, adding that 911 dispatchers have been given a standardized checklist that will help them recognize mental health issues.

Among other things, the province has increased crisis intervention training for police and health-care professionals, and it has established a new, psychiatric intensive care unit at the East Coast Forensic Hospital near Halifax.

As well, a new mental health and justice committee has been appointed, and the province is spending $4 million this year on residential units for people recovering from mental illness.

Aside from the money for the residential units, the province provided no other cost estimates.

Stephen Ayer, executive director of the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia, said the government’s moves represent an important first step.

"There’s a lot of work to be done yet," he said after the government report was released. "Things have changed immensely because of (Howard Hyde’s) death . . . I think that things are going to change substantially."

Also see:

Province Releases Plan to Improve Care in Custody

Building Bridges: Improving Care in Custody for People Living with Mental Illness

Hyde Fatality Inquiry


Image credit

Public to get say on Nova Scotia's mental health system

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

By John McPhee, Health Reporter

The committee charged with creating the province’s long-awaited mental health and addictions strategy will embark on a series of public meetings next week.

The provincial advisory committee will hold the first of six meetings Monday in Greenwood to get feedback on how programs and services can be improved.

The NDP government first announced its intention to create a strategy last spring. The committee co-chairpersons — Michael Ungar [pictured], a professor of social work at Dalhousie University, and Joyce McDonald of [The Empowerment Connection] — were announced in June and the rest of the committee in the fall.

It is composed of 12 health experts, researchers, mental health clinicians and people living with or affected by mental illness.

The committee kept a low profile since that time, but it has been holding consultations with health-care providers and advocacy organizations, said a spokeswoman from the Health and Wellness Department.

"We’re just letting them do their work and we don’t want to complicate that or distract them," Patricia Murray, acting executive director of mental health and addictions, said in an interview. "It’s a huge job they’re doing and we’re just anxiously anticipating the end result that they’re able to submit."

The committee has met with about 50 groups and more meetings are planned, a recent Health and Wellness Department news release said.

The move to revamp the system has been sparked by concerns about long waiting lists for treatment and how mentally ill people are treated in the justice system, as highlighted by Judge Anne Derrick’s report in December 2010 on the death of Howard Hyde. Hyde died Nov. 22, 2007, after a violent conflict with jail guards at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Dartmouth.

Mental health advocate Stephen Ayer of Halifax has criticized the province for being too slow in dealing with the problems in the mental health system. Ayer, the executive director of the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia, welcomed the consultations.

One committee member and staff from the Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation met with the society about three weeks ago. "It was very useful," Ayer said in an interview.

But he is concerned the consultation thus far has been with the people who provide the services, not with those who use the services. At his urging, the committee will meet with people with mental illnesses next month.

As for the strategy, "we are looking forward to seeing some movement in terms of improvements in access to services," he said.

Besides the public meetings, people can also provide input online or through the mail. For more information, go to www.nshrf.ca/mentalhealthandaddictionsstrategy or call 424-4043.

The committee is expected to submit its recommendations to Health and Wellness Minister Maureen MacDonald in the fall.


SCHEDULE

Schedule of public meetings on the province’s mental health strategy:

• April 18: Greenwood, 8 a.m. to noon, 14 Wing Greenwood, Birchall Training Centre, Chamber Room

• April 26: Amherst, 8 a.m. to noon, Tantramar Theatre, 98 Victoria St. E.

• April 27: Sydney, 8 a.m. to noon, Cape Breton University, 1250 Grand Lake Rd., multi-purpose rooms A and B

• May 3: Halifax, 1 to 5 p.m., Saint Mary’s University, Burke Building, Burke Theatre B (entrance off Inglis Street)

• May 5: Bridgewater, 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., South Shore Regional Hospital, lecture rooms 1 to 3 (third floor)

• May 16: Halifax, 8 a.m. to noon, Universite Sainte-Anne, Campus de Halifax, 1589 Walnut St. It will also be broadcast to campuses in Tusket, Petit de Grat, Church Point and Grand Etang.

Image credit

Unfortunate collapse of prefabricated roof trusses on a new structure being built on the grounds of the Nova Scotia Hospital

This happened this past week during an intense wind storm.


Please click on the photograph to magnify it.

Also see:

The Community Living Initiative (Bungalows)

Unveiling of the architectural drawings for the new Community Living Initiative

Province Invests in Community Living Initiative


Photograph by Stephen Ayer

Committed to improvement

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

I am disappointed in the comments in your newspaper of Stephen Ayer, executive director of the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia, that recommendations from the Hyde report will not be instituted quickly and suggesting a lack of action on my part.

Judge Anne Derrick’s first recommendation in her report was that the provincial government needs to develop a mental health strategy. Before her report was even written, I had appointed a mental health strategy advisory committee representing a board spectrum of people with first hand-knowledge of the justice system, schizophrenia and other mental illnesses and disorders. Work on the strategy is well underway and we will provide for consultation in the New Year. The president of the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia is on this committee.

Additionally, I have visited Mental Health Services at Capital Health and at the IWK Health Centre to discuss what can be done to improve wait times and program outcomes, and steps are being taken on these fronts. Our government’s first budget included funding for an expanded Mobile Crisis Service here in the Capital District.

Is there more to do? Absolutely, and I am committed to seeing that it is done. Mental health services are an integral part of Better Care Sooner, our plan to implement the Ross report. Judge Derrick’s extensive recommendations offer an opportunity for Nova Scotia’s justice and health care systems to make real and positive changes — and we will.

Maureen MacDonald, Minister of Health

Changing attitudes about mental illness

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

Hyde Report a positive step, says schizophrenia society boss

By Ian Fairclough | FIVE QUESTIONS

Last week, a provincial court judge released a long-awaited report from the inquiry into the death of Howard Hyde, a Nova Scotia man with schizophrenia who died in jail a day after being arrested by police.

The report contained 80 recommendations and was welcomed by Stephen Ayer [pictured], the executive director of the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia.

Q: What’s the most important lesson to be learned from the death of Howard Hyde?

A: There are three really important lessons; it’s hard to pick one of them.

The most important lesson is a combination of the need for increased education around mental illness and what to do when encountering a person who is in a state of psychosis.

There is also the need for communication not only with the individual who is in the psychotic state, but also communication between different agencies that would be interacting with that person, from the mobile mental health crisis team to 911 to the responding officers. Communications has to be better.

In relation to that is response. If we could increase the education and training of people who respond to situations where an individual is in a crisis with a psychotic episode, they would be able to communicate effectively between themselves and the other agencies or services involved, and then the response would be the most appropriate response for that individual.

Q: What’s the first thing that should be done?

A: We have to have some empathy and some humanity in terms of dealing with people who have a psychiatric emergency, no matter what the circumstances may be.

Q: What do you think it would take to change the way police and the justice system deal with mental health consumers?

A: One of the deputy sheriffs did a great job trying to calm Mr. Hyde down to the best of his ability. He took two hours to talk to Howard Hyde to get some insight into what was going on, so there are people who are understanding and empathetic within the system already.

I’m sure there are more than (him). I think police and correctional services need to take a look at their staff and identify people who would be most appropriate for training in regard to working with people who are having a psychiatric emergency and being able to understand how to deal with it appropriately and get the person the help they need.

Q: How are the supporters of people with schizophrenia reacting to the results of the inquiry?

A: Very positively, and I am as well.

As I reflect now on the report and having delved deeper into it over the last couple of days, my response is the same as it was initially. This is an incredible piece of work by an incredible person — Judge Derrick — and when this was released, I said it’s a watershed day for the people of Nova Scotia and all people who live with mental illness in their families. It’s so comprehensive and the recommendations are so thorough and so important. I continue to believe that and hope the report will be taken seriously by government and others who need to make changes within the way they provide services.

Q: How optimistic are you that at least some of these recommendations will be instituted quickly, and how likely do you think it is that they’ll all be accepted?

A: In terms of the word quickly, I’m not very optimistic at all. In fact, I’m quite pessimistic, because this government has shown that even though it talks the talk, so to speak, and we have a health minister who is a former social worker and who worked at the Nova Scotia Hospital years ago and campaigned on the fact that mental health was going to be a high priority, when push comes to shove and the rubber hits the road, she’s nowhere to be found in terms of making some changes.

That includes support for community organizations such as ours that are on the front lines dealing with crisis calls.


BY THE NUMBERS

• About one per cent of Nova Scotians are living with schizophrenia.

• About 23,000 family members are affected by schizophrenia in that they are trying to help their loved ones deal with it.

• About 30 per cent of people with schizophrenia completely recover, and another 40 per cent recover well enough to work with limitations. The other 30 per cent are so affected they are difficult to treat.

• The Hyde Inquiry [report] contained 80 recommendations among its 462 pages.

• In the past year, the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia answered more than 500 crisis calls and provided advice, information and assistance.

Source: Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia


(ifairclough@herald.ca)

Photograph by Peter Parsons, The Chronicle Herald.

Province Hosts First Atlantic Mental Health Summit

An October 29th media release from the Nova Scotia Department of Health:

Health representatives from the Atlantic provinces gathered in Halifax this week for the first Atlantic Mental Health Summit.

They have been discussing ways the provinces can work together and raise the profile of mental health issues at all levels of government. During the summit they have also heard from national and international experts.

Health Minister Maureen MacDonald [pictured] offered to lead the summit at the Atlantic health minister's meeting in January.

"The great thing about a summit like this is we gather from all walks of life, social workers, practitioners and experts to share ideas and best practices," said Ms. MacDonald during her opening remarks. "The knowledge that is shared here will help us make the right decisions for our province's mental health strategy, as we work to provide better care, sooner."

Delegates are participating in sessions and workshops to discuss mental health and homelessness, child and youth mental health, mental health promotion and prevention, public policy and a national strategy.

One in three Canadians experience mental illness in their lifetimes, and many more are directly or indirectly affected through their relationships with friends, family and co-workers.

The province announced the 12 members of the Mental Health Strategy Advisory Committee in September to help fulfill a commitment to revamp mental health and addiction services.

The summit ends today, Oct. 29.


FOR BROADCAST USE:

Health representatives from the Atlantic provinces are meeting in Halifax this week to discuss ways to work together and raise the profile of mental health at all levels of government.

Health Minister Maureen MacDonald offered to lead the summit at the Atlantic health minister's meeting in January. She says it's a perfect opportunity to share new ideas and best practices in mental health care.

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Media Contact:

Nicole Brooks
Department of Health
902-424-2608
E-mail: brooksnl@gov.ns.ca

Two representatives from the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia participated in the Atlantic Mental Health Summit. They were Stephen Ayer, Executive Director, and Cecilia McRae, President.

To view the Atlantic Mental Health Summit agenda, please click here (PDF).

Photo credit

Canada Post Foundation for Mental Health, 2010 Grant Recipients, National Launch

Held on September 21st at the Canada Post Halifax Mail Processing Plant:


Dominique Forest, General Manager, Regional Atlantic Operations, Canada Post.


Dominique Forest (left) and Wayne Stremel, Canada Post employee, unveil the 2010 Mental Health Stamp.


Wayne Stremel speaks about the 2010 Out of the Shadows Tour.




Tana Woodward, Member, Grants Advisory Committee, Canada Post Foundation for Mental Health.




Tana Woodward is also a social worker with the Mood Disorders Program in Halifax. Directly over Ms. Woodward's right shoulder is Donna Methot, President, HRM Chapter of the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia.


Myra Donnelly-Gay, Executive Director, Healthy Minds Cooperative.


Stephen Ayer, Executive Director, Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia.


Funding provided to the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia will be used for a project entitled Expansion of Community-Based Volunteer Support Network and Strengthening of Mental Health System Advice/Connection Services. This project will include eight rural communities in Nova Scotia, incuding Cape Breton.


Please click on any photograph to enlarge it.


Also see:

Canada Post delivers $1.5 million to mental health organizations across Canada

Mental health care receives boost from Canada Post, Bell Canada

An Update from Nova Scotia

Please click on the image to magnify it.

To view the PowerPoint slides (PDF) of the presentation that Stephen Ayer, executive director of the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia, made during the Schizophrenia Society of Canada's 2010 National Conference, please click here.

Photographs from the SSC National Conference in St. John's, NL

The Schizophrenia Society of Canada's (SSC) National Conference took place from July 26th to 28th, 2010, in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.

To download PowerPoint slides from some of the presentations made during the conference, please click here.




Stephen Ayer, executive director of the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia (left), Greg Zed, past president of the Schizophrenia Society of New Brunswick (centre), and Cecilia McRae, president of the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia (right).




Anita Hopfauf, executive director of the Schizophrenia Society of Saskatchewan. At the far right is Phil Rogers, treasurer of the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia.




Laura Burke, peer support facilitator with the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia, performs spoken word poetry during the conference banquet. Laura also received the SSC's 2010 Flag of Hope Award during the banquet.




Laura Burke at The Rooms, an art gallery and museum in St. John's.




View of the entrance to St. John's harbour from The Rooms.




At a conference with a theme of Social Inclusion: Well Beyond Recovery, we didn't have too look very far for signs of social prejudice.




The Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador.


Please click on any photograph to magnify it.

Media Advisory from the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia

The Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia’s 2nd Annual Road to Recovery Walkathon

Halifax, May 6th, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia is holding its 2nd Annual Road to Recovery Walkathon on Saturday, May 8th, 2010. The five-kilometre walk begins at 1:00 pm at the Halifax Curling Club, 948 South Bland Street, proceeds north on South Park Street and Bell Road, south on Robie Street, and finishes by returning to the Halifax Curling Club at 2:30 pm via Inglis Street. From 2:30 pm to 4:00 pm there will be refreshments, the presentation of prizes, and entertainment by Stand Up For Mental Health comedians Owen Redden and Shan MacDonald. The guest speaker is Cecilia McRae, president of the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia.

Schizophrenia is not a split personality. It is a complex biochemical brain disorder characterized by one defining symptom – a loss of touch with reality (psychosis). Schizophrenia directly affects 1% of Nova Scotians at some point in their lifetime, and indirectly affects substantially more family members and friends. It is a highly treatable illness that influences the way a person thinks, acts, and perceives their world. With treatment, the majority of people with schizophrenia significantly recover. And the prognosis is getting better as research on the illness progresses, as treatments become more readily available, as people get help earlier, and as mental health laws recognize the urgent requirement for compassionate and effective involuntary treatment.

The Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia provides a community-based network of knowledgeable and dedicated volunteers so desperately needed by many individuals directly affected by schizophrenia, as well as their family members, friends, colleagues, and communities. Held during Mental Health Week, the Road to Recovery Walkathon is an opportunity for the greater community to get involved and to help reduce the stigma so often associated with a diagnosis of schizophrenia.

All proceeds from the Road to Recovery Walkathon go to the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia to support the delivery of its crucial and extensive programs and services. For further information, to make a donation, or to make a pledge on behalf of one of the many walkers, visit www.ssnswalk.dojiggy.com.

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Cecilia McRae, Owen Redden, Shan MacDonald, and Stephen Ayer will be available for interviews during the event.


For additional information or to schedule an interview contact:

Dr. Stephen Ayer
Executive Director
Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia
(902) 465-2601
ssns@ns.sympatico.ca

Facts don’t concur

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

In his March 24 opinion piece, "Mental health clinics work," Dr. Ian Slayter states, "priority is given to people with more serious mental illness."

Dr. Slayter’s statement is inconsistent with the facts for the Dartmouth Community Mental Health Clinic. Of the 137 new referrals to the Dartmouth Community Mental Health Clinic in January 2010, the most recent month where data is publicly available, none were seen as "urgent/rapid follow-up."

In November 2009, the next most recent month, 94 people were referred to the same clinic and none were seen as "urgent/rapid follow-up." In October 2009, none of the 92 new referrals were seen as "urgent/rapid follow-up."

In total, of the 323 new referrals to the Dartmouth Community Mental Health Clinic over a four-month period, excluding December 2009 because the data are not publicly available, none were seen as "urgent/rapid follow-up."

Wait-time data for the five community mental health clinics in the Capital Health district can be accessed by visiting its website (www.cdha.nshealth.ca), clicking on "Accountability" and selecting "Mental Health Community Team Wait Times." A dash means there were zero people in a category.

Stephen W. Ayer, executive director, Schizophrenia Society of N.S.

System is in chaos, mental health advocates say

An article published in the October 1st edition of Metro Halifax:

By Paul McLeod

Mental health advocates from various fields met in Province House yesterday to warn the system is in a state of chaos.

They say mentally ill people are slipping through the cracks because outreach staff are too overburdened to keep up. However, they said the first and most urgent step is cheap and easy to fix.

Nova Scotia currently does not have a comprehensive mental health strategy. They said that needs to change

“They are our family, our friends and our coworkers,” said Stephen Ayer [pictured, left], executive director of the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia.

“As many people as I am able to help, I know there are just as many who continue to suffer alone wondering what exactly is wrong with them, wondering if anybody can help. Sadly, some don’t survive. They die by suicide.”

Ayer estimated 180,000 Nova Scotians will battle mental illness at some point. But he said people still suffer in silence and shame because of social stigma, while issues like swine flu get swift government action.

In the meantime, they’ve taken new action to get the word out. Yesterday they announced the website oneinfive.ca, dedicated to raising awareness about mental health issues in Nova Scotia. The name comes from global studies showing one in five people will deal with serious mental health issues at one point in their life.

Along with information and personal testimonials, the site allows visitors to sign a petition and send letters to politicians urging the creation of an overarching strategy.

Liberal MLA Diana Whalen, who helped organize the event, has put forward a bill to create an advisory council on mental health made up of educators, psychiatrists, mental health consumers and their family members.

The council would advise government on how to best meet the mental health needs of the province.

Photograph by Ryan Taplin, Metro Halifax

Mental health court lauded

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

Conference today on system’s benefits

By John McPhee, Health Reporter

Much more needs to be done to support the mentally ill in Nova Scotia, but the creation of a mental health court is a good start, advocates say.

The Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia will hold a conference today in Halifax to highlight the benefits of the court, which the province announced this summer.

"I think it’s only a logical step," said Stephen Ayer, executive director of the society, in an interview. "The idea is to get the person to the point where they can reintegrate themselves into society with a treatment plan. But the person has to accept responsibility for their crime."

Other provinces, including New Brunswick, have had mental health courts for years. The society has pushed for one in Nova Scotia for a long time, Mr. Ayer said. He’s not sure why it took so long for the province to move on the issue.

"Some would argue it’s not necessary, that it’s (the responsibility) of mental health services," he said. "But who’s going to start the process — Health or Justice? Health is dragging its feet and has been for years on the treatment of the mentally ill. Somebody has to start somewhere."

Judge Alfred Brien will speak about the success of the N.B. mental health court system at the conference, which will start at 8 a.m. at 12 Wing Shearwater. Other speakers will include Judith McPhee, of Nova Scotia’s Justice Department, who will explain the province’s plans.

The once-a-week sitting at the Halifax court will not hold trials, but rather will serve as a setting where the court can work out alternatives to jail sentences and set up treatment programs.

Under the system, which begins Nov. 2, provincial court Judge Bill MacDonald will take cases recommended by a mental health court team.

Mr. Ayer said the court’s success hinges on the province improving other supports for the mentally ill in society, such as housing and employment programs.

"That’s where we’re challenged," he said. "I’m going to be interested in hearing the answers on that."

More information on the conference can be found at www.ssns.ca.