Inverness County Mental Illness Family Education & Support Group

Monday, June 27, 2016

 6:30pm - 8:30pm

Date

Monday, June 27th, 2016

Time
6:30 pm to 8:30 pm

Place

Inverness Education Centre Academy

59 Veteran Court, Room No. 118

Topic
Coping as a Family

Everyone Welcome!

Do you have a loved one or friend who lives with a mental health and/or addiction problem? 

If Yes, this meeting is for you.  

With sharing comes hope, strength, and wisdom.

For further information about the Inverness County Mental Illness Family Education And Support Group, please contact Jubanti Dhan Toppo, Project Coordinator, Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia, by calling (902) 631-1336, or by sending an email: coordinator@ssns.ca.

Sydney Support Group for Mental Health and Addictions

Tuesday, June 21, 2016
 6:30pm - 8:00pm

The Sydney Mental Health & Addictions Support Group for Family and Friends meets on the third Monday of every month (except December) at the Grand Lake Road Fire Hall, 850 Grand Lake Road, Sydney, Nova Scotia.

Date
Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Time
6:30 pm to 8:00 pm

Place

Grand Lake Road Fire Hall

Classroom 15 (side entrance, plenty of free parking)

850 Grand Lake Road

Sydney, Nova Scotia

Topic

 Learning to L.E.A.P.
(Listen, Empathize, Agree, Partner)

Everyone Welcome!

The Sydney Mental Health & Addictions Support Group for Family and Friends meets on the third Tuesday of every month (except December) at the Grand Lake Road Fire Hall, 850 Grand Lake Road, Sydney, Nova Scotia.

For further information about the Sydney Mental Health & Addictions Support Group, please contact Jubanti Dhan Toppo, Project Coordinator, Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia, by calling (902) 631-1336, or by sending an email to jubanti.dhan.toppo@bellaliant.com.

Antigonish County Mental Illness Family Education & Support Group Meeting

Thursday, November 19th, 6:30 pm

Community Room

The People’s Place Library

283 Main Street

Antigonish, Nova Scotia

Topic
 Talking to a Loved One's Psychiatrist

Guest Speaker
Dr. Sanajana Sridharan, Psychiatrist

Family members and friends of people living with mental illnesses are all welcome to attend and participate. These mental illnesses can include, but are not limited to: psychosis, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, and depression.

If you have a loved one living with a mental illness, this meeting is for you. With sharing comes hope, strength, and wisdom. Please come join us – together we can bring a significant change in the lives of the people we love.

For further information, please contact: Jubanti Dhan Toppo, Project Coordinator, Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia, at 902-631-1336, or send an email to jubanti.dhan.toppo@bellaliant.com.

Artwork by Rodrick J Mackinnon

Infinitely Polar Bear:
Free Film Screening to Raise Awareness of Mental Illness

Saturday, October 10 at 10am

Cineplex Cinemas New Glasgow

612 East River Road, New Glasgow, NS

Mental Illness Awareness Week is October 4 – 10, 2015, and in New Glasgow there will be a free film screening to raise awareness of mental illness and its impact on families.

Infinitely Polar Bear will be screened at 10 am, Saturday, October 10 at Cineplex Cinemas on East River Road, New Glasgow. This will be the first showing of this film in Nova Scotia, a film that was screened last year at international film festivals, including Sundance, Toronto and Vancouver.

The film is the true story of a father with Bipolar who tries to win back his wife by attempting to take full responsibility of their two young, spirited daughters. The film was written and directed by Maya Forbes, telling the story of her father.  

The film is being shown on the last day of Mental Illness Awareness Week, a cause that is very personal for the organizers, Elaine Garland and Cecilia McRae, of the Pictou County Mental Illness Family Support Group.

Cecilia and Elaine’s family’s have both been touched by mental illness. Both sit on the Board of the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia, and with support from that organization were able to start the Pictou County support group they now co-facilitate.

The Pictou County Mental Illness Family Support Group is fundraising to make the free screening   possible, and the event is being presented in partnership with the Aberdeen Health Foundation.

“The Aberdeen Health Foundation is committed to mental health initiatives and to raising awareness about the Sandbar Mental Health Endowment, a fund that supports mental health treatment and      programs in our community,” says Susan Malcolm of the Aberdeen Health Foundation.

The Foundation is also sponsoring tickets, to provide some of the 200 free seats the organizers hope to have available.

For those wanting to sponsor seats, or in the event the free seats are filled, tickets are $8, including taxes, this is a special ticket price that is being offered by Cineplex for this event. To sponsor or reserve seats contact Elaine at (902) 695-6118. 

To read more about MIAW and the efforts of the PCMIFSG to raise awareness and reduce stigma please visit here.

Families Matter in Mental Health: An Education and Support Program -- Nova Scotia

Research has shown that family members experience less stress and feel more encouraged about caring for their relative and themselves when they understand about mental illness and how to cope with difficult situations.

The aim of this program is to provide family members of people living with mental illness the information, knowledge, common skills and confidence to deal more effectively with their role and to improve the quality of life for both the family member and person with the mental illness.

Families Matter in Mental Health is adapted from a program developed by The Meriden Family Programme. Based out of the UK, The Meriden Family Programme is a training and organizational development program which has been promoting the development of family-sensitive, evidence-based mental health services since 1998, with a particular emphasis on the implementation of family work. It is a National Health Services (NHS) program with extensive experience of working with organizations to ensure families remain at the heart of quality mental health service delivery.

To download the Families Matter in Mental Health provincial brochure (PDF), please click here.

To register to participate in an 11-week session of Families Matter in Mental Health in Nova Scotia, or to learn more about this family education and support program, please connect with your local Mental Health and Addictions Services, contact information for which is available by clicking here (for people living within the boundaries of the Capital Health district [including the IWK Health Centre], please contact the Healthy Minds Cooperative by calling (902) 404-3504, or by sending an email to hmnavigator@eastlink.ca).

Also see:

Supporting Families in Recovery - Capital Health Addictions and Mental Health Program

Nova Scotia Certified Peer Support Specialist Program

From the Healthy Minds Cooperative's May 2012 newsletter:

It's Official

The Department of Health and Wellness has chosen Healthy Minds Cooperative to oversee the advancement of the Nova Scotia Certified Peer Support Specialist Program!

Healthy Minds Cooperative has demonstrated a long term commitment and belief in peer support since our inception in 2005. We believe peer support is an integral component of recovery for people living with mental illness. Our organization has been a pioneer in delivering formal peer support on inpatient units since 2006. This ground breaking work was happening at a time when peer support was virtually unknown. It is incredible to know that beginning in 2013 it will now be available in health districts across our province.

We extend a sincere welcome to Roy Muise, the Peer Mentor for the NSCPSS program as part of our Healthy Minds team. Well known and respected Roy brings his extensive work with the Mental Health Commission of Canada, work with PSACC, a vast knowledge of peer support and many years’ experience delivering peer support. Joining Roy in this exciting work will be Vince Daigle who has 7 years’ experience providing formal peer support on an inpatient unit, Michael Smith and Irene Skehen. Together the entire Healthy Minds team possess unique and valuable skills that amount to about 40 years’ experience working in the field of mental health. When you add the soon to be newly certified peer specialists, that will be delivering peer support to every health district in the province to this team there is no doubt that there will be hope and recovery for many. The Department of Health and Wellness is committed to improving the mental health and wellness of all Nova Scotians. They listened to the people of Nova Scotia and developed the first ever mental health strategy for our province. Thanks to their vision and support the reality of individuals having access to peer support will expand and become a reality across our province.

Also see:

Nova Scotia Certified Peer Support Specialist Program

Healthy Minds Cooperative

Peer Support Accreditation and Certification (Canada) [PSACC]

N.S. puts $1 million into mental health program

Our Voice - eNewsletter of the Capital Health Addictions and Mental Health Program - July 2013

Please click on the image to magnify it.

To download the entire eNewsletter, please click here.

Also see:

Capital Health Addictions and Mental Health Program

Community Mental Health Referral Form

OurHealthyMinds.com

Grand challenges in global mental health

An article published in the July 7th edition of the journal, Nature:

Schizophrenia, depression, epilepsy, dementia, alcohol dependence and other mental, neurological and substance-use (MNS) disorders constitute 13% of the global burden of disease (Table 1), surpassing both cardiovascular disease and cancer (ref. 1). Depression is the third leading contributor to the global disease burden, and alcohol and illicit drug use account for more than 5% (ref. 2). Every seven seconds, someone develops dementia (ref. 3), costing the world up to US$609 billion in 2009 (ref. 4). By 2020, an estimated 1.5 million people will die each year by suicide, and between 15 and 30 million will make the attempt (ref. 5).

The absence of cures, and the dearth of preventive interventions for MNS disorders, in part reflects a limited understanding of the brain and its molecular and cellular mechanisms. Where there are effective treatments, they are frequently not available to those in greatest need. In 83% of low-income countries, there are no anti-Parkinsonian treatments in primary care; in 25% there are no anti-epileptic drugs (ref. 6). Unequal distribution of human resources — between and within countries — further weakens access: the World Health Organization’s European region has 200 times as many psychiatrists as in Africa (ref. 7). Across all countries, investment in fundamental research into preventing and treating MNS disorders is disproportionately low relative to the disease burden (ref. 8).

To address this state of affairs, the Grand Challenges in Global Mental Health initiative has identified priorities for research in the next 10 years that will make an impact on the lives of people living with MNS disorders. The study was funded by the US National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) in Bethesda, Maryland, supported by the Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases (GACD), headquartered in London. Answers to the questions posed will require a surge in discovery and delivery science. We use the term ‘mental health’ as a convenient label for MNS disorders. We exclude conditions with a vascular or infectious aetiology (such as stroke or cerebral malaria), because these fell within the scope of the two previous grand challenges initiatives — in global health and in chronic non-communicable diseases (ref 9).

This initiative differs from previous priority-setting exercises for mental health (refs. 10–12) in four ways. First, its scope is global. Second, it is the first to employ the Delphi method (ref. 13), a structured technique using controlled feedback to arrive at consensus within a dispersed panel of many participants. Third, it covers the full range of MNS disorders. Finally, the effort hopes to build a wide-ranging community of research funders — much as the challenge for non-communicable diseases led to the creation of the GACD.

Bold emphasis above is mine.

References

1. World Health Organization The Global Burden of Disease: 2004 Update (WHO, 2008).
2. WHO Atlas on Substance Use (WHO, 2010).
3. Ferri, C. P. et al. Lancet 366, 2112–2117 (2005).
4. Wimo, A., Winblad, B. & Jönsson, L. Alzheimer’s & Dementia 6, 98–103 (2010).
5. Bertolote, J. & Flieschmann, A. Suicidologi 7, 6–8 (2002).
6. WHO Country Resources for Neurological Disorders 2004 (WHO, 2004).
7. WHO Mental Health Atlas (WHO, 2005).
8. Saxena, S., Thornicroft, G., Knapp, M. & Whiteford, H. Lancet 370, 878–889 (2007).
9. Daar, A. S. et al. Nature 450, 494–496 (2007).
10. Lancet Mental Health Group Lancet 370, 1241–1252 (2007).
11. Sharan, P. et al. Br. J. Psychiatry 195, 354–363 (2009).
12. Tomlinson, M. et al. Bull. WHO 87, 438–446 (2009).
13. Jones, J. & Hunter, D. Br. Med. J. 311, 376–380 (1995).

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

Also see:

Thinking Globally to Improve Mental Health

Mental Health: Think Globally, Act Locally

Image credit

Third Mental Health Stamp Raises Funds for Community Mental Health Organizations

A September 13th media release from Canada Post:

Nearly $600,000 in funding provided to non-profit, community based programming

OTTAWA, ONTARIO - Canada Post has issued its third annual fundraising stamp {pictured] in support of mental health. Canada Post's two previous Mental Health fundraising stamps have generated nearly $600,000 in funding for non-profit, community based programming that supports individuals and families coping with mental illness. The 2010 stamp features a mental health patient on the path towards recovery. A tree—the universal symbol of growth, healing and renewal—stands at the summit of a mountain.

As with the previous mental health stamps, a dollar from every booklet sold supports the Canada Post Foundation for Mental Health. Over the last two years the Foundation has distributed $2.5 million in grants to community groups in every region of Canada that provide front-line help to people living with mental illness.

"Mental illness can be far-reaching, but there is hope of recovery," says Jim Phillips, Canada Post's director of stamp services. "We're incredibly proud of what this stamp is accomplishing. The goal of this year's campaign is to raise $2 million and we're sure this new stamp will contribute a good portion to the cause."

Canada Post made mental health its cause of choice in 2007. Since then, customers, employees, suppliers and the public have raised more than $2.5 million for the Foundation. Nearly $600,000 of that was from sales of the 2008 and 2009 mental health stamps.

Lowe-Martin is printing 4 million of the 2010 stamps, which will be sold in booklets of 10 stamps. Measuring 24.75 mm x 35.25 mm (vertical), the stamps will be printed using seven-colour lithography on Tullis Russell paper and tagged on all sides. The Official First Day Cover will bear an Ottawa, Ontario cancel to note the location of the Foundation's headquarters.


For more information, please contact:

Canada Post
Media Relations
613-734-8888
medias@canadapost.ca

Please click on the image to magnify it.


Also visit:

Mental Health - Booklet of 10

Review of Mental Health Research (U.K.)

To download the entire publication, please click here.

Also see:

Mental health research is 'incredibly underfunded'

Landmark MRC review of mental health research calls for change

From shadow to light

An article published in the June 20th edition of the Regina Leader-Post:

by Janice Dockham, Editor in Chief

With the support of a $10,000 journalism award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Leader-Post reporter Pam Cowan has prepared a wide-ranging series on mental health in Saskatchewan. In her 12 years as a Leader-Post reporter, the past six focusing on health reporting, Ms. Cowan has written about many facets of mental health. Her background, together with her sensitivity and insight, have allowed her to explore this touchy topic from a very human perspective.

The CIHR award, the largest monetary prize ever won by a Leader-Post reporter, enabled Ms. Cowan to meet face-to-face with people around Saskatchewan who have a personal stake in mental health issues.

From young mothers who have suffered severe post-partum depression to officials in the justice system who must try to find appropriate treatment for offenders with mental disorders, the series profiles both hope and frustration.

Ms. Cowan's stories are supported by photos from Leader-Post photographers Roy Antal, Don Healy, and Bryan Schlosser. There are also touching images by freelance videographer Troy Fleece, who accompanied Ms. Cowan to the Saskatchewan Hospital in North Battleford and to the three northern communities of La Loche, Buffalo Narrows and Clearwater Dene First Nation.

Follow Ms. Cowan's thought-provoking series, beginning today on Page G1 and continuing until June 26 in the Leader-Post and go to leaderpost.com for exclusive online stories and video.

Also see:

Mental Health Series


Photograph by: leaderpost.com

An Environmental Scan of Mental Health and Mental Illness in Atlantic Canada

September 2007

A report by Martha Muzychka prepared for the Public Health Agency of Canada, Atlantic Regional Office. To view the report, click here (downloads a PDF).

'Nutrition and mental health' opens series of public talks

A December 3rd posting from the University of Cambridge:

The effect of diet and physical exercise on the mood of teenagers will come under discussion at a free public debate in Cambridge tonight.

The event in the Michaelhouse Centre, Trinity Street at 6pm will give people the chance to question expert researchers on how teenagers' diet impacts on their behaviour and mental health.

The discussion is the first in a series of free talks offering the local community the chance to learn about some of the research currently taking place at Cambridge.

The events are being organised by the Festivals and Outreach team at the University and allows an open forum for discussion between scientists, researchers and members of the public.

Tonight's discussion looks at the ‘ROOTS' project which is working with over 1200 teenagers recruited from Cambridgeshire schools to examine the factors that can affect mental health in young adults.

The event will open with a series of presentations, after which there will be a open floor discussion about the group's work and the research methods used.

Nicola Buckley, Festivals and Outreach Co-ordinator said: “This a great chance for the community to learn about research at the University. The role that diet and physical activity have to play in mental health is a fascinating one, and this evening's discussion will provide insights into how what we eat is a crucial factor in understanding conditions such as depression.”

The speakers at tonight's event are Valerie Dunn, ROOTS Project Co-ordinator at the University and Caroline Stokes, of the MRC (Medical Research Council) Human Nutrition Research Unit.

The Roots project is speaking to 14-year-olds from a range of schools in Cambridgeshire. Using a series of interviews and questionnaires with teenagers and parents, the project will look at many aspects of teenage life including family, friends, interests, mood, behaviour, nutrition and activity levels. The project will also look at hormones and genes thought to be important for good health and success during the dynamic years of adolescence.

For more details click here.

Thanks go to John Devlin for bringing this posting to my attention.