Troubled times for mental health: What can we do right now?

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

By Stan Kutcher [pictured]

The recent series in The Chronicle Herald about the crisis in mental health highlighted a number of issues that are not new or unique to Nova Scotia. However, the question facing us in this province is: What are we going to do about it right now? Here are three immediate solutions to our problem that we could put into place quickly.

Focus on children and youth:

We know that approximately 70 per cent of mental disorders begin prior to age 25. We also know that early identification and effective treatment of these disorders is likely to lead to substantially better outcomes and may lead to long-term health cost containment.

So what can we do about this? First, we need to provide effective support to parents and communities so children receive the best early start they can. Then we need to train our teachers and all those who work with young people to learn how to identify children and youth who may be in the early stages of a mental disorder and provide seamless access to effective interventions.

This will require enhancement of human resources, of course, but this should be first developed in this age group. It is my impression that a modest increase in investment in child and youth mental health could lead to immediate short-term improvements with an additional long-term gain. The simple immediate solution: add additional human resources to child and youth mental health services.

Increase mental health care in primary health care:

The primary care sector is the foundation of our health care system. This is where the mental health needs of people are first brought for care. Yet our primary care sector is not set up to deal with such needs. Physicians require better training in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders, and primary care practices need to be supported with health providers who have the skills to provide ongoing psychological care. These providers do not need to be at the highest rank of the professional ladder. Rather, they need to have the competencies to counsel and support those who require mental health interventions.

Effective primary sector mental health care will not only address issues of access to care, but will also decrease the demand on specialty mental health services, leaving them more able to provide care for individuals who require more intensive interventions. The simple immediate solution: add counsellors and other trained therapists to primary care practices.

Stop investing in things that do not work:

Mental health care has long historical roots in many types of interventions for which there is little or no evidence of effectiveness or economic value. It is essential that we stop investing in things that we know do not work or for which there is little compelling evidence that they work.

While we have been moving towards greater awareness of the necessity for evidence-based care, we need to hasten progress in that domain and begin to provide funding on the basis of solid scientific evidence. If the evidence does not yet exist, then the funding could be provisional for a period of time until those who champion the intervention or program have had the opportunity to impartially determine its effect and value.

At the very least, no new programs or interventions should be applied without good, independent and most substantial evidence of their effectiveness and economic value. And all existing programs must be evaluated on what they achieve (their outcomes) not on what they do (their activities).

The simple immediate solution: base funding of mental health programs and interventions at least in part on substantive evidence of their effectiveness and cost-effectiveness and continue funding based on outcomes evaluation.

These three simple solutions may be a good place to start. Concurrently, there needs to be immediate and substantial structural change addressing how mental health services are conceptualized and how mental health care is delivered.

We need to stand back and critically and innovatively create a new system that meets the needs of people, provides care and not just services. It must be based on our national and community values and human rights, and be delivered using the best available scientific evidence by those providers best trained to provide care.

We need to also create a framework that can work alongside (but outside) the current health and mental health domains. This may be best realized by creating a Provincial Mental Health Commission (PMHC) that reports directly to the minister of health and that has as its one mandate the development of a provincial mental health strategy that is population needs-driven, innovative and based on best scientific evidence applied within values and principles that define us as caring, compassionate and considerate human beings.

The PMHC should have a sunset clause: five years. If we cannot do this in five years, we are not doing what needs to be done.


Dr. Stan Kutcher is Sun Life Financial Chair in Adolescent Mental Health and director, World Health Organization Collaborating Centre in Mental Health Policy and Training, Dalhousie University and the IWK Health Centre.

Struggle

Mental health report focuses on multicultural groups

A March 15th news release from the Mental Health Commission of Canada:

CALGARY, March 15 /CNW Telbec/ - Statistics Canada is predicting that 1 in 3 Canadians will belong to a visible minority by 2031. The Mental Health Commission of Canada has released a report addressing the needs of multicultural, immigrant and refugee groups. The study is part of its mandate to improve mental healthcare across all areas of Canadian society.

"These groups face unique challenges and are more exposed to factors that promote mental health problems and illnesses," says Steve Lurie [pictured], Chair of the Commission's Service Systems Advisory Committee.

The document, titled 'Improving Mental Health Services for Immigrant, Refugee, Ethno-cultural and Racialized (IRER) Groups,' outlines factors that policy makers and service providers may want to consider when working to improve mental health services for these groups.

"Migration, discrimination, language barriers and lack of awareness of services have an impact on mental health," says Lurie. "Trust in services, cultural competence, targeted health promotion, and stigma can all delay access to treatment."

The 16 recommendations in the report are firmly rooted in the goals of the Mental Health Strategy for Canada. The recommendations fit into one of three main areas, including:

• Better coordination of policy, knowledge and accountability

• The Involvement of communities, families, and people with lived experience
  

• More appropriate and improved services

The report was prepared by the Diversity Task Group, a subcommittee of the Commission's Service Systems Advisory Group. For more details on the recommendations, see the ... backgrounder [below]. To read the report, please [click here (PDF)].

The Mental Health Commission of Canada is a non-profit organization created to focus national attention on mental health issues. The MHCC does not provide services, but rather acts as a catalyst for action. The Service Systems Advisory Committee is one of eight MHCC committees tasked with making a difference in targeted areas. The other seven are: Child and Youth; Mental Health and the Law; Seniors; First Nations, Inuit and Métis; Workforce; Family Caregivers; and Science.

BACKGROUNDER

Improving mental health services for immigrant, refugee, ethno-cultural and racialized groups: Issues and options for service improvement

The report was prepared by the Diversity Task Group, a subcommittee of the Commission's Service Systems Advisory Committee and the Social Equity and Health Research department of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Ontario.

The report's plan is firmly rooted in the Commission's development of a Mental Health Strategy for Canada.

There are five groups of actions required to improve mental health services for IRER groups:

1. Changed focus - an increased emphasis on prevention and promotion


2. Improvement within services - organisational and individual cultural competence


3. Improved diversity of treatment - diversity of providers, evaluation of treatment options


4. Linguistic competence - improved communication plans and actions to meet Canada's diverse needs


5. Needs linked to expertise - plans to offer support by people and services with expertise to areas with lower IRER populations so they can offer high quality care
   

Sixteen specific recommendations have been made:
------------------------------------------------

CATEGORY 1: Co-ordination of policy, knowledge and accountability

1. Each province and territory should include strategies and performance measures in their mental health plans to address the needs of immigrant, refugee, ethno-cultural, and racialized (IRER) groups.


2. Each province should gather data on the size and the mental health needs of their IRER populations. They should plan their services based on this population data.
   


3. The mental health strategy of each province should consider a cross-sectoral plan for improving the social determinants of mental health problems and illness for IRER groups.
   


4. A virtual national centre for research into the mental health and mental health problems and illness in IRER groups should be developed. The Centre could perform a regular one-day mental health census of mental health care service use and a community needs survey sampled by province.
   


5. Health Canada, Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the provinces and territories should produce a research and development fund for studies aimed at answering strategic policy and practice questions for IRER groups' mental health and service provision. For instance there is an urgent need for Canadian research into the identification and evaluation of culturally appropriate systems of care for immigrant children and youth.
   

CATEGORY 2: The involvement of communities, families and consumers

6. A central part of each provincial and regional plan to improve the
   mental health of immigrant, refugee, ethno-cultural and racialized groups
   must include the involvement of IRER communities, consumers, and families
   in planning, decision-making, implementation, and evaluation.

CATEGORY 3: More appropriate and improved services

7. Health funders should require that service providers take steps to
   attract a more diverse workforce and that there is a monitoring of the
   workforce to assess how it reflects the communities being served.


8. Service provider organizations and provincial ministries should
   develop strategies to enable good candidates from IRER groups to advance
   into appropriate leadership positions within their organizations.


9. Each service provider should have an organizational cultural
   competence strategy.


10. Cultural competence training should be made available to all who have
    direct contact with clients and should be provided to existing staff in
    all service organizations.


11. Cultural competence training should become a standard part of the
    training of all professional care staff. This should be insured through
    standards of accreditation of training programs and institutions and
    licensing professions.


12. Provinces and territories should encourage diversity in the
    organizations that provide care, the models of care used, and the sites
    at which care is offered in order to meet the mental health needs of IRER
    groups.


13. A knowledge transfer strategy for promising practices in the delivery
    of care to IRER groups developed and implemented so that the most
    effective models are known to and can be deployed by providers.


14. A linguistic competence strategy should be mandatory for local/
    regional service providers and funding for this should be provided by
    their funders.


15. A virtual centre of excellence in the treatment and support of
    immigrant and IRER groups should be developed.


16. The MHCC could develop a project similar to the national homelessness
    demonstration project to plan, document and evaluate promising practice
    in the development of diversity strategies in at least five communities
    across the country.

To read the full report, please [click here (PDF)].

For further information: Karleena Suppiah, Communications Specialist, (403) 385-4050 or (403) 370-3835 (cell), ksuppiah@mentalhealthcommission.ca

Photo credit

Positive news helps remove stigma of mental illness

A letter to the editor published in today's edition of the Des Moines Register:

Newspapers have the job of reporting the news - the good and the bad. It was a pleasure to read a positive article such as the one in the March 7 Register regarding mental illness, and schizophrenia in particular, "Crimes Distort Disease's Reality."

The article emphasized that mental illness is treatable. As in other illnesses, early diagnosis is imperative for health to improve. Diagnosis, therapy and medication, and sometimes hospitalization, are all components essential to a person with schizophrenia, not unlike other illnesses.

Positive journalism regarding schizophrenia is a welcome window for family members who are living with a stigma that still permeates. More positive knowledge might improve that stigma.

- Patricia Schafer, Ankeny

MENTAL HEALTH: SPECIAL REPORT

From the March 8th edition of The Chronicle Herald:

Is the mental health system broken? Find out, starting in Tuesday’s edition of The Chronicle Herald.

The Articles and Videos

Addressing mental health malaise difficult in tough times, but necessary (March 12th)

Desperate measures (March 12th)

Reaching the breaking point (March 12th)

Getting help instead of being put behind bars (March 12th)

Taking treatment to kids (March 11th)

Payment scheme keeps patient numbers down (March 11th)

Balancing treatment, research (March 11th)

Much work to do (March 10th)

VIDEO: Health Minister Maureen MacDonald says mental health care is a priority (March 10th)

Real success or just a mirage? (March 10th)

Integrated care in community best, cheapest (March 10th)

Help just down the hallway (March 10th)

When an option is denied (March 10th)

Mental health: Is our province’s system hurting or helping? (March 9th)

Desperately seeking help for Donnie (March 9th)

The long road to mental health (March 9th)

Mental illness problems common among homeless (March 9th)


Also see:

Success stories

Involuntary Psychiatric Treatment Act (Nova Scotia)

Nova Scotia's Mental Health Court Program

Spring Lake Ranch

Home on the farm: Working therapeutic farm communities (An article from the fall 2007 edition of Schizophrenia Magazine, PDF)


Letters to the editor:

March 24th

Mental health clinics work


Awareness key

I would like to thank The Chronicle Herald for exploring the challenges facing mental health services in Nova Scotia. It is a difficult topic to cover thoroughly, as issues of confidentiality often prevent mental health professionals from disclosing details of illness and treatment in specific cases. Mental illness is difficult for patients and families, as well as for treating physicians. As in other medical conditions, many psychiatric illnesses have poor prognosis and the best treatments sometimes prove ineffective.

As a medical student, I am learning the importance of advocating for patients. Treatments available in Nova Scotia are top-notch but most mental illnesses are chronic conditions requiring many resources to optimize outcomes. Growing strains on the health-care system and limited resources add another dimension to the challenges of treatment. I am in the process of completing a six-week psychiatry rotation at the QEII and have seen first-hand both the difficulties faced by patients as well as the dedication and compassion of members of the mental health team.

Increased public awareness of the need for further supports is a great step toward ensuring these patients have the necessary resources.

Blair Williams, Halifax

March 19th

Don’t discount positives

In response to the March 12 article "Reaching the breaking point," I would like to share that I have been a mental health consumer under the care of Dr. David Mulhall since 1997. The care I have received from Valley Regional Hospital’s mental health unit and its staff has been paramount in my recovery. Please don’t discount the fact that numerous consumers have received and are receiving proper care from the hospital and its range of services.

It may not be a perfect system, and it’s not black and white, but I agree with Dr. John Campbell, who says he has "confidence in the people who work within our system."

Barbara Martin, Wolfville


Research topics

Regarding the Capital District Health Authority: Hats off to Dr. William O. McCormick, psychiatrist, for his March 12 letter "Hospital open and active." He stated the facts about the Nova Scotia Hospital not being closed, and about its Allied Sites.

People should not comment in public before they fully research their topics.

Emmalee Hopkins, Halifax

March 18th

Troubled times for mental health: What can we do right now?

March 17th

Unique contribution

Mental health is certainly everybody’s business and it is imperative that the public has adequate knowledge and education in order to make informed decisions about individual needs.

The March 10 article "Real success or just a mirage?" contains some comments that could lead to a misconception about the qualifications of psychologists and their role in mental health. An understanding of the unique contribution that psychologists make in the provision of mental health services plays an integral part of public education and informed decision-making.

Registered psychologists in Nova Scotia are uniquely qualified to diagnose and provide treatment for a spectrum of mental health disorders. Psychologists are involved across the continuum of care — from prevention, diagnosis and intervention to the treatment of acutely ill individuals. Ultimately, working toward an environment where individuals can be offered services from an interdisciplinary team of professionals is an advantage to the client or patient.

On another note, it was wrong for the title of your series on mental health services in Nova Scotia to contain the words "Broken minds," with a graphic of a head with a shattered hole in it against a backdrop of machine cogs. This image promotes a stereotype of mental illness.

Dean Perry, R.Psych., Public Education Co-ordinator,
Association of Psychologists of N.S.

March 14th

Real progress made every day

IN LIGHT of The Chronicle Herald’s special report on mental health last week, I thought it was the right opportunity to shine a light on some of the positive work being done for mental health care right here in our community.

This past week, we have heard about the holes in the province’s health care system, the disparity of funding allocated to mental health care and heart-wrenching stories of families and individuals affected by mental illness.

While these are all important stories to tell, perhaps the real message here is about awareness.

In last Wednesday’s article titled "Much work to do," Health Minister Maureen MacDonald was quoted as saying, "We won’t fix the mental health system, but we will make some real progress."

Let us be reminded that real progress is being made every day.

Yes, there are funding limitations, a provincial deficit and poor distribution of health care funds. But each day, we are more impressed by our community’s willingness to give their time and effort to help raise awareness about the prevalence of mental illness.

In April, the Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia will launch our first-ever capital campaign in support of mental health, Opening Minds. This groundbreaking campaign aims to raise $3 million to improve mental health care services for individuals who are affected by mental illness.

Anyone can support this campaign, whether it’s by making a financial contribution, volunteering their time or spreading the word throughout their community about the need for support.

While there is still much work to be done, the Foundation has made major strides in changing the way people think about mental illness — and you, too, can help make a difference.

Fred MacGillivray, Chair, Board of Trustees, Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia

March 12th

Hospital open and active

We who are mental health professionals are following with interest the articles this week. It is very disappointing that the March 10 front-page article "Much work to do" contained misleading information. Outlining our health minister’s experience, the article stated: "She … worked at Dalhousie Legal Aid and the Nova Scotia Hospital before it was closed in favour of a community-based mental health model."

It is no more true that the Nova Scotia Hospital has been closed than to say that the Victoria General Hospital or the Halifax Infirmary has been closed because they are now part of the Capital District Health Authority (CDHA). At the Nova Scotia Hospital, we have the following: the only in-patient unit for the seniors’ mental health service of CDHA; the only in-patient unit in the province for those with dual diagnoses of mental illness and developmental delay; two rehabilitation units for persons with very severe and persistent mental illness; one of the three acute in-patient units in CDHA mental health program.

A number of other programs which, along with the parent hospital, we refer to as "the Nova Scotia Hospital and Allied Sites" are, indeed, community-based, including three of the five out-patient clinics in CDHA.

I am proud to be just three weeks short of completing 21 years association with this important Dalhousie University department of psychiatry teaching hospital.

William O. McCormick, psychiatrist, Mental Health Services
Bedford/Sackville

March 10th

Signs of hope

We appreciate the initiative you have taken in focusing on mental health in Nova Scotia. In Tuesday’s paper, you highlight a few shortcomings. There are also signs of hope. More staff and money may not be the total solution.

First: There are talented and committed professionals seeking to make a difference. There is the early intervention program, with mental health professionals working with school staff to identify young people who could develop mental illness. We could back them up with volunteers for support groups and provide activities for those at risk.

Second: Family members are available to supplement professional treatment. In many instances, they provide the majority of the care, at no cost to the Department of Health. They need to be welcomed, valued and integrated into the total package.

Third: Those who "consume" mental health services for themselves and who are on the recovery journey from their illness are a valuable resource. They can be the sympathetic ear and a model/partner for others who are ill.

We shall read the subsequent issues of The Chronicle Herald with interest.

Rev. Roger Cann, New Minas

Modest Investments for People with Disabilities and their Families in Federal Budget 2010: Update from CACL

Please click on the images to enlarge them.

Strengthening Families Together: Kentville

Ongoing!

FREE!

Do you have a relative or friend with a serious mental illness?

Would you like to learn more about his or her illness?

Delivered by family members who have direct experience with the psychiatric illness of a loved one, and enhanced by invited speakers with topical expertise, Strengthening Families Together is a Canadian-based educational program for families and friends which provides information, skill-building, and support. The program is FREE and open to all family members and friends of those living with a serious mental illness.

You will learn about:

• Early intervention and recovery
• Treatments and supports
• Coping with challenges of daily living
• Navigating the mental health system
• The importance of taking care of yourself, too

The Kings County Chapter of the SSNS will deliver Strengthening Families Together at the CMHA Kings County Branch office, 49 Cornwallis Street, Suite 109, Kentville, Nova Scotia, beginning on Tuesday, March 16th, from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm, and continuing for nine consecutive weeks.

For an outline of the Strengthening Families Together program, please click here.

Registration

To register for this 10-week session of Strengthening Families Together, please contact Pat at (902) 678-8458 or Penni at (902) 678-1229.

Quotes from participants of previous Strengthening Families Together sessions:

“I would like to say thank you so very much for taking the time and effort to have this program on Thursday nights. It has been a wonderful experience and I am sad to see it end.”

“This has been a blessing to me. I am very satisfied with my experience with the group, and my understanding of the health care options and support available to us has greatly increased. I would highly recommend Strengthening Families Together to any who will listen! Thanks.”

“Some solid strategies and ideas on how to help our son.”

“I feel this program is a wonderful launching pad; it equips us to participate in community events and gives us connections to others who are equally passionate about understanding mental illness. It’s a valuable resource.”

Centre to study mental health, addiction, inequality

A posting from the Simon Fraser University website:

How do the intersections of gender, race, poverty and other social factors affect services and outcomes for people with mental health and addiction issues?

That’s one of the questions SFU’s new Vancouver campus Centre for the Study of Gender, Social Inequities and Mental Health plans to address.

The centre will investigate why there is unequal access to services and health outcomes for people with mental illness and substance-use problems.

It will also help develop programs, policies and interventions to resolve these issues, with the goal of improving adult mental health both in Canada and abroad.

SFU health scientists Marina Morrow [pictured] and Elliot Goldner and the Mental Health Commission of Canada’s Howard Chodos will lead the centre, which will include more than 30 national and international co-investigators and collaborators.

Morrow, a community psychologist, specializes in research related to gender and mental health and mental-health reform.

"I would say women are still under-served—most services don’t take gender into account," she says.

"Yet within the female population, women are more at risk of sexual exploitation and violence, particularly if they suffer from mental health issues."

Centre activities will focus on mental health reform; recovery and housing; reproductive mental health; violence, mental health and substance use; and the criminal justice system, mental health and substance use.

"The centre has three main functions," explains Morrow. "To foster research in the key priority areas, to develop knowledge exchange that will encourage implementation of our research findings, and to mentor and train students and community-based researchers who can build capacity in the field of social inequities and mental health."

"There’s a pressing need for this centre," she says, "because there has been very little attention to the ways in which social and structural determinants affect people with mental health issues."

The centre is being funded with nearly $2 million from the Institute of Gender and Health, part of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

Photo credit

This Valley Life: Student speakers advocate for change

An article published in the March 4th edition of the Contra Costa Times:

By Jim Ott

Earlier this week, Dublin High School senior Annie Arcuri stood in front of more than 90 people at a regional Rotary breakfast in Livermore and shared a story about her older brother, Louis.

"I lost my older brother to schizophrenia," she said into the microphone, stepping away from the safety of the lectern. "He had been a straight-A student, a star athlete, but he became lost to an illness that no one wants to talk about."

To read the entire article, please click here.

Scientists identify age-associated defects in schizophrenia

A March 1st news release from The Scripps Research Institute:

Gene network-based analysis reveals unexpected results

LA JOLLA, CA – March 1, 2010 –The underlying causes of the debilitating psychiatric disorder schizophrenia remain poorly understood. In a new study published online in Genome Research March 2, 2010, however, scientists report that a powerful gene network analysis has revealed surprising new insights into how gene regulation and age play a role in schizophrenia.

Researchers are actively working to identify the direct cause of schizophrenia, likely rooted in interactions between genes and the environment resulting in abnormal gene expression in the central nervous system. Scientists have been studying expression changes in schizophrenia on an individual gene basis, yet this strategy has explained only a portion of the genetic risk.

In the new work, a team of researchers led by Associate Professor Elizabeth Thomas [pictured] of The Scripps Research Institute has taken a novel approach to this problem, performing a gene network-based analysis that revealed surprising insight into schizophrenia development.

The group analyzed gene expression data from the prefrontal cortex, a region of the brain associated with schizophrenia, sampled post-mortem from normal individuals and schizophrenia patients ranging from 19 to 81 years old. However, instead of just looking at genes individually, Thomas and colleagues at the Scripps Translational Science Institute, Nicholas Schork and Ali Torkamani, considered interactions between genes, as well as groups of genes that showed similar patterns of expression, to identify dysfunctional cellular pathways in schizophrenia.

"Once gene co-expression networks are identified," said Thomas, "we can then ask how they are affected by factors such as age or drug treatment, or if they are associated with particular cell types in the brain."

The gene network analysis suggested that normal individuals and schizophrenia patients have an unexpectedly similar connectivity between genes, but the most surprising finding was a significant link between aging and gene expression patterns in schizophrenia. The team identified several groups of co-expressed genes that behaved differently in schizophrenia patients compared to normal subjects when age was considered.

A particularly striking age-related difference in co-expression was found in a group of 30 genes related to developmental processes of the nervous system. Normally these genes are turned off as a person ages, but in schizophrenia patients the genes remain active. This critical finding strongly suggests that age-related aberrant regulation of genes important for development can explain at least part of the manifestation of schizophrenia.

Thomas explained that these findings help to refine the developmental hypothesis of schizophrenia, which states that one or more pathogenic "triggers" occur during critical periods of development to increase risk of the disease. Specifically, this work indicates that abnormal gene expression in developmentally related genes might be a significant pathogenic trigger, occurring over a broader time-scale than expected.

"Rather than a pathological trigger occurring at a critical developmental time point," said Thomas, "the trigger is ongoing throughout development and aging."

Furthermore, Thomas noted that the new study supports early intervention and treatment of schizophrenia. Treatment approaches aimed at averting gene expression changes and altering the course of the disease could be specifically tailored to the age of the patient.

###

In addition to Thomas, Torkamani, and Schork, authors of the study, "Coexpression network analysis of neural tissue reveals perturbations in developmental processes in schizophrenia," include Brian Dean of the Mental Health Research Institute (Australia). See Genome Res doi:10.1101/gr.101956.109.

This work was supported by the Scripps Translational Science Institute Clinical Translational Science Award, the National Institutes of Health, and a Scripps Dickinson Fellowship.

Interested reporters may obtain copies of the manuscript from Peggy Calicchia, Editorial Secretary, Genome Research (calicchi@cshl.edu; +1-516-422-4012).


About The Scripps Research Institute

The Scripps Research Institute is one of the world's largest independent, non-profit biomedical research organizations, at the forefront of basic biomedical science that seeks to comprehend the most fundamental processes of life. Scripps Research is internationally recognized for its discoveries in immunology, molecular and cellular biology, chemistry, neurosciences, autoimmune, cardiovascular, and infectious diseases, and synthetic vaccine development. Established in its current configuration in 1961, it employs approximately 3,000 scientists, postdoctoral fellows, scientific and other technicians, doctoral degree graduate students, and administrative and technical support personnel. Scripps Research is headquartered in La Jolla, California. It also includes Scripps Florida, whose researchers focus on basic biomedical science, drug discovery, and technology development. Scripps Florida is located in Jupiter, Florida.

Contact: Keith McKeown
kmckeown@scripps.edu
858-784-8134
Scripps Research Institute


About Genome Research

Launched in 1995, Genome Research (www.genome.org) is an international, continuously published, peer-reviewed journal that focuses on research that provides novel insights into the genome biology of all organisms, including advances in genomic medicine. Among the topics considered by the journal are genome structure and function, comparative genomics, molecular evolution, genome-scale quantitative and population genetics, proteomics, epigenomics, and systems biology. The journal also features exciting gene discoveries and reports of cutting-edge computational biology and high-throughput methodologies.


About Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory is a private, nonprofit institution in New York that conducts research in cancer and other life sciences and has a variety of educational programs. Its press, originating in 1933, is the largest of the laboratory's five education divisions and is a publisher of books, journals, and electronic media for scientists, students, and the general public.

Photo by Dana Neibert.

What patients think about involuntary treatment

Posted on February 26th by Mental Health Update:

All over the world large numbers of people are admitted to psychiatric hospitals. The laws governing this are controversial and in the U.K. are governed by the 2007 Mental Health Act. Most laws are based on the assumption that people who are compulsorily admitted to hospital do not recognise their need for care at the time so research has tended to concentrate on whether - looking back on things - people think it was a good idea that they received treatment. A team of researchers, led by Stefan Priebe [pictured] from Newham Centre for Mental Health, London led a study of 1,613 people in 11 different countries. They were interviewed within a week of admission and again after a month and three months. The number of people who were happy with the decision to involuntarily treat them varied a lot between the different countries and ranged from 71% in Italy to 39% in Lithuania after a month and from 46% in Sweden to 86% in Italy after three months. (The figures for England were 47% and 54% respectively.) Women, people living alone and people with schizophrenia were more likely to be unhappy with their admissions.

Priebe, Stefan ... [et al] - Patients' views of involuntary hospital admission after 1 and 3 months: prospective study in 11 European countries. British Journal of Psychiatry. March 2010, 196(3), 179-185.

Photo credit

McGorry urges mental health overhaul

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

By Julia Medew

The Australian of the Year, Patrick McGorry [pictured], has called for a massive overhaul of the mental health system to direct funds away from acute hospital services to more community-based care.

Only weeks after accepting his award, Professor McGorry has moved to capitalise on his role by asking the federal Health Minister, Nicola Roxon, for at least $200 million in new services this year.

On top of his list is a significant expansion of specialised treatment facilities for young people aged 15 to 24 who are experiencing early psychosis and other serious mental health disorders such as schizophrenia.

He said the only such facility in Australia, Orygen Youth Health, should be used as a model for 10 new centres in other cities this year, with a commitment to another 10 in regional hubs over the next five years.

The rollout would cost $100 million this year, he said, with recurrent spending rising to about $250 million a year when all 21 centres are operating.

"This investment will be recouped three times over because early intervention is highly cost-effective and rapidly shrinks the need for care in the medium to long term," he said.

"This will free up resources for the long-term disabled cases and the broader range of mental disorders. The health economics case is unassailable."

Professor McGorry, who directs Orygen Youth Health, said he had also asked for 60 new "headspace" centres, which currently provide mental health, education, employment and drug and alcohol services to young people aged 12 to 25 at 30 sites across the country.

He said this expansion, which would cost $100 million to set up and the same in recurrent spending, would make headspace centres the first port of call for young people showing signs of mental illness, who could then be referred on to the specialised treatment facilities if need be.

"This is a low-risk reform strategy with rapid and dramatic benefits in health gain and cost savings. Failure to invest in early psychosis reform will result in another lost generation of young Australians consigned to unnecessary disability as well as premature death from suicide and cardiovascular disease," he said.

Professor McGorry said he wanted to see the centre of gravity of mental health services shifted away from hospitals to community-based facilities because the sector had suffered enormously from being moved out of "asylums" and into hospitals in the 1990s. He said the transition was like "boarding a sinking ship" for mental health professionals who had struggled to work with scarce funds ever since.

''The acute pressure [on the hospital system] has made mental health budgets very vulnerable,'' he said. ''The mental health system needs to be scaled up significantly now. It needs to double in size and the states can't do it alone.''

Professor McGorry said that after consulting widely in recent weeks, he also hoped federal and state and territory governments would fund more mobile treatment teams for people with delayed recovery and persistent conditions so they were not forced to go to hospital emergency departments during crises.

"We need to disinvest in emergency departments as the place for acute and crisis care. EDs are the wrong places for people with mental health problems to be treated," he said.

Photo credit

MHCC receives major grant from City of Vancouver

A February 19th news release from the Mental Health Commission of Canada:

CALGARY, Feb. 19 /CNW Telbec/ - The Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) has received a $500,000 grant from the City of Vancouver. The funds will help operate part of a research demonstration project on mental health and homelessness at a downtown hotel.

The 100-unit Bosman Hotel is being converted into supportive housing for some of the participants in the Vancouver At Home/Chez Soi project. It is part of the MHCC's four-year national research initiative.

The initiative is taking a 'Housing First' approach to finding the best ways to help homeless people who also live with a mental illness. Similar projects are being carried out in Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal and Moncton. 2285 homeless people living with a mental illness will participate nationally and 1,325 people from within that group will be given a place to live.

"This is terrific news," said Mr. Michael Kirby, Chair of the MHCC. "It is wonderful to see such a strong commitment and we look forward to working with the City of Vancouver and other partners over the course of this initiative."

This latest grant is in addition to a 1.1 million dollar contribution to the project previously made by Vancouver's "Streetohome Foundation" (www.streetohome.org). That donation included a $275,000 grant from the "Vancouver Foundation" (www.vancouverfoundation.bc.ca). Both organizations are helping tackle homelessness in Vancouver.

The Mental Health Commission of Canada is a non-profit organization created to focus national attention on mental health issues. The MHCC does not provide services, but rather acts as a catalyst for action.


For further information:

Nujma Bond, Mental Health Commission of Canada, (403) 385-4033

Catharine Hume, Vancouver At Home/Chez Soi project, (604) 688-2204

Also see:

The Mental Health Commission of Canada Announces a Framework for a Mental Health Strategy for Canada

Gratitude as an Action Plan

A February 17th webinar, conducted by Carol Bailey Floyd (pictured), which was sponsored by the Copeland Center for Wellness and Recovery and Essential Learning:

Gratitude can serve to heal and help us move forward in positive ways. A daily acknowledgment of what is right in our lives can create the groundwork for mindfulness, confidence, self-esteem, and empowerment. Active recognition of the optimistic force of gratitude is a powerful approach to living. This presentation includes remarkable research findings about the benefits of using this simple, safe and uplifting wellness tool.

Carol Bailey Floyd, Director of Programs for Mental Health Recovery & WRAP, is a certified WRAP facilitator and trainer of facilitators. Well-known in the mental health field, she was the Project Coordinator for the University of Illinois at Chicago's WRAP Research Project in Ohio.


Downloads Available

PowerPoint Slides for Gratitude as an Action Plan

Recording of Gratitude as an Action Plan

Photo credit

Much more must be done

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

The Feb. 9 story "Family tried to get teen murder suspect psychiatric help" reports that the family of the young man charged tried to obtain psychiatric care prior to the tragic event. It is often the shocking that draws attention to the commonplace. We need to do more, much more.

Parents, youth and health providers have known for a long time now that rapid, efficent access to effective, high-quality mental health care is a problem. We need to do much better to ensure that those who need care immediately receive high-quality care immediately. That may mean redesigning our health system. That may mean addressing mental health literacy in schools and in the community. That may mean better training in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders for all health providers.

One in five young people has a mental disorder requiring professional treatment. If the prevalence of heart disease in youth was that high, would there not be a heart clinic on every corner? Yet those in most need of mental health care do not receive it. What is wrong with this picture? Enough is enough. It is time to fix the problem!

Dr. Stan Kutcher [pictured]
Sun Life Financial Chair in Adolescent Mental Health
Dalhousie University

Family had been trying for months to get teen murder suspect psychiatric help

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

By Steve Bruce, Court Reporter

The family of a 17-year-old Middle Sackville boy charged with murdering a woman last Friday had been trying to get him psychiatric help for months, The Chronicle Herald has learned.

They had finally managed to get him an appointment for a psychiatric assessment at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax [pictured] on Monday, sources close to the family said.

But something allegedly went horribly wrong before the boy could be assessed.

Last Friday at about 12:15 p.m., RCMP found the body of Joyann Wright, 49, in her home on Hewer Crescent in Middle Sackville.

Police haven’t released the cause of death, but sources say Wright was stabbed and that the boy tried to kill himself after he fled the scene in her vehicle.

The teenager, whose identity is protected by the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was naked when he was arrested on a Lower Sackville street.

Police believe he was involved in a string of motor vehicle collisions after the killing.

A Saturn Astra owned by the victim crashed into a postal van on Rossing Drive, about 50 metres from Hewer Crescent. The vehicle also crashed into the back of a dump truck that was parked on Millwood Drive.

Then the boy was involved in a minor car-pedestrian accident on Sackville Drive after apparently throwing himself in front of a vehicle.

He received treatment for his physical injuries at the Cobequid Community Health Centre in Lower Sackville before he was transferred to the mental health unit at the IWK.

The boy wasn’t able to make it to Halifax youth court Monday morning from the hospital.

Defence lawyer Stan MacDonald appeared in court on the boy’s behalf.

Judge Pam Williams granted MacDonald’s request to have the matter adjourned until Friday.

The teenager will remain in custody at the IWK.

A Crown attorney will be brought in from Sydney to prosecute the case, court was told.

MacDonald refused to comment on his client’s mental health history when contacted by this newspaper Monday afternoon.

Outside court earlier in the day, the boy’s lawyer said the IWK unit "is the appropriate place for him right now."

"At this point, what I would like to say is to convey that his family is very appreciative of how the police dealt with the matter and very appreciative of the treatment that he received at the Cobequid centre and at the IWK," MacDonald told reporters.

The boy has one conviction for theft. He pleaded guilty in January and is due to be sentenced in April.

(sbruce@herald.ca)

Also see:

System is in chaos, mental health advocates say

Three cheers for outspoken health bureaucrat

Mental Health Advocate (IWK Health Centre)

Mental Health Mobile Crisis Team (PDF)

Photograph of the IWK Health Centre courtesy of the Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University.

Her life story goes from fearful to awesome

An article published in today's edition of The Province:

By Lora Grindlay

For the 11th year, Coast Mental Health will present six people with Courage to Come Back awards for overcoming injury, illness and adversity and for inspiring those around them while doing so. Recipients will be celebrated at a gala dinner at Vancouver's Hyatt Regency hotel on April 30. Today we profile the recipient in the mental-health category. Find more at coastmentalhealth.com

-------

No longer is Tina Tomashiro's life ruled by fear.

Her days are now measured in achievement and accomplishment: Three years since she last used crack cocaine; four courses of the 11 she needs to be a paralegal completed; a full-time job as office manager of Pivot Legal Society; the correct medication and the self-awareness to control her depression and paranoid schizophrenia; mastering the art of doing perfect circles on her rollerblades.

And now a Courage to Come Back award -- a testament to her willingness and determination to change the life she once lived. It was the life of a homeless, drug-addicted woman with an untreated mental illness suffering severe trauma following a violent assault in 2002.

"I was totally unemployable four years ago because of my mental health, because of self-esteem. I had low self-worth, very little support," said Tomashiro, 39 (pictured).

Tomashiro struggled with mental illness for years and was diagnosed with depression in 1999 and with schizophrenia in 2005.

In the years between the diagnoses she was the victim of a violent attack at the hands of someone she thought she knew.

"I'm a little too trusting, a little too nice," she said. "I actually thought I was going to die that night."

Tomashiro believes the attack triggered something inside her.

"I started being scared all the time," she said. "I think that somehow I snapped."

Following the attack, she lost her job of over two years at BCIT, began using crack cocaine and moved to Calgary where, when she wasn't living on the streets, she was in the psychiatric ward of a hospital.

Tomashiro returned to Vancouver in late 2004 and moved into the Stanley Hotel, a supported-housing program in the Downtown Eastside operated by the Portland Hotel Society. It was there that she reached rock bottom with a suicide attempt, but it's also where she started her comeback.

Dr. Bill MacEwan, a psychiatrist familiar to many in the Downtown Eastside, got her stabilized on medication. And she quit crack.

"Everything that happened from when I was assaulted, I just lived for fear," she said. "I used to use [crack] and it made me really scared. I just reached a point where I was tired of being scared. I was scared that I was going to wake up scared again."

Tomashiro now lives at the Portland's Pennsylvania Hotel in the Downtown Eastside, has renewed contact with her 17-year-old daughter and credits the Portland Hotel Society, Pivot Legal Society and MacEwan for investing in her life.

She's renovated and painted her single-occupancy room, repaired clothes for her neighbours, secured a $500-grant to plant a community garden, and threw a barbeque for the neighbourhood.

Tomashiro started an art program at the Carnegie Centre, promoted Pivot's Hope in Shadows calendar and has spoken publicly about her struggles with mental illness.

"I've changed so much in the last few years," she said.

Photograph by Nick Procaylo, The Province.

Learning to cope

An article published in the January 29th edition of The Truro Daily News:

Educating yourself key to dealing with mental illness

By Monique Chiasson

TRURO – Martha Rodler (pictured) has come to expect people uttering “stupid” or “crazy” under their breath within her earshot.

She doesn’t approve of such rude actions, but she deals with it in a positive way.
“I feel bad for them because it’s their problem and they are looking for a reaction so I don’t give it to them,” said the North River resident who has learned how to deal with mental illness issues in a healthy way. Her mother and brother were both diagnosed with schizophrenia many years ago and while she has had to learn how to cope with their illness, she has also had to educate herself on how to handle society’s ignorance and intolerance of mental illness.

“There’s still a stigma that someone with mental illness is stupid and it can be shameful for some ... but you can’t let what other people think affect you,” said Rodler. “You need to see there’s a person beyond the illness and it wasn’t their choice to have it. It’s a challenge that has made me a stronger person.”

Before Rodler educated herself on understanding mental illness and enforcing healthy boundaries, she often felt “stress, resentment and anger.”

She said as important as it was for her to learn how to accept, understand and deal with other people’s mental illness, it is also vital the community becomes more understanding and tolerant as well.

“If a person with mental health (issues) has learned to live with it why can’t we (as a society)? It’s time to break the cycle of stigma,” said Rodler.

There are many ways of getting help, she said, including searching for information online, self help groups, therapy, books and tapes and through the local Canadian Mental Health Association.

The association hosted Wine, Women and Wellness at the Marigold Thursday night. The event was the first of its kind in Truro with the goal of bringing women together to become closer, share their experiences and help raise awareness about mental health. “It’s great,” said Rodler. “Women are very strong but we need each other.”

The association’s executive director, Crystal Hill, said such events are vital to the community.

“Everybody is affected by mental health and it’s important to recognize the importance of talking about it ... so people know there are resources available,” said Hill.

Also see:

Learning about Schizophrenia: Rays of Hope - A Reference Manual for Families & Caregivers (PDF)

Symptoms of Psychosis & Schizophrenia (PDF)

Photograph by Monique Chiasson, Truro Daily News.

Doctors and dentists who 'substance abuse' helped

An article posted on January 28th by BBC News:

A pilot project giving special help to doctors and dentists with health problems has treated 184 people in its first year.

By Jane Dreaper, Health Correspondent, BBC News

62% of them had mental health problems, while 36% were battling drink or drug addiction.

Of the 78 who weren't working when they came into contact with the scheme, 46% returned to work.

The medical director of the project said she had been surprised at the extent of substance misuse.

The project has been hailed a success and there are plans to expand it.

A third of the medics contacted the service because they were already involved in disciplinary proceedings.

Depression was the mental health problem most commonly diagnosed by the NHS Practitioner Health Programme (PHP) - but the service also uncovered six cases of psychosis that hadn't previously been treated.

Of the 67 doctors and dentists who attended the service with addiction problems, 51 were drinking too much alcohol while 16 were abusing a range of drugs - including heroin, ketamine and cocaine.

'Embarrassed'

The PHP was set up because NHS clinicians are often embarrassed to seek help for these sorts of problems.

It also has to ensure that patients aren't put at risk by doctors and dentists who are unwell.

Five of the scheme's patients removed themselves from their duties after being told they should do so - and on two occasions, the PHP contacted the regulators to express concern about its patients.

Psychiatrists, anaesthetists and paediatricians were the specialties most commonly attending the service.

The PHP's medical director, Dr Clare Gerada, said: "This has been a real eye-opener.

"I thought at first we'd see a bit of stress and burn-out. But it soon became apparent how troubled some of these doctors and dentists were.

"I've been surprised at the degree and extent of substance misuse that we've seen.

"They're not the easiest patients in the world - and behind them are patients who could potentially be harmed.

"They tend to present at a late stage, but very few dropped out of treatment, and most of them tend to do well."

'Abstinent'

More than 80% of the doctors and dentists who were treated for addiction were shown to have stayed abstinent afterwards - compared with about 10% of the general population.

The service tests their hair and blood for evidence of alcohol or substance abuse.

PHP has so far operated in Greater London. Talks have begun to set up similar NHS services in Newcastle and Avon.

The chief medical officer for England, Sir Liam Donaldson, had the idea for the service.

He said: "The problem is there in all medical workplaces around the world.

"Previously, doctors found it extremely difficult to access appropriate and confidential care.

"From the number of patients accessing PHP during its first year, it's clear there is a need for this highly specialised service."

Photograph courtesy of the Practitioner Health Programme.

Blood test for schizophrenia could be ready this year

A January 20th media release from the American Chemical Society:

A blood test for diagnosing schizophrenia — the most serious form of mental illness — could be available this year, according to an article in the current issue of Chemical & Engineering News, ACS' weekly newsmagazine. The disorder, with symptoms that can include hallucinations and delusional thoughts, affects more than two million people in the United States and millions more worldwide.

C&EN Senior Editor Celia Henry Arnaud mentions the test as one part of a much broader discussion of how scientists are using non-brain cells to study schizophrenia in an attempt to speed the identification of biomarkers of the disease and develop new diagnostic tests. She notes that schizophrenia does not just involve the brain, but also abnormal levels of certain proteins that appear in other parts of the body. The article highlights groundbreaking research by a group of scientists in the United Kingdom indicating that 40 percent of the chemical changes in the brains of schizophrenia patients also occur in other body parts. The U.K. scientists are studying these biomarkers in the skin, immune cells, and blood of patients to provide a real-time picture of the disease. Most previous studies, in contrast, were done with brain tissue taken from patients after death, the article notes.

The scientists have already identified several schizophrenia biomarkers in the blood and are working with a company that plans to launch a blood test for diagnosing schizophrenia in 2010. The test could help confirm diagnoses made on the basis of psychiatric evaluations and allow earlier diagnosis so that patients can be treated earlier.

###

ARTICLE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
"A Systemic Look at Schizophrenia"

This story is available at http://pubs.acs.org/cen/science/88/8803sci1.html

Contact
Michael Bernstein
Email: m_bernstein@acs.org
Phone: 202-872-6042

Also see:

Expression Profiling of Fibroblasts Identifies Cell Cycle Abnormalities in Schizophrenia

Photograph courtesy of the American Chemical Society.

Industry-Academic Consortium Set Up to Bolster Schizophrenia and Depression R&D

An article posted today by Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News:

A newly established international industry-academic consortium is to receive funding from the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) to develop new models and methods for the discovery of treatments for schizophrenia and depression. Led by H. Lundbeck and Kings College London, the NEWMEDS (novel methods leading to new medications in depression and schizophrenia) project plans on partnering with major academic institutions in Europe and Israel as well as global pharma companies like AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen Pharmaceutica, Novartis, Orion, Pfizer, Roche, Servier, and Wyeth.

The research will focus on developing new animal models for the identification of treatments for schizophrenia. It will also examine how genetic variations influence drug response. Additionally, the project aims to develop new approaches that will allow shorter and more efficient clinical trials.

The consortium believes there are currently a number of major bottlenecks preventing the translation of knowledge and research findings relating to schizophrenia and depression to the clinic. These include a lack of accurate animal models for drug discovery, a scarcity of tools and tests in healthy volunteers to provide early efficacy data, and the reliance in clinical trials on symptom-based diagnostic and statistical manual categories.

“While the biology of psychiatry has made remarkable progress, we have been slow in converting that into innovative and new medications,” points out Shitij Kapur, M.D. (pictured), at King’s College London’s Institute of Psychiatry. “This is a joint challenge for academia and industry. NEWMEDS is a joint response. It is not only scientifically innovative, but it is also an innovation in creating a cluster of nearly 50 scientists from both sides to work together to achieve a common goal of better, safer, and more effective medicines more quickly.”

Tine Bryan Stensbl, M.D., divisional director for discovery pharmacology research at Lundbeck, adds, “NEWMEDS embodies a novel collaborative effort where companies join forces and together with academia answer scientific questions in a precompetitive environment that will form the basis of tomorrow’s medicines. This joint effort will provide novel insights that undoubtedly will be to the benefit of the patients suffering from schizophrenia and depression.”

The IMI, which will provide funding to NEWMEDS, is public-private partnership between the pharma industry’s European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations and the EU. The initiative’s goal is to promote and support Europe’s position in drug discovery and development. The IMI’s overall funding scheme has a budget of €2 billion, half of which will be provided by the EU’s Seventh Framework Programme and half by EFPIA member companies.

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

Photo credit

Understanding What Causes Schizophrenia: A Developmental Perspective

An editorial published in the January 2010 edition of the American Journal of Psychiatry:

By John H. Gilmore, M.D.

Understanding what causes schizophrenia is becoming harder and harder. We know that schizophrenia has genetic causes, since the most significant risk factor is having a first-degree relative with schizophrenia. However, most people with schizophrenia do not have an affected relative, and while the overall genetic contribution to schizophrenia may be large, the contribution of specific genes is very small. Candidate gene studies and more recent genome-wide association studies have had inconsistent results and indicate, at best, individual genes increase risk by less than 2 times—from an average population rate of 1 in 100 to 1.5 in 100. Pre- and perinatal complications and environmental exposures appear to have somewhat stronger effects than individual genes, as prenatal exposure to infection or hypoxia increases risk of schizophrenia from 1 in 100 to 2–4 in 100 (1). Schizophrenia is likely the result of an interaction between genetic risk and environmental exposures, and recent studies have attempted to describe that interaction.

To read the entire editorial, please click here.

I thank Dr. David Whitehorn for bringing this article to my attention.

Coping Tips and Other Helpful Tidbits

A January 9th posting on the blog, Suicidal No More: Choosing to Live with Schizophrenia:

I've received some emails recently, from people who have read this blog, asking me for input and suggestions one what to do about their own battle with Schizophrenia or their family member's dealings with it. From time to time, over the past few years that I've been writing here, I have been asked questions, or, sometimes, told that things I've written were helpful to those readers who were new to this illness and sometimes had little hope. If I can inspire anyone to have hope, that is perhaps the greatest gift I could create with this blog. So, I thought I'd write some tips and pointers, for the uninitiated, and even for those who, like me, have been dealing with this illness for a very long time, but may have lost heart and are not sure what to do to cope.

To read the entire post, please click here.

Teaching police officers about mental illness..why?

The Top Ten Reasons To Make Sure Everybody’s Got Basic Training For Working With Individuals With Mental Illness

To read this article by Dr. Dorothy Cotton (pictured), please click here and scroll up to the top of the webpage that appears.



Also see:

The Police / Mental Health Liaison Website

Photo credit

safeTALK - Suicide Alertness for Everyone

Friday, February 12th!

An email recieved on December 23rd, 2009, from Keith Brumwell, Co-Manager, Canadian Mental Health Association, Halifax-Dartmouth Branch:

Learn four basic steps to recognize persons with thoughts of suicide and connect them with suicide helping resources. safeTALK three-hour training can help you make a difference.


Why come to safeTALK?

Most people with thoughts of suicide invite help. Often these opportunities are missed, dismissed, or avoided — leaving people more alone and at greater risk. safeTALK training prepares you to help by using TALK (Tell, Ask, Listen and KeepSafe) to identify and engage people with thoughts of suicide and to connect them with further help and care.


Who should attend safeTALK?

safeTALK is for everyone who wants to help prevent suicide: front line workers, clergy, volunteers, parents, youth*, teachers, law enforcement, … anyone who wants to be a suicide alert helper. safeTALK is brief, affordable and internationally recognized. safeTALK is for anyone age 15 and older. This is an excellent course and is a life skill anyone can use.

*Younger persons may attend with the consent of parents or guardian.

How can I get safeTALK training?

There will be a course held on Friday, February 12th, at the Bloomfield Center, 2786 Agricola Street, Halifax, from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm, and the same course repeated from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm.

The cost of the course is $30. Certificates are given to those completing this training.

The facilitator will be Keith Brumwell, a registered trainer with Livingworks, a safeTALK trainer, and a Master Trainer who has facilitated over forty ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) courses. Keith works with individuals living with mental illness, he has extensive experience in suicide intervention, and working with persons at risk for suicide.

Please contact Keith at brumwell@ns.sympatico.ca if you are interested and he will provide you with registration information.

You may also get further information on safeTALK by visiting www.livingworks.net.

I took the liberty to edit the email a bit.