Personal Directives - Nova Scotia

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Personal Directives

Healthy Minds Cooperative Newsletter - April 2013

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Healthy Minds Cooperative

Nipping it in the bud: Can Psychiatrists Prevent Mental Illness?

Held March 27th, 2013

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To download a PDF version of the above flyer, please click here.

Video of the debate will be posted at a later date and will be viewable by clicking here.

Also see:

https://blogs.dal.ca/psychdebates/

The ultra-high risk concept - a review

Crisis line handles mental health issues

An article published in the February 26th edition of The Chronicle Herald:

By Michael Gorman, Truro Bureau

TRURO — Nova Scotians dealing with mental health concerns can now call a single number at any time to get help.

The Mental Health Crisis Line can be reached by calling 1-888-429-8167, Health and Wellness Minister David Wilson [pictured] announced Tuesday.

“Having … a number that anybody in Nova Scotia can call, I think will be positive,” he said.

The number connects callers to licensed clinicians with expertise in social work, nursing or occupational therapy.

Being able to call the number from anywhere in the province will help those with mental illness, including those living in isolated areas, get help, the minister said.

Geoff Alcock agreed.

Recalling his own experiences with mental illness, the patients’ rights adviser and peer support specialists said such an option would have been helpful.

“The isolation of mental illness is bad enough when within reach of a psychiatric facility,” said Alcock. “In the rural areas, it’s a huge burden to bear.”

Often friends and family aren’t sure what to do or who they can call in times of need, he said.

In his own case, Alcock said “the problem was that there was no assistance or help whatsoever for my wife.”

“She had absolutely no idea as to what to do or who to turn to in the event of me experiencing a suicidal crisis. She was very much left in a lurch.”

Having one number that anyone can call should increase awareness while making sure the people who need help receive it, Alcock said.

The province is putting $190,000 into the line, which will hire two more full-time people, bringing the total to 11. Wilson said he feels confident the increased staff will be able to meet the demands of the entire province.

“We’ll keep evaluating it. If down the road we need to (re-examine) this and potentially look at supporting it more, we’ll do that.”

The province will now focus on promoting awareness of the crisis line, said Wilson. He said it compliments the 211 system, which provide’s access to social services, and the 811 system, which sees about 100,000 people calling it each year to speak with a nurse.

(mgorman@herald.ca)

Also see:

Access to Mental Health Services now Available Province-wide


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Healthy Minds Cooperative Newsletter - March 2013

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Healthy Minds Cooperative

Elyn Saks: A tale of mental illness -- from the inside

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Elyn Saks

The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness

Let's talk about punishing mentally ill

A column from today's edition of the Winnipeg Free Press:

Mental health has certainly become the story of the month, albeit for completely different reasons.

By Dan Lett (pictured)

February is Let's Talk month, an initiative of Bell Canada to create greater awareness of mental-health issues. The campaign culminates Tuesday with national Let's Talk day.

Bell's work has been supported by the seven Canadian National Hockey League teams, which together are hosting events to demystify mental illness. The Winnipeg Jets have created Project 11, a campaign to honour former Manitoba Moose fan favourite Rick Rypien, who took his own life in August 2011 after battling depression.

Perhaps, through these gestures, the country will understand mental illness is a medical condition. It's not bad attitude, a lack of character or a sign of weakness. And its victims are just that. Victims.

One can only imagine how incredibly pleased the folks behind these campaigns were last week when, just days before national Let's Talk day, Ottawa put on a full-court press to convince Canadians mental health is a crime that requires greater punishment.

In Vancouver last Friday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced legislation to create a new high-risk designation for some people found not criminally responsible (NCR) for a crime.

High-risk subjects would spend at least three years in a mental hospital before being assessed for release.

As a tool for improving public safety, is the new law an upgrade from the current one? Current law requires anyone found NCR to be held in a secure facility where their illness is treated. They are subject to annual psychiatric assessments. An independent review board in each province is responsible for deciding when, or if, someone has recovered to the point where they can be released, the conditions for that release and when it should be revoked for failing to live up to those conditions.

It is a system that has worked remarkably well. The use of a NCR finding is quite rare. Even so, the most recent statistics show fewer than three per cent of all people declared NCR of a crime reoffend after their release. It also deserves to be said NCR provisions do not provide sanctuary for all those who author violence and mayhem. NCR would never apply, for example, to the Bernardos or the Olsons or the Picktons of the world. It is not a convenient excuse for drunks, drug addicts or your garden-variety sociopath.

NCR is a precise medical finding an accused person could not, because of a mental illness, form the intent to commit a crime. That they did not really know what they were doing, or what they were doing was wrong. It is the justice system's way of acknowledging some people are so sick, they should not be punished as criminals.

Why change the law? Despite the rarity of NCR findings and recidivism, it is a hot-button, visceral issue for many Canadians.

NCR findings usually follow gruesome, horrifically violent crimes. The fact those found NCR are not convicted of a crime and not sent to prison sparks anger and outrage among what is no doubt a significant segment of the population.

They howl about a lack of justice, the laxness of the punishment or the brevity of hospital incarceration. Unfortunately, with each of these complaints, we are demonstrating a profound ignorance about the nature of mental illness.

Proponents of this new NCR law may think a line can be drawn between those who suffer in silence or hurt themselves as a result of mental illness and those who hurt others.

The inconvenient truth is no such line can be drawn; it is the same illness and requires the same treatment.

Our inability to accept this truth manifests primarily in a desperate shortage of treatment options. It is what puts thousands of mentally ill Canadians in prison. It is what forces some of the mentally ill to carry their burdens alone until, lamentably, they can no longer withstand the strain, and hurt themselves or someone else. The new law not only ignores this truth, it fortifies our ignorance.

The new law says public safety must now be the first concern in any decision to release someone found NCR. That suggests we were routinely releasing people who were a threat to the public out of some misguided compassion. We did not, and the insinuation is profoundly, intellectually dishonest.

There are those who will argue public safety must always trump compassion for the mentally ill. However, it is only through a delicate balancing act -- the careful consideration of the nuances of each individual case involving a NCR finding -- that we get the opportunity to demonstrate our maturity and humanity. Consider that despite the complexities of the mental illness, we have a very nearly perfect record in ensuring public safety. Offering to "fix" something with that record of success is a cynical triumph of public relations over responsible governing.

So, let's talk about mental illness. Let's get it out into the open and challenge our preconceptions.

But as we're doing that, let's ensure we're not talking out of both sides of our mouths.

dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 11, 2013 A8

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Mental Health Community Expresses Concern with Proposed NCRMD Changes

A press release issued today by some of Canada's mental health organizations:

Changes must consider the unique needs of people with mental illness

WINNIPEG, Feb. 8, 2013 /CNW/ - Today, the Government of Canada tabled a Bill proposing changes to the Not Criminally Responsible on account of Mental Disorder (NCRMD) provisions of the Criminal Code. The Bill proposes, amongst other things, that annual reviews for individuals deemed NCRMD of a violent crime can be pushed to every three years and that "high risk" NCRMD accused cannot be considered for release by a Review Board until their designation is revoked by a court.

Given the significance of passing such changes, Canada's mental health community has come together to form a working alliance in an effort to strengthen their voice on this critical matter - which is of vital importance to the mental health community and the one in five Canadians with mental illness.

The alliance strongly believes it has the knowledge, resources and tools that will allow the Government to move ahead with NCRMD changes that will take into account the need to protect the public from dangerous persons, while addressing the therapeutic needs of these mentally disordered offenders so as to mitigate risk and promote recovery.

"The Government of Canada has made progress in enhancing public understanding of mental health and mental illness with important initiatives such as the development of the Mental Health Commission. However, these proposed changes are inconsistent with its work to-date," said Chris Summerville, Alliance Facilitator and Chief Executive Officer, Schizophrenia Society of Canada. "These changes will unnecessarily heighten the public's fears, increase negative stigma around mental illness and ultimately undermine the reintegration of NCRMD individuals without increasing public safety."

In Canada's most populated province, Ontario, only .001% of individuals charged with Criminal Code violations were adjudicated NCRMD. Recidivism rates for NCRMD individuals range from 2.5 to 7.5%. These numbers are far lower than that of federal offenders in the regular justice system, at a rate of 41 to 44%. And despite what Canadians are lead to believe, the seriousness of the crime committed does not equate to the likelihood for the offender to reoffend or even his/her ability to improve his/her mental health state and live a normal, healthy life.

The alliance recognizes that the government's review of the mental disorder provisions of the Criminal Code is important to many Canadians, and it also recognizes the fact that the public has legitimate reasons to be concerned about safety, however the group is working together to ensure that this public policy is informed by the latest evidence based knowledge.

The working alliance has requested a meeting with the Minister of Justice to discuss theses proposed changes. Implementing such legislation cannot be in the best interest of Canadians without consulting and working with the mental health community. Canadians want a working mental health system and not an out-dated approach.

SOURCE: Schizophrenia Society of Canada

For further information:

Chris Summerville
Alliance Facilitator and Chief Executive Officer, Schizophrenia Society of Canada
Office: (204) 786-1616
Mobile: (204) 223-9158
Email: chris@schizophrenia.ca

or

Angela Cerovic
Hill+Knowlton
Office: (613) 786-9923
Mobile: (613) 371-9644
Email: angela.cerovic@hkstrategies.ca

Healthy Minds Cooperative Newsletter - February 2013

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Healthy Minds Cooperative

Schizophrenia is not a progressive brain disease

A December 4, 2012, posting by the Nova Scotia Early Psychosis Program:

Young people who experience a first episode of psychosis often receive a diagnosis of schizophrenia.

Historically there has been the view that schizophrenia is a progressive, deteriorating condition and many clinicians were taught that point of view in their training.

When the field of Early Psychosis began to develop in the 1990s, a major theme was to discard the pessimistic attitude that clinicians held toward the possibility of significant recovery in psychotic disorders and replace it with a more balanced positive approach. The specialized Early Psychosis services that are now widely available are based on this attitude of realistic optimism.

As well, people with lived experience of psychosis, and their families, have increasingly insisted and demonstrated that recovery in schizophrenia is a realistic and attainable goal.

Yet studies of brain structure and function continue to produce data suggesting that there may be progressive changes associated with a diagnosis of schizophrenia.

In an article published in the Schizophrenia Bulletin journal in November 2012, Dr. Robert Zipursky (pictured) a leader in psychosis reseach in Canada, along with eminent colleagues in the UK, reviews the current evidence related to the question of whether or not a diagnosis of Schizophrenia indicates the person has a progress brain disease.

The article reviews all the recent evidence from brain scans, as well as other sources of data, and concludes that “schizophrenia is not a malignant disease that inevitably deteriorates over time, but one from which most people can achieve a significant degree of recovery”.

The authors strongly urge clinicians to provide young people and their families with this up-to-date information so that the old myths regarding negative outcomes for people receiving a diagnosis of schizophrenia can be laid to rest.

For a free copy of the full article click here.

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

Free voice mail service now available in Halifax & Dartmouth

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Private Free Voice Mail

Red Bear Healing Home Society

www.facebook.com/RedBearHealingHome

National standard for psychological health and safety in Canadian workplaces

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Mental Health Commission of Canada

Schizophrenia Infographic from Rethink Mental Illness

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Rethink Mental Illness

Please help the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia continue to make a difference

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To download a PDF version of the above letter, please click here.

The Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia is featured in The Coast’s "Give Guide 2012"

To read the article, please click here. To view the entire Give Guide 2012, please click here.

To make an online donation to the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia (SSNS), please click here. Tax receipts are immediately issued by email. Online contributions can be made using Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Interac, or PayPal, and there is also an option for monthly giving.

To donate by telephone using Visa or MasterCard, please contact the SSNS at (902) 465-2601 or 1-800-465-2601. You can also mail your donations to the SSNS at the address provided below. In order that your tax receipt can be provided to you, please include your mailing or email address with your contribution.

Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia
Room B-23, Purdy Building
P.O. Box 1004
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
B2Y 3Z9

Image courtesy of The Coast.

We are broken. We need to fix this.

Initial posting credit.

211 Nova Scotia - Launching February 2013

A message from to all non-profit groups in Nova Scotia:

In Nova Scotia, a wide variety of human, social and health related services are offered by local community groups, non-profit agencies and government departments. Finding the right service at the right time though, can be a real challenge.

Beginning next February, a “211” service will provide Nova Scotians with a free, confidential information and referral program for the thousands of these services provided across the province. It will be available throughout the province, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year by simply dialling “2-1-1” to speak to a helpful staff member, or by searching our on line database, which will be up and running when 211 launches.

To help Nova Scotians in every community and make good use of your services and programs, we need complete and accurate information. We want to ensure all services provided by community groups have been included for each and every community in Nova Scotia. 211 Nova Scotia is inviting all non-profit providers of human, social and health related services in communities throughout the province to contact us to confirm that the 211 database has the right information about your service. We are a non-profit association – there is no cost to any organization to have information included in our database. You can reach our team members by calling 902-466-5721 or emailing info@ns.211.ca. We welcome inquiries from the general public as well. Information about 211 is available on our website at www.ns.211.ca. This service is supported by the Province of Nova Scotia and the United Way.

Missed point of talk

A letter to the editor posted online today by SouthShoreNow.ca:

I wanted to acknowledge South Shore Now for reporting on an event held several weeks back — the AGM of the South Shore District Health Authority. At this event, I spoke about issues very close to my heart, and engaged in a lively discussion with some very caring and intelligent health-care workers and citizens.

Around the same time, I was asked to speak to a journalism class taught by a friend of mine at the Dartmouth Nova Scotia Community College. I was asked to speak on the representation of mental illness in the media. For this talk, I have chosen to highlight your article, entitled “Mental health advocate calls for collaborative approach to wellness.”

In this article by Keith Corcoran, the credibility of the speaker (myself) is challenged from the very top of the article by the rather sensationalist and jarring placement of the first line, which refers to my contemplation of suicide as a preteen. If such a detail needs to be mentioned (which, given the context of the talk I gave, it doesn’t) it could be somehow contextualized, or even placed further down in the article. It also refers to my experience with schizophrenia in terms that are not the current way to define a person who has been given said diagnosis.

Mr. Corcoran decided to refer to me as a “schizophrenic with a history of anorexia, anxiety and depression.” Unlike the other experiences, the schizophrenia piece of my life was not delegated to my history, but was instead how I was principally defined. I am an artist, a registered counsellor and psychotherapist intern, a public speaker and a person with a lived experience of schizophrenia — not a “schizophrenic.”

Indeed, my mental illness was the gateway to my understanding the mental health system from the inside, and was the reason I decided to become a clinician myself, but it was not the point of my talk at the AGM that night. The point of my talk was to help clinicians to remember why they got into the helping profession in the first place, to give my humble perspective, and to think about some directions we might take to keep ourselves in touch with why we continue to choose to help others.

It was essentially about mindfulness for mental health professionals. And although I made a provocative joke in my speech hinging on a concept that was omitted from this article, I would be careful in the future about the paraphrasing of critical statements about persons’ experiences with mental health care.

By missing the point of my talk, and by defining me as an illness first, person second, you have not only hurt me, but have hurt all of the other people who fight against the stigma of mental illness every day in your area. And for those who are already prejudiced about those who experience mental illness, well, you have given them one more juicy tidbit to gossip about.

LAURA BURKE

Halifax

Healthy Minds Cooperative Newsletter - December 2012

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Healthy Minds Cooperative

Rural Transportation Association (RTA) - Nova Scotia

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Rural Transportation Association

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

Photovoice

From the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation at Boston University:

Voices of Recovery is a combination of stories and Photovoice, which includes a photograph and a short narrative explaining the personal meaning behind the picture from the photographer’s point of view.

Also see:

Photovoice

Media Advisory from the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia

Stigma: Not Here, Thank You

October 25, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Halifax, Nova Scotia

Media Advisory – Photo and Interview Opportunity


Anti-stigma initiatives to be highlighted during the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia’s annual conference.


What: The Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia is holding its 24th annual conference.

Who: Dr. Zlatka Russinova of Boston University will speak on “Beyond the Shadows of Psychiatric Prejudice and Discrimination” and Dr. Pippa Moss, a founding member of the Canadian Psychiatric Association’s Stigma–Discrimination Working Group will present on “Fighting Stigma”. Other presentation topics include youth and stigma, stigma and the justice System, and how stigma affects families.

When: Friday, October 26, 2012, 9:00 am to 4:30 pm

Where: McInnes Room, Student Union Building, Dalhousie University, 6136 University Avenue, Halifax, Nova Scotia

–30–

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

Mental illness and addictions costing Ontarians years of life

An October 10th media advisory from Public Health Ontario:

First study of its kind opens eyes to the burden of mental illness and addictions in province

TORONTO, Oct. 10, 2012 /CNW/ - Mental illness and addictions are often misunderstood, misdiagnosed, or ignored by many, including those in the health care system. A groundbreaking report from the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) and Public Heath Ontario (PHO), Opening Eyes, Opening Minds, quantifies the burden of selected mental illnesses and addictions. The overall burden of mental illness and addictions is more than 1.5 times that of all cancers and more than seven times that of all infectious diseases.

"It is clear that Ontarians suffer a high burden of disease from mental illness and addictions," said Dr. Vivek Goel, President and CEO, Public Health Ontario. "This report gives decision-makers sound evidence to support what has been the experience of many: Mental illness and addictions carry a heavy burden on our society, one we can no longer afford to bear."

The report, supported by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and McMaster University, shows that the high burden is due largely to three factors: the emergence of these conditions early in life, the conditions' prolonged durations and their relatively high prevalence. The early onset of mental illness and addictions coincides with a time of major life transitions, such as completion of high school, transition to higher education, entry into the workforce, and marriage. The disruption of these transitions exacts a significant personal and social cost to individuals and society as a whole.

"We calculated the burden of selected mental illnesses and addictions in Ontario by looking at their impact on early deaths as well as on the quality of life. In many cases this burden is substantially more than that of other illnesses such as cancers and infectious diseases," said Sujitha Ratnasingham, lead author and epidemiologist at ICES.

Treatments for individuals suffering from these conditions are often underutilized, and an explicit population focus on mental health promotion, mental illness and substance misuse prevention is often lacking.

"However, there is hope and it's important to remember that these conditions are treatable. If we increase the likelihood that people seek and get timely access to treatments, the burden for individuals and the entire population will be reduced," said Dr. Paul Kurdyak, co-author, ICES Scientist and Chief, Division of General and Health Systems Psychiatry at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.

Public health is poised to address mental health and addictions at the population level. "The public health system strives to prevent chronic diseases, injuries and substance misuse. This report will be an important source of information to assist public health in planning and evaluating these local programs and services," said Dr. Robert Kyle, Commissioner and Medical Officer of Health, Durham Region Health Department.

"This report tells us that mental health and public health practitioners, policy-makers and researchers need to work together to identify and enhance health promotion and intervention strategies for the population at large, while improving access to treatment for those suffering from mental illness and addictions," said Dr. Goel.

Notable findings from Opening Eyes, Opening Minds: The Ontario Burden of Mental Illness and Addictions Report include:

• The overall burden for selected mental illnesses and addictions was more than 1.5 times as much as all cancers and more than seven times as much as all infectious diseases.

• These five conditions had the highest burden: depression, bipolar disorder, alcohol use disorders, social phobia, and schizophrenia.

• Depression has the highest overall burden, accounting for a third of the total burden.

• Alcohol use disorders accounted for 88 per cent of all deaths attributed to mental illness and addictions and 91 per cent of years lost due to early death.

• In Ontario, new cases of mental illnesses and addictions in an average year lead to more than 600,000 future health-adjusted life years lost.

While staggering, this represents only a portion of the burden. The researchers were not able to incorporate suicides, co-morbidities, nor were all mental illnesses and addictions included.
Early detection and timely intervention are critical to reduce lifelong burden of disease.

Public Health Ontario is a Crown corporation dedicated to protecting and promoting the health of all Ontarians and reducing inequities in health. As a hub organization, Public Health Ontario links public health practitioners, front-line health workers and researchers to the best scientific intelligence and knowledge from around the world. For more information about Public Health Ontario, visit www.oahpp.ca.

ICES is an independent, non-profit organization that uses population-based health information to produce knowledge on a broad range of health care issues. Our unbiased evidence provides measures of health system performance, a clearer understanding of the shifting health care needs of Ontarians, and a stimulus for discussion of practical solutions to optimize scarce resources. ICES knowledge is highly regarded in Canada and abroad, and is widely used by government, hospitals, planners, and practitioners to make decisions about care delivery and to develop policy.

SOURCE: Public Health Ontario

For further information:

Nicole Helsberg, PHO, 647 260 7247, nicole.helsberg@oahpp.ca

Deborah Creatura, ICES, 416 480 4780, Deborah.Creatura@ices.on.ca

Canada Post Community Foundation 2012 Grant Recipients

Dalhousie University and the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia

Project

Community Pharmacy Collaborative

Location

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Objective: 

To promote collaborative relationships between those suffering from mental illness and community pharmacists. Mobilizing community pharmacists (an underutilized group of health professionals) for the benefit of clients suffering from mental illness, through “knowledge nodes” that team pharmacists with individuals living with mental illness. These “nodes” will develop material that pharmacists can use to provide support to clients with mental health issues.

Impact: 

Three knowledge nodes (total six pharmacists and six individuals experienced with mental illness) will be developed. In turn, each “node” will reach out to five additional pharmacists.


Source (and click on the Nova Scotia tab)

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Healthy Minds Cooperative Newsletter - October 2012

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Healthy Minds Cooperative

Solution Learning Centre Newsletter - September 2012

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Solutions Learning Centre

Leisure Helping Trees - Capital Health

A Leisure Helping Tree handed out by Bob Baird and Donna MacIntyre during the September 20th meeting of the From Recovery to Discovery Peer Support Group:

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To view other leisure resources in the Capital Health district provided by Mental Health Recreation Therapy Services, please click here.

Eliminating stigma and removing barriers to access [to treatment]

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Source document

Back the Mental Health (Discrimination) Bill - United Kingdom

To read the Bill, visit: http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2012-13/mentalhealthdiscriminationno2.html.

Case for Funding Mental Health and Social Services in Canada

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Source:

http://strategy.mentalhealthcommission.ca/about/case-for-investment

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

Inside mental illness: Schizophrenia

From the YouTube posting:

Laura has taken everything she learnt from her diagnosis with schizophrenia to help others accept their own mental illness. In 2009, she was awarded with the Inspiring Lives Award from the Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia for her advocacy and work with various mental health organizations. Laura is currently pursuing a Masters in Drama Therapy from Concordia University in Montreal.

Healthy Minds Cooperative Newsletter - September 2012

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Healthy Minds Cooperative

Antigonish troupe wins national award

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

By Aaron Beswick, Truro Bureau

ANTIGONISH — They’re not leaving anyone behind.

The Park Bench Players are going to Vancouver on Sept. 25 to receive a national award and they need help getting there.

The six Antigonish cast members aren’t your average theatre group.

They have all struggled with mental illness.

Their play, With a Little Help from Our Friends, tells their personal stories through humour and drama.

“The play has given us more meaning and purpose,” said Mike Martell, a member of the cast.

“To see it appreciated and to be helping bring the issue of mental illness out from the darkness and into the light, it just feels good.”

Psychosocial Rehabilitation Canada will present its 2012 Recovery Excellence Award to the troupe at the Vancouver gala.

But first, the theatre troupe needs to raise about $10,000 to pay for the trip, enough to cover the cost of all six cast members, three assistants and money for three nights’ lodging.

“For us, it will be the trip of a lifetime,” said Jim Mulcahy, a retired Antigonish drama teacher who wrote and directed the play.

“For these people in rural Nova Scotia to receive this national award, that’s a big deal.”

As part of their fundraising effort, the troupe is selling T-shirts and is putting off their own gala performance at the Clare Marie Gathering Place in Antigonish on Sept. 9.

Music will be provided by the 16-piece Good Time Orchestra.

They’ve also set up a bank account and donations can be made to it through any Credit Union in the province by registering a cheque to the Park Bench Players.

Originally intended for one performance in front of invited guests, the Park Bench Players have performed their play in front of 13 audiences around Nova Scotia.

While the award is good news to cast member Stacey Septon, the true payoff has been hearing the stories from people in the audience after each performance.

“The audience has come up after every performance and told us about their own struggles with mental illness or those of someone they love,” said Septon.

“To be able to help, it’s just the best thing.”

(abeswick@herald.ca)

Photograph by Stephen Ayer