Panel: Trim mental health wait times

Health and Wellness Minister Maureen MacDonald (right) greets Dr. Ajantha Jayabarathan, a member of the Mental Health and Addictions Strategy Advisory Committee, at Province House on April 23rd.


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

By Michael MacDonald, The Canadian Press

An expert panel is calling on Nova Scotia to shorten wait times for children and youths who have been referred for a mental health assessment, but the health minister says the province is already having a tough time meeting existing standards.

Maureen MacDonald was responding Monday to the release of a report from a 12-member advisory committee that produced 61 recommendations for creating the province’s first comprehensive mental health strategy.

The report highlights the fact that most mental health disorders — an estimated 70 per cent — begin to appear before age 25. However, the committee found that “long wait times for children and youth with symptoms of mental illness was a particular concern.”

As a result, the report recommends reducing wait times for children and youths beyond the existing provincial standards.

The committee says urgent cases should be offered an assessment within a week instead of 10 days, semi-urgent referrals should be offered an appointment within two weeks instead of four weeks, and regular cases should be seen within 21 days.

“We heard throughout the province that you have to get people early,” said committee co-chairman Michael Ungar, a professor at the School of Social Work at Dalhousie University in Halifax.

“We know that if we can catch kids as they begin to show some of the signs related to mental illness and addictions problems … the less likely those conditions are to become chronic.”

But the province isn’t even meeting the existing standards, despite being admonished for lengthy wait times by the province’s auditor general in 2010.

“We’re the only province in the country that has mental health standards, (but) we haven’t been able to meet them and we need to do the work to get us there,” MacDonald said outside the legislature.

She said the province plans to release its mental health strategy some time this spring.

Liberal Leader Stephen McNeil said the contents of the report merely restate was is already known about the system. “It could have been said two years ago,” he said in an interview.

“Anyone … would have recognized we had to deal with the gaps, we had to invest in early intervention. To wait this length of time to receive that report is disappointing. We should have had a mental health strategy on where we’re going next.”

Dr. Stephen Ayer, executive director of the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia, said the government must now take action.

“The important thing is that the committee has completed its work and now we can move on to the actual development of the strategy,” he said. “What’s more critical is what the government does with this document.”

The committee’s report — almost a year overdue — says that virtually everyone consulted for the study said there were problems with wait times and after-hours services.

The report also says there are too many gaps in the system, particularly when it comes to transitions from one service to another.

The Health Department and Community Services Department, for example, consider the transition from youth to adult at different ages, said Ungar.

Among other measures, the committee recommends expanding telephone crisis intervention services across the province, improving mental health awareness among health professionals and expanding housing options.

The committee does not say how much it would cost to implement its recommendations, saying it did not have a mandate to calculate expenses.

It is estimated that about 180,000 people in the province are affected by mental illness — that’s about one in every five.

The provincial government announced it would draft a new mental health strategy in March 2010.

At the time, a group of mental health advocates complained the mental health system was in chaos, plagued by long waiting lists and a lack of funding.

Photograph by Tim Krochak, The Chronicle Herald


Also see:

Come Together: Report & Recommendations of the Mental Health and Addictions Strategy Advisory Committee - March 2012

Come Together: Report & Recommendations of the Mental Health and Addictions Strategy Advisory Committee - Summary - March 2012

Mental Health and Addictions Strategy Advisory Committee Releases Report

Child Medication Guide Stresses Need for Team Effort

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

Also see:

Child Medication Guide Stresses Need for Team Effort

American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Superhero - A Visual Poem

One of the many comments posted on YouTube about this video:

Mental health is so hard to understand, so hard to grasp for everyone ... finally a short film, a beautiful poem, a true piece of art that can connect people with with the words and the feelings that are oh so hard to share. Thank you Hachey. Thank you Laura. You've done it right.

Posted by emptypink

Also visit:

Mark Vonnegut: "Just Like Someone Without Mental Illness Only More So" (Rebroadcast)

Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia on Mental Illness

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




Also see:

Stephen Ayer interviewed on Information Morning

Strengthening Families Together delivered in Pictou County

Pictured from left to right are Dr. Ian Slayter, Sheila Chisholm, a program participant, and Cecilia McRae, program facilitator.

On April 3rd, the Pictou County Family Support Group delivered Sessions #1 & #2 of Strengthening Families Together, a free ten-session educational program for families affected by serious mental illness. The guest speaker for the evening was Dr. Ian Slayter, a clinical psychiatrist working with GASHA at St. Martha's Hospital in Antigonish. Dr. Slayter’s interactive presentation focused on psychosis. Session #3, with an interactive presentation on treatment and medications by Bill Skinner, a pharmacist with Lawtons Drugs in New Glasgow, was held on April 10th.

Funding for the program has been provided by the Pictou County Health Authority Wellness Fund, with meeting space and technical support supplied by the Nova Scotia Community College - Pictou Campus.

The Pictou County Family Support Group is new to Pictou County and was established to meet a need in the county. The group was developed with the assistance of the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia and with funding from the Canada Post Foundation for Mental Illness and Mental Health. The support group meets every second Tuesday of each month, except for July and August, and is open to family members, care providers, and community partners.

Information for both the Pictou County Family Support Group and future sessions of the Strengthening Families Together program can be found in the Community Happenings section of The News.

Also see:

Strengthening Families Together - Pictou County

Support the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia by purchasing a handcrafted birdhouse!

$40.00 each!

Please click on the photograph to enlarge it.

A member has donated handcrafted bird houses to the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia. The bird houses are available for purchase for $40.00 (plus shipping) by contacting the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia at (902) 465-2601 or 1-800-465-2601 (toll-free in Nova Scotia) or by sending an email to ssns@ns.sympatico.ca.

Stop Blaming Me for my Daughter's Mental Illness

An article posted on April 12th by The Huffington Post - Canada:

By Susan Inman (pictured)

As the parent of someone with a severe schizoaffective disorder, I'm used to being viewed with suspicion. Sometimes the pathologizing gaze occurs in unexpected places. Following the publication of an article I wrote for B.C. Teacher about the importance of educating staff in schools about mental disorders, a fellow teacher asked me if I knew what we'd done to cause my daughter's illness.

The unjustified suspicion of mental health professionals can be even more damaging. When we took our floundering teenage daughter to a credentialed counseling psychologist, we knew nothing about severe mental illnesses. As it turned out, neither did she. Her training included no material on psychotic disorders. Instead, it focused on psychodynamic theories, which look for the causes of current problems in people's early childhood experiences. Her misguided assumptions, fed by her training, led to chaos in the early years of our daughter's illness and to an unnecessarily long and dangerous psychotic episode.

Even with recent decades of robust research in neuroscience, parental caregivers of people with psychotic disorders soon learn that their interactions with the mental health system will be filled with blame. Many mental health clinicians in Canada, like our daughter's counselor, have had no science-based training on schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Too often their interactions with families weaken the bonds that the illnesses have already frayed.

Psychiatry, for most of the 20th century, used the theories of Freud, which were never based on evidence-based research, to develop elaborate ways of blaming parents for schizophrenia. The Canadian Psychiatric Association now explicitly describes schizophrenia as a treatable brain disorder that is not caused by poor parenting.

Our relationship with our daughter's psychiatrist has been extraordinary. I believe it is responsible for her unexpected recovery. When the psychiatric team at Vancouver's St. Paul's Hospital first met her, she was one of the most severely psychotic teenagers they had ever seen. From the time that one member of this team, our daughter's current psychiatrist, began to work with her, he listened carefully to our input as we navigated the arduous path to her stability.

Even with this history of mutual respect, my husband and I were stunned recently when we were discussing strategies for managing any difficulties that might emerge during an upcoming trip. He stopped the discussion, looked at us, and said, "You guys are such great parents!"

I'm immersed in a community of parental caregivers in Vancouver and have been asking if anyone has ever been told anything like this. The answer is, "Never." These friends, who constantly inspire me with their energy, dedication and resourcefulness in advocating for their struggling children, find it hard to imagine hearing this kind of supportive response. Instead, my question is usually greeted with yet another account of the wounding of families by the mental health system.

Some parents do receive much-needed support from their own family physicians, who also provide primary healthcare to their often unstable sons and daughters. For many years, both my husband and I have freely vented, grieved, and tried to problem solve with the informed and compassionate help of our family doctor.

In recent years, the Canadian Psychiatric Association and the College of Family Physicians of Canada have begun an active collaboration including an annual Shared-Care conference. Much of the focus has been on helping family physicians become more knowledgeable in responding to the serious mental illnesses they are increasingly being asked to manage.

The upcoming Shared-Care conference in Vancouver offers richly informative sessions for family physicians. However, I don't see any sessions that provide family physicians opportunities to share their often considerable expertise in helping parents survive their daunting tasks. Fortunately, this kind of conference does invite informal communication on just these kinds of overlooked topics. Since family caregivers for people with severe mental illnesses save the healthcare system money, new ways of supporting them are well worth considering.

Photo credit

Support the SSNS by purchasing all occasion cards!

$1.00 each!

Mary Ellen McMurtry, a Maritime artist, has donated a collection of original and one-of-a-kind greeting cards to assist the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia in fundraising.

Two sizes of cards are available to purchase from the SSNS, 7" x 5" and 8.5" x 5.5".

All cards cost $1.00 each (no HST), do not have the watermark or title, are blank inside, and include a mailing envelope.

FREE SHIPPING!

Other examples of the many cards available for purchase are:





If you are interested in viewing further examples of the greeting cards available for purchase, please contact the SSNS at (902) 465-2601 or 1-800-465-2601 or by sending an email to ssns@ns.sympatico.ca.

Fear for kids’ future

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

Re: "A cry from the heart: Save our mental health staff." Kudos to Ally Dawson, the 16-year-old who is gave us the perspective from an (Adolescent Centre for Treatment) client. ACT is a 24 / 7 operation, and is being changed by the IWK to a 24 / 5 operation.

Ally spoke articulately from her heart in support of the program and the youth care workers, whom she has dealt with first-hand.

Why is it that when ever there are budget restraints, it is always the most vulnerable that get affected? Why is it that "top heavy" management is never affected by these decisions, or at the very minimum, equally affected? Although according to a response I received from Premier Darrell Dexter’s office, "there is no budget cut involved with this decision. In fact, mental health services are exempt from the restraint targets in the province’s multi-year plan to get back to balance."

Mr. Dexter [pictured], himself, states "…the design and delivery of mental health services are done by professionals in the field. As you would expect, we fund the DHAs (District Health Authorities) who make the decisions on the best mix of these services, based on knowledge, skill and advice. Over many years, this model has proved successful. I trust and expect that it will continue to do so."

I certainly hope he is right. The public needs an explanation as to what this proven successful model is.

What will this do to the kids in these programs? How many of them will fall through the cracks as a result of this decision? How many youth suicides will we have to deal with, and how many have to land in jail before we realize that this is a mistake?

My heart goes out to Ally and all the clients of the ACT and Compass programs and to the youth care workers who work with them because they love to. It takes special people to do these jobs, and they don’t have to have half a dozen initials after their names to be qualified, professional and do an "amazing" job.

M.L. (Speranza) Anstey, Antigonish

Photo credit

Also see:

Adolescent Centre for Treatment (PDF)

Compass, Centre for Collaborative Child and Family Treatment

The benefits of full time mental health support

Audio clip from the March 22nd edition of the CBC Radio One's (Nova Scotia) Information Morning:

As the IWK changes its mental health care facilities for children and teenagers, we find out how youth care workers and in-patient treatment at the IWK allowed a young man to tackle his anxiety disorder.

Connor MacLellan and his mother Susan say he would not have recovered from his anxiety and depression without the care he received as an in-patient.

To listen, please click here.

Image credit

Also see:

Realigning IWK mental health: ‘This is the right thing to do’

IWK explains why its making cuts to in-patient care for youth with mental illness

Nova Scotia can’t even meet its own ridiculous mental health standards

Assistance with navigating mental health services in the Capital Health district

First-Episode Psychosis - Academic Re-Entry Promotion Project -- Research Recruitment

Please click on the image to magnify it.

To download the a PDF of the poster, please click here.

IWK cuts waiting list by deleting names

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

1,100 child mental health patients affected

By Selena Ross

What does it take to get off a waiting list?

Of the 1,100 children removed since November from the IWK Health Centre’s waiting list for mental health services — an astonishing statistic the Halifax children’s hospital released widely on Monday — about half weren’t treated, and the hospital removed many of those without directly contacting them.

That’s because the IWK sent a letter to all families on the waiting list in September or October asking them to call back if they still wanted service.

Many didn’t call back. The list was instantly cut back by about half, the vice-president of patient care, Jocelyn Vine [pictured], said Thursday.

Since then, the hospital has screened hundreds of children for the first time, leaving 70 on the waiting list. But on Tuesday, Vine described that overall 94 per cent reduction as a "really very profound improvement in access to care" without explaining that hundreds of names had simply been deleted.

The hospital used the numbers this week to show its success under a reorganization that included the layoff of 22 youth-care workers.

Parents and mental health advocates challenged the math after reading about the hospital’s announcement this week.

"I had a feeling . . . I just wondered what had happened to that 1,030 people," said John Roswell of the Digby Clare Mental Health Volunteers Association.

"If they could see 1,100 people in three months, we could clean up the mental health waiting lists throughout the province in a big hurry."

Roswell said he called Vine on Wednesday to ask how the hospital came up with the numbers, and she explained the mass mail-out.

"I couldn’t believe what she said," he said. "I just thought it was a terrible misrepresentation of the facts.

"I understand their point about improving patient care and decreasing wait times. I mean, that’s all very applaudable, but I think we need to be upfront about it."

The mother of a 10-year-old Dartmouth boy who waited 14 months for a first appointment said she responded to several surveys the hospital mailed out during that time to reaffirm that the family still wanted care.

Last fall, the letter contained a deadline, said Carol Mack, whose son suffers from anxiety-related problems.

"It was something about how they were reorganizing their wait times . . . then you had to call this phone number, which is the Dartmouth clinic, I believe. (It said) if you are still requiring services, you have to call it by this certain date. Otherwise you’ll be removed from the wait list."

As Mack remembers it, she had about a month to call.

"But if they didn’t have the current phone number or address for someone, you were out of luck. Or, say, someone just missed it, you’d be totally kicked off the list."

Vine said Thursday that the hospital made extra efforts to get in touch with families who didn’t respond. Some also phoned to say they no longer needed care, she said.

Those who didn’t speak to the hospital were taken off the list, but they’re free to call and re-add their names any time they want, she said.

"Some chose to call in. Some didn’t," she said. "It’s totally up to them."

The numbers on the waiting list are not misleading, Vine said. Services were offered to all 1,100 families.

"We can only go by the data that we have. It’s a completely accurate number, based on the information that we had. We went back and re-engaged with people. . . . Based on their answer, we’re moving forward accordingly."

The hospital’s overall progress in the mental health unit is not in doubt, Vine said. Since November, the unit has sped up the rate at which it handles new patients and is seeing more children per week than previously.

She said she had no statistics showing that change.

Image credit

Also see:

Wait times too long for some (March 18th)

Mental health care more than hocus-pocus (March 17th)

IWK changes emphasize early intervention (March 15th)

Decision to dispense with 22 youth workers is disgraceful (March 15th)

22 layoffs in IWK mental health program (March 12th)

Mental health treatment for NS teenagers is in crisis! (June 10th, 2010)

Changing How We Look at Mental Illness and Changing Lives

A March 13th posting by Psychology in Action:

By Rachel

One in five children in the US suffers from mental illness, but less than 25% of those children actually receive mental health services. That’s absolutely terrifying, especially if you consider all the kids who have other psychological struggles but don’t meet diagnostic criteria for a psychological disorder. How many children then aren’t getting the help they so desperately need? What kind of effect is that having on the future generations of workers, leaders, innovators, educators, and generally just society? As a future clinical psychologist, this is shocking. How has the field failed? Don’t get me wrong, there have been great innovations and huge strides in understanding mechanisms of psychological disorders and developing treatments that alleviate some of the suffering, so why aren’t these kids getting helped?

The Problems

• The stigma associated with mental health problems and treatment is huge. The public has a very limited understanding of what psychological distress is. The media is flooded with stories about people with all sorts of mental issues doing terribly harmful things, like Jared Loughner who shot Arizona House Representative Gabrielle Giffords and eighteen others, murdering six. This is the poor and incomplete representation of mental illness that we get every day. As a society, we equate mental illness with the crazy criminals we see in the news. To some extent, we fault individuals for their own issues, attributing it to a lack of will power or just weakness or bad character. The stigma and blame actually keep people from understanding how prevalent mental disorders actually are and seeing how individuals suffering from them may not be at fault. Mental illness is not just Jared Loughner or Seung-Hui Cho the Virginia Tech shooter. It is also people struggling with severe depression leading to isolation or those with overwhelming social anxiety who fear making friends, among other things.

• People don’t know how to identify signs of psychological distress. Disruptive behavior disorders, like ADHD or conduct disorder, are noticed because they interfere in the classroom. Other disorders, like anxiety, can even be functional to an extent, leading to high academic achievement, but can also become so overwhelming to the point of a complete loss the ability to concentrate and learn.

• People don’t know where to get help or what kind of help is best when they figure out that there’s a problem. If they figure out what kind of help they need, financial burdens may make it hard for them to actually get help, especially in the age of managed care and reimbursement problems from insurance companies.

• Researchers aren’t doing enough to get their awesome treatments out there. Tens of millions of dollars are spent each year on developing and testing treatments that have the potential to change lives. Lots of published research trials support their efficacy, but still, they’re not getting out into the clinics and hospitals and to the people that need them most.

• The economic crisis and lack of advocacy from the public are leading to huge funding cuts for community clinics and research. All of the other problems contribute to this issue too. If people don’t believe that mental health is important and don’t believe that psychological treatments might work, they won’t push for funding to support the community clinics or increase research efforts to figure out how treatments can work outside of research labs.

What can we do to fix it?

• As a member of the general public, get informed about mental health issues. Learn what’s going on through websites, newspapers, or other venues. The New York Times has been running a great series called “Lives Restored” about people struggling with severe mental illness who have managed to positively change the trajectories of their lives.

• Spread the word about mental health needs. Talk to your friends about it as you learn. Share informative links with members of your community.

• If you are gateway personnel, like a teacher or school counselor or pediatrician, who is regularly in touch with children and families, learn the signs and symptoms of mental illness.

• As a mental health professional, psychologist, social worker, or whatever, spread the word about mental health services. Talk to gateway personnel about available resources, either online, books, or clinics, to help them refer those struggling in the right directions.

• Mental health professionals should also keep up on the literature. What is the research showing to be effective? How can that work be applied to inform the work you do?

• As researchers and treatment developers, form partnerships with schools and community clinics to understand their systems and needs. Work with them to integrate your research findings into their framework. Offer training and supervision opportunities.

• As a community, talk to government officials about mental health needs. Push for funding for that work. Really make a case for how important it is to identify struggles early and give people the skills to deal with them.

• As an individual, just try to alter how you think about mental illness and how you talk about it. The homeless man on the corner is not a schizophrenic. He is a man struggling with schizophrenia. See people as people who are suffering, not as a disorder.

There are a million other problems and probably even more solutions. We are at a crossroads. The need is great and it’s finally our chance to impact the outcome, whatever our small role may be.

Also see:

Mental Health First Aid

Capital District Health - Community Mental Health: First Visit

From the OurHealthyMinds.com website:

Community Mental Health has changed the way individuals access their services.

First Visit

On May 2, 2011, Community Mental Health changed the way individuals access their services. In the past, Individuals have often had to wait weeks or months to be seen. These changes will drastically reduce the time they will have to wait. Each Community Mental Health location will have a designated day or days each week when they will be seeing new clients. This new initiative is called First Visit.

First Visit is a simple, easy way for people with significant mental health problems or mental illness to access help from Community Mental Health. We do not offer emergency services. Call Mental Health Mobile Crisis - 429.8167 or 1(888) 429.8167 – or go to your local emergency department.

During your First Visit, you will see a therapist to talk about the mental health problem that prompted you to seek help; what helps your manage; and ways to build on your strengths and resources. If you need further assessment or treatment, this will be offered.

How do you book a First Visit?

We encourage you to contact your family doctor for a referral. They will receive information about your visit in a timely manner.

You can [also] book a First Visit [on your own] with one of our Community Mental Teams by calling on Monday (Friday if Monday is a holiday). Each of our locations has a specific day, or days, each week when new clients are seen.

Here are our locations and telephone numbers:

Dartmouth Community Mental Health
Belmont House, 33 Alderney Drive, Dartmouth
Tel: 466-1830
First Visit is offered on Thursdays.

Bayers Road Community Mental Health
Suite 109, Bayers Road Centre
7071 Bayers Road, Halifax
Tel: 454-1400
First Visit is offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Bedford/Sackville Community Mental Health
Cobequid Community Health Centre
40 Freer Lane, Lower Sackville
Tel: 865-3663
First Visit is offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Cole Harbour Community Mental Health
Cole Harbour Place
51 Forest Hills Parkway, Dartmouth
Tel: 434-3263
First Visit is offered on Tuesdays.

West Hants Community Mental Health*
89 Payzant Drive, Windsor
Tel: (902)792-2042
First Visit is offered on Tuesdays.

This service is offered through Capital Health and there is no direct cost to the patient. We provide consultation and individual and/or group therapy to people living with a mental illness or struggling with a mental health problem. We work closely with family doctors and community agencies.

First Visit is for individuals 19 years of age and older.

*West Hants supports adults, youth and children.

Also see:

Stats, research lead to sooner First Visit

People Living with Mental Illness Propose Improvements to Interactions with Police in Canada

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

Also see:

People Living with Mental Illness Propose Improvements to Interactions with Police in Canada

Study finds mentally ill more likely to be arrested, harmed by police

Advancing Standards of Care for People with Schizophrenia

Please click on the image to magnify it.

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

Also see:

Pilot program demonstrates measurable benefits for people with schizophrenia

Advancing Standards of Care for People with Schizophrenia: A National Council Quality Improvement Project

Outpatient Art Group - Abbie Lane Art Room

Every Tuesday, 6:00 pm!

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Healthy Minds Cooperative Newsletter - March 2012

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

Also see:

Healthy Minds Cooperative

Nova Scotia Bipolar Peer Support Alliance – Halifax Chapter

Please click on the image to magnify it.

Stereotypes of mental disorders differ in competence and warmth

A February 21st posting by Neuroskeptic:

Please click on the image to magnify it.

Fighting "the stigma of mental illness" is big business at the moment. But does "the stigma" really exist?

As I said back in 2010:

There is a stigma of schizophrenia, and there's a stigma of depression, etc. but they're not the same stigma. We're told it's a myth that "the mentally ill are violent" - [but] no-one thinks depressed or anorexic people are violent. They think (roughly) that people with psychosis are. They have other equally silly opinions about each diagnosis, but there's no monolithic "stigma of mental illness".

Now a paper has come out which explores this idea in some detail: Stereotypes of mental disorders differ in competence and warmth. The title says it all : people have stereotypical views of people suffering from different mental disorders, but these stereotypes vary substantially.

To read the entire post, please click here.

Image credit

Also see:

Stereotypes of mental disorders differ in competence and warmth

Assisted Outpatient Treatment: The Data and the Controversy

A November 17th, 2011, presentation by Marvin S. Schwartz, MD, Services Effectiveness Research Program, Duke University Medical Center, at New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY.

Also see:

Community Treatment Order (PDF, Nova Scotia)

Landlords pitch in to help people with mental illness find housing

From the February 22nd edition of Information Morning:

The CBC's Rob North tells us about a new initiative that might make things better. [Note, the segment begins after a short advertisement for a podcast.]

Also see:

250 Homes

Community Living Initiative: The Bungalows

Amanda Tetrault speaks at a Media Symposium

From the YouTube posting:

Amanda Tetrault, photographer, shares her personal experience with mental illness at the King's College media symposium.

Amanda Tetrault created a photographic book about her relationship with her father called Phil and Me. She shares her story from a lifetime with a father who lives with severe schizophrenia through captivating photographs.

Also see:

Phil and Me

Canadians Need Better Access to Psychological Services

A February 6th media release from the Canadian Psychological Association:

OTTAWA, Feb. 6, 2012 /CNW/ - Today in honour of Psychology Month, the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), the Mood Disorders Society of Canada (MDSC) and the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) joined forces to highlight the need to enhance access to mental health services in Canada.

Mental disorders are a leading cause of disability in Canada and represent a significant burden on the economy. It estimated to cost the Canadian economy $51-billion annually. Psychologists are the largest group of regulated and specialized mental health care providers in Canada. Yet Canadians, in particular those in lower and middle income levels, face significant barriers when it comes to accessing psychological services due to their cost.

"The services of psychologists are not funded by provincial health insurance plans which make them inaccessible to Canadians with modest incomes or no insurance" said Peter Coleridge, National Chief Executive Officer, of the CMHA. This is in spite of the fact that some of the most effective treatments for common mental disorders - depression and anxiety - are psychological ones like cognitive behaviour therapy".

The U.K. has invested 400 million pounds over four years to make psychological therapies more accessible, and Australia has also enhanced access to psychologists through its publicly funded health insurance plans" adds Coleridge. "Canada must do the same."

"It is vitally important that we look to the needs of the community when it comes to mental disorders and health promotion and that we respond to those in ways that are effective" said Dave Gallson, Associate National Executive Director of MDSC. "Our research has found that the lack of insured services prevents a majority of individuals with mental illnesses from seeking the support they need."

Next week the Government of Manitoba is hosting a mental health summit with a focus on children and youth. Seventy percent of adults living with a mental disorders experience the causes or onset of their disorders before age 18. Early intervention can make a dramatic difference in the course of a disorder and, ultimately in a person's life.

"Psychological services are proven effective in helping Canadians to manage and overcome psychological problems and disorders," added Dr Karen Cohen, Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Psychological Association. "Canada's private health care insurance plans and publicly funded programs don't do enough to ensure Canadians have equal and adequate access to needed psychological service. Canada's governments and employers must do more to ensure all Canadians - regardless of income - can access the psychological care they need."
For further information:

Tyler Stacey-Holmes, Manager, Association Development, Membership and Public Relations
Canadian Psychological Association
613-237-2144, ext. 325 | publicrelations@cpa.ca

Bell Let’s Talk 2012: Join the conversation to support Canadian mental health!

On February 8th, 2012, for every text message sent and every long distance call made by Bell and Bell Aliant customers, Bell plans to donate 5 cents to Canadian mental health programs.


A video made in Halifax on January 28th, 2012:

Canadian Mental Health Association - Nova Scotia Division -- February 2012 Newsletter

Please click on the image to magnify it.

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


Also see:

Canadian Mental Health Association - Nova Scotia Division

Wellbeing: The continuing struggle to raise awareness for mental illness

An article published in the January 30th edition of the National Post:

By Melody Lau

In its first year, the Bell Let’s Talk campaign managed to rally more phone traffic than the 2010 Olympics moment when Sidney Crosby scored his famous game-winning goal, a previous Bell volume record. Now entering its second year, the campaign is bigger than ever.

The extensive five-year initiative aims to get people across the country talking about mental health, in order to create awareness and raise money to fund programs. This year, Bell will donate 5¢ to mental health for every text and long distance call made by a Bell customer on Feb. 8. Last year alone generated more than $3-million. Not with Bell? Then just hop on Twitter; every retweet about the campaign also contributes 5¢ to the cause.

“We’ve had incredible support from so many places, from our advertising partners but also from our competitors,” says Mary Deacon, chair of the project. “Just in terms of getting involved and supporting this initiative, we don’t know how big it can get, but all we want to do is do better than last year, and we’ve added so many new dimensions.”

Such forms of expansion include a heavier focus on local stories and experts, a more comprehensive website to help inform people about mental health and the addition of two new spokespeople. Joining national spokeswoman and Olympian Clara Hughes [pictured] will be actor-comedian Michel Mpambara and author, composer and performer Stefie Shock.

“Clara came forward herself and said this is something she wanted to be part of, which is remarkable for somebody obviously as busy as she is,” says Deacon, about Hughes’ role in the campaign. “She’s a remarkable human being and we’re excited to have two more spokespeople this year.”

“We wanted to ensure that the messages that we’re sending were going to resonate with our various audiences,” Deacon adds. “What we want to do is help bring a voice to mental health that it maybe hasn’t had before.”

At least one in five Canadians will suffer from mental illness in their lifetimes and Bell hopes this initiative will shine a light on the underfunded and highly stigmatized subject.

“We really felt that it was an area where we could make a difference,” says Deacon about the impetus behind Bell’s decision to back this cause.

Deacon has spent the past 25 years in the business of not-for-profits and 10 years specifically focusing on mental health issues. She is proud of Bell’s efforts, adding that, “it was really refreshing, for me, to see a company apply the same kind of talents and strengths to something that was charitable.

“At the end of the day what this means is more money for mental health programs all across the country which we really want to help.”

For more information on the initiative, visit letstalk.bell.ca

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Statistics provided by Bell Canada:

• At least 1 in 5 Canadians experiences a form of mental illness at some point in their lives – every one of us has a family member, friend or colleague who will experience mental illness

• Mental health funding is modest relative to other health care issues – mental illness represents 15% of Canada’s health care burden but receives only 5% of health care funding

• Just one-third of Canadians who need mental health services actually receive them

• Mental illness is the number one cause of workplace disability in Canada – accounting for 30% of disability claims and 70% of disability costs

• Mental illness costs the Canadian economy $51 billion each year in lost productivity – every day, 500,000 Canadians are absent from work due to a form of mental illness.

Also see:

Bell Media Fuels the Conversation About Mental Health in Support of Bell Let's Talk Day, Feb. 8

Stefie Shock and Michel Mpambara join Clara Hughes for second annual Bell Let's Talk Day on February 8, 2012.

Healthy Minds Cooperative Newsletter - February 2012

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

Also see:

Healthy Minds Cooperative

Colorado Voices: Harness the fear of schizophrenia

An opinion piece posted online on today by The Denver Post:

By Jean Trester

For four consecutive days, The Denver Post published pictures of Gabrielle Giffords and informed us that she is resigning from her office of U.S. Representative to focus on her recovery. If I were a U.S. visitor, I might wonder, "from what is she recovering?" Rereading the articles provides two hints: "massacre in Tuscon" and "shooting in January, 2011."

On day five, January 27, The Denver Post printed an "opinion" that had originated in The Washington Post. Gabby was wounded "allegedly by a deranged young man."

I know the culprits in the "massacre" are a gun, a young man, and a disease, schizophrenia.

In 1981, when President Reagan was wounded in an eerily similar act, the culprits were a gun, a young man, and a disease, schizophrenia.

The gun issue has been addressed (albeit ineffectively) through legislation and ongoing public discourse. (Please refer to The Washington Post "opinion.")

Young men, and women, too are to be nurtured.

What have we done with the disease schizophrenia?

We mimic brain addled cowards, hide in fear, and use euphemisms to describe the consequences of untreated schizophrenia. Please appreciate my arduous effort to restrain my cynicism.

I wish Gabby Giffords the epitome of medical treatment and Godspeed.

What I really wish is that the "shooting" had never occurred.

In the 1970s, we dismantled our state run mental hospitals, preferring community mental health care. We neglected to educate ourselves about major mental illnesses.

We need a comprehensive and concerted Public Health Policy to promote education for our entire population. Anyone who has contacts with adolescents or young adults should know the signs and symptoms of schizophrenia, should be comfortable with discussing these symptoms and assisting in find treatment. We teach sex education and heart health to middle school and high school students. Provide the same fact based information about major mental illnesses.

Schizophrenia signs and symptoms first exhibited are insidious and mild. Withdrawal from family and social contacts, confusion, inability to concentrate and insomnia, appear before florid hallucinations and dangerous delusions. If a college student, experiencing hallucinations, had been educated about major mental illnesses in middle school, he may be less likely to hide in shame and denial and more amenable to seeking treatment.

Anyone in our society should be able to say the word schizophrenia with the same ease and equanimity that we say poppycock, democracy, cancer, apology, Islam, Caucasian, AIDS, mulatto, thank you, etc. Accessing mental health care should be as socially acceptable and as readily available as seeing an orthopedist for a fracture.

I urge anyone who has experienced schizophrenia, has a family member or friend living with this disease, or earns a living caring for those afflicted to speak out, hold hands with our naive neighbors, harness our well-founded fears, and focus our energies on 21st century effective treatments and cures.

Demand science-based information, education, and research for better diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of schizophrenia. Like cancer, early diagnosis and treatment can thwart sickness and death.

Do it for our communities, our youth, and for Gabby.

Jean Trester (jrdtpost@gmail.com) of Centennial is a retired nurse.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is an online-only column and has not been edited.

How antipsychotic medications cause metabolic side effects such as obesity and diabetes

An media release posted today by EurekAlert!:

Sanford-Burnham study suggests that many antipsychotics affect metabolism because they activate the TGFbeta pathway -- a finding that could lead to safer therapeutics for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia patients

LA JOLLA, Calif. -- In 2008, roughly 14.3 million Americans were taking antipsychotics — typically prescribed for bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or a number of other behavioral disorders — making them among the most prescribed drugs in the U.S. Almost all of these medications are known to cause the metabolic side effects of obesity and diabetes, leaving patients with a difficult choice between improving their mental health and damaging their physical health. In a paper published January 31 in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) reveal how antipsychotic drugs interfere with normal metabolism by activating a protein called SMAD3, an important part of the transforming growth factor beta (TGFbeta) pathway.

The TGFbeta pathway is a cellular mechanism that regulates many biological processes, including cell growth, inflammation, and insulin signaling. In this study, all antipsychotics that cause metabolic side effects activated SMAD3, while antipsychotics free from these side effects did not. What's more, SMAD3 activation by antipsychotics was completely independent from their neurological effects, raising the possibility that antipsychotics could be designed that retain beneficial therapeutic effects in the brain, but lack the negative metabolic side effects.

"We now believe that many antipsychotics cause obesity and diabetes because they trigger the TGFbeta pathway. Of all the drugs we tested, the only two that didn't activate the pathway were the ones that are known not to cause metabolic side effects," said Fred Levine, M.D., Ph.D. [pictured], director of the Sanford Children's Health Research Center at Sanford-Burnham and senior author of the study.

In a previous study aimed at developing new insights into diabetes, Dr. Levine and his team used Sanford-Burnham's high-throughput screening capabilities to search a collection of known drugs for those that alter the body's ability to generate insulin, the pancreatic hormone that helps regulate glucose. That's when they first noticed that many antipsychotics alter the activity of the insulin gene. In this current study, the researchers set out to connect the dots between antipsychotics and insulin. In doing so, experiments in laboratory cell-lines showed that antipsychotics known to cause metabolic side effects also activated the TGFbeta pathway—a mechanism that controls many cellular functions, including the production of insulin—while the drugs without these side effects did not.

Wondering whether their initial laboratory observations were relevant to the human experience, the researchers reanalyzed previously published gene expression patterns in brain tissue from schizophrenic patients treated with antipsychotics. What they found supported their earlier findings—TGFbeta signaling was activated only in those patients receiving antipsychotic treatment. Looking further, they found that the extent to which each antipsychotic drug activated the TGFbeta pathway in human brains correlated very closely with the extent to which those same drugs activated SMAD3 and affected the insulin promoter in their cell culture experiments.

The TGFbeta pathway also plays an important role in metabolic disease in people who don't take antipsychotic medications. "It's known that people who have elevated TGFbeta levels are more prone to diabetes. So having a dysregulated TGFbeta pathway—whether caused by antipsychotics or through some other mechanism—is clearly a very bad thing," said Dr. Levine. "The fact that antipsychotics activate this pathway should be a big concern to pharmaceutical companies. We hope this new information will lead to the development of improved drugs."

###

This study was funded by a gift from Mr. T. Denny Sanford to the Sanford Children's Health Research Center at Sanford-Burnham. Co-authors include Thomas Cohen, Sanford-Burnham and University of California, San Diego; S. Sundaresh, NextBio; and Fred Levine, Sanford-Burnham.

About Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute

Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute is dedicated to discovering the fundamental molecular causes of disease and devising the innovative therapies of tomorrow. The Institute consistently ranks among the top five organizations worldwide for its scientific impact in the fields of biology and biochemistry (defined by citations per publication) and currently ranks third in the nation in NIH funding among all laboratory-based research institutes. Sanford-Burnham is a highly innovative organization, currently ranking second nationally among all organizations in capital efficiency of generating patents, defined by the number of patents issued per grant dollars awarded, according to government statistics.

Sanford-Burnham utilizes a unique, collaborative approach to medical research and has established major research programs in cancer, neurodegeneration, diabetes, and infectious, inflammatory, and childhood diseases. The Institute is especially known for its world-class capabilities in stem cell research and drug discovery technologies. Sanford-Burnham is a U.S.-based, non-profit public benefit corporation, with operations in San Diego (La Jolla), Santa Barbara, and Orlando (Lake Nona). For more information, please visit our website (http://www.sanfordburnham.org) or blog (http://beaker.sanfordburnham.org). You can also receive updates by following us on Facebook and Twitter.

Contact

Heather Buschman, Ph.D.
hbuschman@sanfordburnham.org
858-795-5343
Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute

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Also see:

Antipsychotics activate the TGFβ pathway effector SMAD3

Meet Halifax's Mental Health Mobile Crisis Team

An article posted on January 27th by CBC.ca:

Halifax's Mental Health Mobile Crisis Team is shrouded in secrecy.

They don't wear uniforms, they don't travel in marked vehicles and they keep the location of their headquarters a secret, to ensure the safety of the people working there.

Mary Pyche (pictured, centre), the program leader for crisis emergency services for the Capital District Health Authority, said the idea for a crisis team first started taking shape back in 2003.

"We started putting that proposal together to the department of health. Took a little while," she said.

"By 2006, we had the partnership up and running. We also included in the partnership the IWK as well, so that the service would offer crisis response in the community right across the age spectrum."

In a recent interview with CBC News, Pyche said the team handles about 1,000 cases a month. That's based on 300 to 350 people each making multiple calls for help to the team.

Pyche said 95 per cent of those calls are new — first-time callers or people who haven't called the crisis line for at least two months. That turnover is proof the team is successful, she said.

Mary-Beth Flory (pictured, right), a registered nurse and the clinical practice leader for the crisis team, spends her mornings preparing for when the team hits the road in the afternoon and evenings.

"Come 1 o'clock in the afternoon, the team sits down," Flory said.

"That's three clinicians and our two officers who are on for those hours. And we triage again where we're going to be going throughout the day — where we need to go first, what kind of supports do we believe the team is going to be needing to provide."

Halifax Regional Police support

Four members of Halifax Regional Police are assigned to the team. They work in plain clothes.

Const. Angela Balcolm (pictured, left), one of those officers, said a uniform wouldn't work in her job.

"We try to make people as comfortable as we can and of course, decriminalize mental illness," she said.

"We're there for the person's safety, not to look into any criminal matters."

Balcolm said officers operate under a memorandum of understanding, so they don't share what they hear on the crisis team with other police officers.

Pyche said the police officers give the team extra power.

"We knew if we could partner with police, that they had the authority to do wellness checks and we could go along with them," she said.

That police presence allows the team to respond when friends or family members warn about a person's deteriorating mental condition.

Not all 'lights and sirens'

Mary-Beth Flory said the team doesn't require family intervention to act.

"A person can refer themselves," Flory said.

"It's very easy access. It can simply be a phone call. A person does not need a referral from a physician or from a psychologist to access support, and that it is a wide range of intervention and services that can be provided."

For Angela Balcolm, working with the crisis team offers a different facet to police work.

"People watch TV and they see all the shows like Cops and all that," she said.

"Is that a reality in our work? Absolutely. Sometimes."

Balcolm said her work isn't all "lights and sirens."

"I think it's huge to see this program that is assisting people because the police role in this is huge — getting people, detaining people and taking individuals into hospital, if that's what needs to happen," she said.

Photograph by Blair Rhodes / CBC


Also see:

Mental Health Mobile Crisis Team

Mental Health Mobile Crisis Team (PDF)

Emergency Crisis Services - Mental Health Services - Cape Breton District Health Authority - Call (902) 567-7767

Key facts and trends in mental health: Updated figures and statistics

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To download the entire document, please click here.

Also see:

The NHS Confederation

Mental Health for All Coffee House

Every Saturday, 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm!

Bloomfield Centre, Rm 114, 2786 Agricola Street, Halifax

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Also see:

CMHA Halifax-Dartmouth Branch

NAMI Principles of Support

National Alliance on Mental Illness (United States)

Principles of Support

• We will see the individual first, not the illness.

• We recognize that mental illnesses are medical illnesses that may have environmental triggers.

• We understand that mental illnesses are traumatic events.

• We aim for better coping skills.

• We find strength in sharing experiences.

• We reject stigma and do not tolerate discrimination.

• We won’t judge anyone’s pain as less than our own.

• We forgive ourselves and reject guilt.

• We embrace humor as healthy.

• We accept we cannot solve all problems.

• We expect a better future in a realistic way.

• We will never give up hope.

Source

Yarmouth area attracts MDs

An article published in the January 3rd edition of The Chronicle Herald:

By Brian Medel, Yarmouth Bureau

YARMOUTH — Several physicians, including a number of psychiatrists, began practising in southwestern Nova Scotia during the summer and fall of 2011.

Three psychiatrists joined Southwest Health recently, bringing the number of psychiatrists to six in Nova Scotia’s westernmost health district.

All psychiatrist vacancies for the district are filled for the first time in more than 10 years, Southwest Health said in a news release.

Dr. Olufemi Banjo came in August, followed by Dr. Razi Hemani in September and Dr. Lourdes Soto-Moreno (pictured) in October.

"It certainly is good news, and hopefully we’ll hold on to them; there’s certainly the need," said John Roswell, a Digby Clare Mental Health Volunteers co-ordinator, on Sunday.

"It’s terrific if we have the full complement. Hopefully, it will mean that people get to see a psychiatrist and eliminate the lengthy wait process.

"It has been practically impossible to get to see a psychiatrist within six months, and it’s very heartening to hope that wait times may be decreased somewhat because of this."

The common wisdom is that 20 per cent of people will require psychiatric services or will experience a mental illness at some point during their lifetime, said Roswell.

The reporting of mental illness and the number of people seeking help has increased, he said.

Dr. Faten Germanus began working at a family medical practice in Barrington Passage in December. She is not yet accepting patients but an announcement will be made soon when she is ready to take on new patients, according to a news release.

Dr. Navdeep Mangat also began working in Digby General Hospital’s emergency department in December and will provide services at the Digby Well Womens Clinic starting this month.

And southwestern Nova Scotia residents with no family doctor but who have high blood pressure may take advantage of a new cardiovascular program at Yarmouth Regional Hospital, to be based in the facility’s wellness centre.

(bmedel@herald.ca)

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