Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Comment

On my Friday June 11/2010 posting someone left a comment. When you look at the posting it says there is 0 comments. But if you click on the 0 comments the comment does show up. A fellow said that I have a nice blog and he left the address for his own blog. The blog is about computer games. I love playing computer games and I posted the comment because I think that playing computer games is beneficial to one's recovery. We all need fun in our lives.

From Recovery to Discovery Peer Support Group Meeting

From Recovery to Discovery Peer Support Group Meeting

Thursday, June 24th, 2010

6:30 pm to 8:30 pm

The Hub

2nd Floor, 1673 Barrington Street

Halifax, Nova Scotia

ALL ARE WELCOME!

FREE!

Tomorrow, Thursday, June 24th, 2010

An interactive presentation on adolescent development and mental health with Dr. Stan Kutcher

Dr. Kutcher is an internationally-renowned expert in the area of adolescent mental health and a national & international leader in mental health research, advocacy, training, policy, and health services innovation. He is using his considerable expertise to advance the work of the Sun Life Financial Chair in Adolescent Mental Health, building awareness and knowledge about mental health issues in young people.

Dr. Kutcher most recently served as Associate Dean of International Medical Development & Research with Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Medicine. At Dalhousie, he has been chair of the Department of Psychiatry and has led the development of the Life Sciences Development Association, the Brain Repair Centre, and the International Health Office. Dr. Kutcher also served as Clinical-Academic Director of the Capital District Health Authority’s Mental Health Program. In 2003, he was chosen by Atlantic Progress Magazine as one of the top 20 innovators in Atlantic Canada. He was named as the 2004 National Champion of Mental Health, Research, by the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health, and he received the 2005 Dr. Mary V. Seeman Award from the Canadian Psychiatry Research Foundation in recognition of his lifetime achievements in mental health work.

Dr. Kutcher is also a nationally and internationally active speaker, reviewer and consultant in psychiatry working in various countries around the globe and for various international groups including the Pan American Health Organization and the World Health Organization. His work in international medical development and research advances health sector knowledge development across the various medical disciplines and health care delivery systems.

His current research interests include translating mental health research into clinical care and health policy, and optimization of mental health care/mental health clinical research in primary care. He has developed a number of innovative health human resources training programs for mental health competencies that have been delivered in many different countries and has participated in the writing of a number of national mental health policies/plans worldwide. He is the author of more than 200 scientific papers and also author/co-author of a number of medical textbooks.

Summer Break:

The From Recovery from Discover Peer Support Group will be taking a break for the summer months of July and August. Meetings will resume in September 2010.

Laura Burke

Peer Support Facilitator

Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia

Phone: (902) 465-2601

Toll-free: 1-800-465-2601

Website: www.ssns.ca

Weblog: www.blog.ssns.ca

Room B-23, E.C. Purdy Building

300 Pleasant Street

P.O. Box 1004, Station Main

Dartmouth, Nova Scotia

B2Y 3Z9

Friday, June 11, 2010

Kings County Chapter of the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia Announcement

We will be holding our annual spring picnic at the Lockhart Ryan Park in New Minas. It will be held on June 16/10 at 5:00 pm. The Pioneer Chuck Wagon will be catering. For more information contact Pat at 678-8458.

We will be closed down for the summer. The meetings will start up again in September.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

From Recovery to Discovery Peer Support Group Meetings

From Recovery to Discovery Peer Support Group Meetings

Every Thursday Evening

6:30 pm to 8:30 pm

The Hub

2nd Floor, 1673 Barrington Street

Halifax, Nova Scotia

ALL ARE WELCOME!

FREE!

TODAY – Thursday, June 10th, 2010

Note: The interactive presentation on mental health in the Christian community with Rev. Martin Zwicker has been postponed to a future date.

Instead, we will have a peer support group focusing on some central discussion questions, for example:

1. How do we trust ourselves and feel comfortable that we know what’s best for us in the face of a culture and a mental health system which can discourage this autonomy and personal wisdom?

2. How do we maintain self-esteem when stigma and rigid social definitions abound?

Please feel free to bring your thoughts about your own role in your mental health care, and about how you maintain confidence in this culture in particular. We look forward to learning coping strategies and wisdom from each other.

Thursday, June 17th, 2010

An interactive presentation on new research in psychosis with Dr. Philip Tibbo

Dr. Tibbo obtained his MD from Memorial University of Newfoundland and his psychiatry fellowship training at the University of Alberta. He remained in Edmonton as a clinical researcher until 2008 when he was appointed the Dr. Paul Janssen Chair in Psychotic Disorders in the Department of Psychiatry at Dalhousie University.

Dr. Tibbo’s research and clinical focus is on early detection and intervention in psychosis. His research includes investigating co-registration of endophenotypic markers in psychosis. Using genetic high-risk groups (adolescent and adult), chronic, and first episode psychosis cohorts, and individuals with stimulant addiction psychosis (regarding specificity), he investigates markers with high field strength magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), fMRI, and, with his collaborations, cognitive and genetic markers.

In addition to the above he also has research interests in the areas of stigma, burden of illness, and pathways to care. As a past Residency Training Program Director and Chair of the RCPSC Exam Board for Psychiatry, he has also conducted research in the field of education.

Dr. Tibbo is Co-Director of the Nova Scotia Psychosis Research Unit (NSPRU), whose overarching mission is to improve the quality of life for individuals living with psychotic disorders through research endeavors. Members of the NSPRU constitute a true multidisciplinary team that also includes community stakeholders such as the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia.

Dr. Tibbo practices psychiatry within the Nova Scotia Early Psychosis Program, where he is Director.

Thursday, June 25th, 2010

An interactive presentation on adolescent development and mental health with Dr. Stan Kutcher

Dr. Kutcher is an internationally-renowned expert in the area of adolescent mental health and a national & international leader in mental health research, advocacy, training, policy, and health services innovation. He is using his considerable expertise to advance the work of the Sun Life Financial Chair in Adolescent Mental Health, building awareness and knowledge about mental health issues in young people.

Dr. Kutcher most recently served as Associate Dean of International Medical Development & Research with Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Medicine. At Dalhousie, he has been chair of the Department of Psychiatry and has led the development of the Life Sciences Development Association, the Brain Repair Centre, and the International Health Office. Dr. Kutcher also served as Clinical-Academic Director of the Capital District Health Authority’s Mental Health Program. In 2003, he was chosen by Atlantic Progress Magazine as one of the top 20 innovators in Atlantic Canada. He was named as the 2004 National Champion of Mental Health, Research, by the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health, and he received the 2005 Dr. Mary V. Seeman Award from the Canadian Psychiatry Research Foundation in recognition of his lifetime achievements in mental health work.

Dr. Kutcher is also a nationally and internationally active speaker, reviewer and consultant in psychiatry working in various countries around the globe and for various international groups including the Pan American Health Organization and the World Health Organization. His work in international medical development and research advances health sector knowledge development across the various medical disciplines and health care delivery systems.

His current research interests include translating mental health research into clinical care and health policy, and optimization of mental health care/mental health clinical research in primary care. He has developed a number of innovative health human resources training programs for mental health competencies that have been delivered in many different countries and has participated in the writing of a number of national mental health policies/plans worldwide. He is the author of more than 200 scientific papers and also author/co-author of a number of medical textbooks.

Summer Break:

The From Recovery from Discover Peer Support Group will be taking a break for the summer months of July and August. Meetings will resume in September 2010.

Laura Burke

Peer Support Facilitator

Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia

Phone: (902) 465-2601

Toll-free: 1-800-465-2601

Website: www.ssns.ca

Weblog: www.blog.ssns.ca

Room B-23, E.C. Purdy Building

300 Pleasant Street

P.O. Box 1004, Station Main

Dartmouth, Nova Scotia

B2Y 3Z9

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Cigarette smoking and schizophrenia

It has been recognised for many years that patients
with psychiatric illnesses, especially schizophrenia,
smoke to excess. However, recently there has been a
resurgence of interest in the high prevalence of
nicotine addiction in patients with schizophrenia.
It has become increasingly clear that heavy cigarette
smoking is intimately associated with the schizophrenic
illness and that this may have implications
for the underlying neurobiology of schizophrenia.

To read the rest of this article click on the link below.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

If solitary confinement is torture, why are we still doing it?

In 1973, Jack McCann escaped from a federal prison in British Columbia. Of all the places he could go, he headed straight to the Vancouver Sun. The reason? Jack McCann had been held in solitary confinement for 754 days at that point. He sought to publicize his case and the circumstances faced by others in solitary confinement in the federal penitentiary system in Canada.

The end result of his efforts, two years later, was a landmark case argued in front of the Federal Court of Canada. The plaintiffs, including Jack McCann, won an admission by Justice D.V. Heald that solitary confinement, as it had been used in these cases, constituted "cruel and unusual punishment." Unfortunately, solitary confinement is still used in federal prisons today, often as a stop-gap to deal with mentally ill offenders. This practice harms the individuals involved, and also highlights a fundamental flaw in our conceptions of, and solutions to, crime and punishment in this country.

To read the rest of this article click on the link below.

Friday, June 4, 2010

HRM Chapter's Annual General Meeting

The HRM Chapter
of the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia
Monday, June 14, 2010
Annual General Meeting
6:30pm – 7:00pm
Family Education & Support
Presents
Laura Burke & Janelle Tyler
Lived Experience
Topic:
How Parents can Encourage Independence
7:00pm-8:00pm
Year End Social
8:00pm-9:00pm
Room 1243
Halifax Infirmary, QEII Health Sciences Centre
1796 Summer Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia