Conference:
Workshop Presenters
Friday, September 28
Concurrent Session 1
1. Cognitive Rehabilitation to Improve Work Outcomes in Supported Employment
- Susan R. McGurk, PhD, an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Dartmouth Medical School in Hanover, New Hampshire is a neuropsychologist whose research targets the area of cognitive impairment, vocational services and work in SMI. Her current research focuses on the evaluation of cognitive training implemented in supported employment, designed to identify and treat cognitive obstacles to successful work in people receiving supported employment. Dr. McGurk has been the recipient of a National Alliance of Research in Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD) Young Investigator Award, the 2004 Rehabilitation Practitioner of Distinction Award by the National Rehabilitation Association for her work linking cognition and employment in community-based vocational agencies in New York City, and research funding from the Office of Mental Health of New York State, The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research and The National Institute of Mental Health.
- Kim T. Mueser, PhD is a clinical psychologist and professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Community & Family Medicine at Dartmouth Medical School in Hanover, New Hampshire. A renowned expert in the field of schizophrenia and other severe mental illnesses, his research has been supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. In 2003, he received a Distinguished Investigator Award from the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression. Dr. Mueser has co-authored eight books and published over 200 articles in peer-reviewed journals. His most recent publication, with Susan Gingerich, MSW, is The Complete Family Guide to Schizophrenia published by Guildford Press in 2006.
2. Improving Brain Functioning
- Michael Miran, PhD received a B.S. in Psychology at University of California, Berkeley, and went on to Rutgers University to study for and receive a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology. His deep and abiding interest in helping others and background in clinical psychology led to a commitment to work with people who had been stigmatized and marginalized by the diagnosis of Schizophrenia, Allied Disorders, or other Central Nervous System (CNS) Disorders. Dr. Miran has been developing tools and refining improved treatment in private practice for 20 years.
- Esta Miran, EdD began her advanced education with a B.A. from University of California, Berkeley School of Architecture and Design. Dr. Miran received a Master's degree from Kean University, New Jersey where she studied the Humanities and received her Doctoral degree in Art and Education from Teachers College, Columbia. During her studies, Dr. Miran was privileged to work with many great minds, including Magaret Mead, who introduced her to new research methods using observation to study the "creative process". Dr. Miran's dissertation, the Ecology of Creativity, uses innovative research techniques to study the creative process in terms of the creative stimulus and then the creative output of the individual. Her education in the arts and experience examining "thinking processes" uniquely positioned her to design and develop strategies for building thinking systems in the brain and measure behavioural improvement as a result of treatment.
3. Teaching Young Clinicians About Mental Illness
- Mona Wasow, LCSW, is Clinical Professor Emerita, School of Social Work, University of Wisconsin. She is also a member of Curriculum and Training of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill and author of a book about mental illness in second edition called, "The Skipping Stone".
4. Bi-Polar Disorder: What You Need to Know
- Glenda MacQueen, B.Sc., Ph.D., M.D., F.R.C.P. (C) is the Academic
Director of the Mood Disorders Service at St Joseph's Healthcare, Hamilton,
and Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral
Neurosciences at McMaster University. A founding member of the Brain
Body Institute, she is also an associate member of the Intestinal Diseases
Research Program and coordinator of the Clinical Investigator's Program
for Psychiatry. Her research interests focus on structural and functional
brain changes associated with mood disorders and the factors that predict
long term outcome in mood disorders.
5. Diversity and Cultural Differences Among Families, Asia, Africa
- Representatives of the WFSAD Secretariat and African delegates
Saturday, September 29
Concurrent Session 2
6. Genetic Discoveries in Schizophrenia and their Application to Treatment
- James L. Kennedy, MD, FRCP. (C) Director, Neuroscience Research, CAMH; Head of Neurogenetics Section, Clarke Division, CAMH; Head, Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychiatry and I'Anson Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, has published more than 250 scientific articles and is an active lecturer at numerous international conferences. He is an eminent specialist in the quest to find genes involved in the cause of mental illness and the application of molecular genetic technology to the study of schizophrenia and related disorders.
7. The Spirit of Recovery
- Sheila LaGacy, Director, Family Support & Education Centre, Transitional Living Services, Onondaga County, New York, teaches coping and survival skills to the family members of those who have been diagnosed with serious psychiatric disorders.
- Lucia Miller, the celebrated producer of the film "The Spirit of Recovery" is Director of the Mental Illness Education Project which produces videotapes about people whose lives have been touched by mental illness.
8. Open For Business — Successful Survivor Enterprises
- Becky McFarlane, Co-director, Ontario Council of Alternative Business
- Representatives of OCAB consumer businesses
9. All In the Family: Multifamily Group Treatment for Mental Illnesses & Drug Abuse
Karin Kjønnøy, RN & Liv Nilsen, RN; Mangfoldighetens Hus Familieenheten, Dept. of General Adult Psychiatry, Dikemark, Norway collaborated on this unique study.
- Karin Kjønnøy is a Head Nurse specialized in psychiatry with 25 years of experience. She is a trained clinician in cognitive therapy and Psychoeducational Multiple Family Treatment .
- Liv Nilsen brings 15 years of experience as Head Nurse specialized in psychiatry and clinical training in Psychoeducational Multiple Family Treatment.
10. Diversity and Cultural Differences Among Families, Latin America
Concurrent Session 3
11. Medications and Schizophrenia 50 Years Later — What Have We Learned?
- Gary Remington, MD, PhD, FRCP is Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto, and Director, Medication Assessment Program for Schizophrenia (MAPS) clinic at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. Dr. Remington received his MD at McMaster University and carried out postgraduate training in Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. His Ph.D. addressed neurotransmitter modulation of activity. His research focus is in the pharmacotherapy of schizophrenia, particularly as it applies to the pharmacology and clinical profile of new antipsychotics and decision-making in antipsychotic therapy. He is currently part of a working group at the University of Toronto, including Drs. Philip Seeman, Shitij Kapur, Robert Zipursky, and Bruce Christensen. In particular, concentration has been on the role of dopamine, using in vitro (receptor binding), in vivo (PET), animal, and human clinical studies.
12. Working with Psychotic Patients in Primary Care
- Dr. Robert K. Heyding is a family doctor in Toronto, Ontario, Canada who has worked for many years in the community, serving persons with mental illness. He brings examples and lessons from his experience for a care model that integrates mental health services with primary healthcare.
13. Transforming Systems of Care through Human Rights Investigations and Advocacy
- Elizabeth W. Bauer, MA, serves as Secretary, Board of Directors, Mental Disability Rights International (MDRI). She has advocated the legal and human rights of all persons, especially persons with disabilities, for over four decades. As a volunteer and in professional roles, she has championed enlightened public policy and the development of inclusive, consumer-directed, culturally competent, community-based services and supports for people with disabilities in Michigan, nationally and in numerous other countries. She served as a speech pathologist; special educator and school administrator; director of staff development and director of community placement in Michigan's public mental health system. From 1981-2001 she was executive director of Michigan Protection and Advocacy Service, Inc. (the federally mandated rights protection and advocacy system for people with disabilities in Michigan). Currently, she consults throughout the United States and internationally on human rights and the development of civil society. Mrs. Bauer is the mother of four adult children, one of whom was the beneficiary of special education services and currently receives public mental health services in Michigan. Mrs. Bauer has a Master's degree in Education of Exceptional Children from The Ohio State University. She completed extensive post-graduate work in education administration at Wayne State University and Michigan State University.
14. Including Family Work in the Psych Curriculum
- Jeffrey Breslaw, MRPS is a family member who has trained extensively in Supportive Family Therapy. Mr. Breslaw is the founder of Mencare, which gives courses to both families and professionals in the north of London, where he lives. In addition to his work with many other mental health organizations in the United Kingdom, Jeffrey is the recipient of a prestigious King’s Fund Millennium Award.
15. What About the Kids? : Supporting Teens of Parents Who Have a Mental Illness
- Michele D. Sherman, PhD has worked extensively with families dealing with a wide range of traumatic experiences, including military combat, domestic violence and sexual assault. She is a licensed clinical psychologist. Director of the Family Mental Health Program at Oklahoma City Veterans Affairs Medical Center, co-chair of the Family Studies Team of the South Central Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC), and a clinical associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. A graduate of University of Notre Dame, Dr. Sherman earned her doctorate in clinical psychology from University of Missouri. She has published over 25 scientific articles in professional journals, focusing on family issues surrounding trauma and mental illness and is the author of books for teens whose parents have experienced mental illness or trauma. Dr. Sherman was recently appointed to the American Psychological Association's Presidential Task Force on Military Deployment Services for Youth, Families and Service Members.
Note to Delegates:
Some workshops are limited in size and will be closed when they reach capacity. Workshops will be assigned on a “first come, first served” basis.
Conference organizers reserve the right to cancel, reschedule or change a workshop session.