Conference:
Workshop Sessions
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This program meets the accreditation
criteria of the College of Family Physicians of Canada and has been
accredited for up to 16.0 Mainpro-M1 credits.
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Learning objectives for all conference sessions may be reached here.
How To Choose Workshop Sessions
There are three tracks to help delegates select sessions in their areas of interest.
RC – Recovery and Its Challenges
MP – Medical Perspective
CRD – Culture, Human Rights, Diversity
- Pre-register for workshop sessions to ensure you have the best possible learning opportunities. Some sessions are limited in size and will be closed when they reach capacity.
- Complete the Workshop Sessions portion of the Registration Form.
- Indicate your choices numerically with a (1) being your first choice, then a (2), then a (3) within each concurrent session. Workshops will be assigned on a “first come first served” basis.
DAY 1 — Friday, September 28
Concurrent Session 1 (4:00 – 5:00pm)
1. Cognitive Rehabilitation to Improve Work Outcomes in Supported Employment (RC)
Susan R.McGurk, PhD and Kim T. Mueser, PhD
Low rates of employment are a common problem for people with schizophrenia, despite the strong interest in working among these individuals. Supported employment has been shown to be effective for people with schizophrenia, but many still have difficulty working despite available supports. This workshop will describe a cognitive approach, the Thinking Skills for Work program, that is fully integrated into supported employment, and is designed to overcome the effects of cognitive impairment on work in people with schizophrenia. The program includes both computer-based cognitive training and collaborative work with a cognitive specialist aimed at helping individuals develop compensatory strategies for minimizing the effects of persistent cognitive impairments on work performance. It will include examples of the computer cognitive training exercises and compensatory strategies, and summarize the results of the first randomized controlled trial of the program.
2. Improving Brain Functioning (RC)
Michael Miran, PhD and Esta Miran, EdD
Compelling and engaging, this workshop presents the most current information on the brain, a theoretical model of brain function and dysfunction that has implications for treatment, rehabilitation methods of cognitive and on-site job readiness training, EEG images of brain activity during cognitive training, a hands-on demonstration of user-friendly manuals and outcome data on transition from disability to work. According to the Drs. Miran, “Our goal is to change the lives of people with Schizophrenia, Allied Disorders and CNS Disorders so that these people can achieve their highest level of functioning, and lead productive and meaningful lives.” Dr. Michael Miran will share his tested hypotheses about the brain processes that underlie hallucinations, delusions, and varying brain dysfunctions. The Miran’s highly effective rehabilitation treatment model, Neuropsychological Therapeutic Community Treatment Model, is adapted from the model at the New York University-Rusk Institute and Recanati Institute in Israel.
3. Teaching Young Clinicians About Mental Illness: The Human Factor (MP)
Mona Wasow, LCSW
An interactive session with this noted expert. Learn how Mona Wasow changed attitudes about SMIs. Ms. Wasow was surprised when she came out of retirement to teach young clinicians about SMIs. It was a profound experience for all concerned: students, people with the illnesses, social service agencies and for the teacher. Ms. Wasow will present the program she entitled, “Please tell them I’m so lonely,” and discuss her SMI perspective: “If we are going to train health care professionals to work in the area of SMI, we must do it in such a way that they learn about the people... before they learn about neurotransmitters gone awry. People and their experiences must come first.”
4. Bi-Polar Disorder: What You Need to Know (MP)
Glenda MacQueen, B.Sc., Ph.D., M.D., F.R.C.P. (C)
In this session, Dr. MacQueen will outline the major features of bipolar disorder, including biological factors underlying the illness, the range of associated symptoms, current treatment guidelines and factors influencing the widely variable long-term outcome. The key similarities and differences between bipolar disorder and schizophrenia will be the focus of the presentation, as each component of the illnesses - including symptoms, biological correlates, dimensions of outcome and treatment has features that are shared between bipolar disorder and schizophrenia and features that are distinct. This overlap between disorders can lead to diagnostic confusion and frustration with finding optimal treatment. Dr. MacQueen will discuss ways to minimize this confusion and better understand the illnesses.
5. Diversity and Cultural Differences Among Families, Asia, Africa (CRD)
Representatives of the WFSAD Asian Secretariat and African delegates
This session on diversity will focus on the priorities of families in Asia and Africa. Discussion of a variety of family association programs in the regions will show how they work to meet the needs of the families they support.
DAY 2 — Saturday, September 29
Concurrent Session 2 (1:45 – 2:45 pm)
6. Genetic Discoveries in Schizophrenia and their Application to Treatment (MP)
James L. Kennedy, MD, FRCP (C)
Over the past decade evidence is accumulating concerning the genetic basis or its contribution to aspects of serious mental illnesses. Dr. Kennedy and his team are actively searching for abnormal genes involved in the causes, expression, treatment and possible cures of these disorders. The Neurogenetics section houses one of the world’s most comprehensive collections of data and DNA samples from patients with psychiatric disorders and their families. The session will also include Dr. Kennedy’s investigation of genetic factors that may predict response and side effects to psychiatric medications. It will be a rare “discussion opportunity” for all mental health stakeholders.
7. The Spirit of Recovery (RC)
Lucia Miller and Sheila LaGacy
Participants will gain a better understanding of the process of going into pain in order to get through it, the role of denial in the recovery process, and the place for spirituality in a mental health setting. In March 2004, three mental health professionals were videotaped about their views on accessing one’s healthy spirit. They identified the tools necessary to nurture a healthy spirit among those who suffer with psychiatric disabilities, their family members and those who work in the metal health field. This interactive workshop will present selected scenes from the film and leave time for discussion about its intended use in clinical settings.
8. Open For Business: Successful Survivor Enterprises (RC)
Becky McFarlane, Co-director, Ontario Council of Alternative Business and Representatives of OCAB consumer businesses
This session will look at the evolution of consumer/survivor run businesses in Ontario, and will provide practical and useful information on how Alternative Businesses can be a successful, innovative, and empowering approach to addressing the epidemic of unemployment amongst the mental health consumer/survivor community. It will include how this approach has made a concrete and profound difference in the lives of employees as well as suggestions for how this model can be replicated on a local level. The Ontario Council of Alternative Businesses (OCAB) is a consumer/survivor run non-profit organization located in Toronto, Canada. OCAB owns and operates four survivor businesses across the province that collectively employ over 150 individuals who have personal experience with the mental health system.
9. All In the Family: Multifamily Group Treatment for Mental Illnesses & Drug Abuse (MP)
Karin Kjønnøy, RN and Liv Nilsen, RN
Liv and Karin will share the outcomes of their Norwegian project on psychoeducational multiple family group treatment for people who have mental illnesses combined with drug abuse. In January of 2006, they selected 6 families each of which has one member with a severe substance abuse problem and additionally, a known mental illness. The project was targeted towards reducing substance abuse and preventing relapse. The session will focus on the process of building alliances and making a functional group where all members participate on equal terms. The presenters will describe how the methodology is dependent on “walking alongside the person with the problem and building a solid foundation for problem solving”.
10. Diversity and Cultural Differences Among Families, Latin America (CRD)
Representatives Latin American Alliance
A variety of family association programs in the region support the needs of families. The session on diversity will focus on discussing the priorities of these families in Latin America and how the family association programmes work to meet their needs.
Concurrent Session 3 (3:30 pm – 4:30 pm)
11. Medications and Schizophrenia 50 Years Later: What Have We Learned? (MP)
Gary Remington, MD, PhD, FRCP
Antipsychotic medications were introduced for clinical use in the early 1950s. They revolutionized the treatment of schizophrenia and quickly came to represent the cornerstone of treatment programs. It is now 50 years later and we have just seen the introduction of an entirely new class of antipsychotic medications over the last decade. In the face of 50 years of experience with these drugs, what have we learned? What can we expect from the medications, and what are the current limitations? What new directions are being explored, and what is on the horizon? These questions will be the focus of discussion in this workshop.
12. Working with Psychotic Patients in Primary Care (MP)
Robert K. Heyding, M.D.
Persons with psychotic disorders frequently have concurrent medical conditions.
Diagnosing and treating their medical illnesses can be challenging. Family
physicians are trained to participate in both medical and psychiatric
treatment. Dr. Heyding will discuss issues that have been encountered
in his family practice. Barriers to effective treatment include homelessness,
lack of health coverage, and poor compliance. Legal and drug problems
also interfere with treatment. Primary care physicians can help psychotic
patients by working closely with families, psychiatrists and community
agencies. The session will be interactive for maximum benefit of delegates.
13. Transforming Systems of Care through Human Rights Investigations and Advocacy (CRD)
Elizabeth W. Bauer, MA
The workshop will explore strategies resulting in systemic reforms in various countries of Central and Eastern Europe and South America. In many countries, people with mental illness are isolated from society and subjected to inhumane conditions. Mental Disability Rights International (MDRI), an international advocacy organization dedicated to protecting and promoting the human rights and full participation in society of people with mental illness, investigates and documents human rights abuses and supports the development of advocacy by and for people with mental illness.
14. Including Family Work in the Psych Curriculum (MP)
Jeffrey Breslaw, MRPS
According to Jeffrey Breslaw, “it has become mandatory to involve carers and users in psychiatric training”. In 2002, he founded Mencare, a supportive initiative targeted at teaching others how to recognize signs and how to take effective measures to avoid relapses, deal with crises and work more effectively with service providers. The workshop will explain this important new project in the UK using family carers and service users in the mandatory education of psychiatrists. Share the Breslaw’s amazing personal story. When medical experts told Jeffrey Breslaw and his wife, Sheila that their eldest son Nick suffered from Schizophrenia, it began a life change that they could never have imagined. Through his experience and that of others, Jeffrey found that the common areas of carers concerns were guilt, stigma, bureaucratic systems and getting appropriate help from professionals. The Royal College asked Jeffrey to become involved as a trainer-carer and deliver a carer perspective . He was invited back to participate in areas such as “What Do Carers Want from Doctors?, Breaking Bad News, Communication Skills and Carer Awareness”.
15. What About the Kids?: Supporting Teens of Parents Who Have a Mental Illness (RC)
Michelle D. Sherman, PhD
Michelle Sherman maintains that children who have a mentally ill parent often seem to be no one’s responsibility. “To date,” she says, “these children have received little attention. These children need support and hope!” Internationally, approximately one in four to five families has a loved one with a serious mental illness. Delegates who attend this leading-edge, interactive workshop will learn:
- the importance of supporting children of parents living with a mental illness,
- learn to recognize the benefits of early intervention with at-risk youth as a means of preventing subsequent mental health problems
- become familiar with various resources, including new books for teens, to support these youth.
Delegates will learn the best ways to “see”, “hear” and support these children.
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.