Welcome to this issue of professional resources, produced by the BC Schizophrenia Society, in partnership with the BC Partners for Mental Health and Addictions Information.

We hope this newsletter provides you with helpful information to assist you in collaborating with family members and supporters in the care of their loved one with a mental illness. A companion enewsletter is also available for family members.

In this newsletter:

Ongoing Family Resources – where and how to refer relatives and supporters for support and help.

Featured Resources

1. Visions Journal – Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) edition
2. MindYourMind Launches New Website For Professionals
3. Mental Health Commission To Establish Consumer/Peer Research Network
4. Federal Study to Provide Housing and Support for Homeless in Vancouver

Family support and education events, listed by location (also see map) – link opens on a web page
Family support and education events in BC (see right)

Ongoing Family Resources & Referral Information

Reaching Families Project (BC Schizophrenia Society/ HeretoHelp)
Families to Refer: Relatives or supporters looking for support groups or education events for themselves in their area of BC. No limitations by diagnosis. Relatives, parents, siblings, adult children, family of choice, lesbian /gay / LGTB.

• Multi-agency support group listing:http://www.meetings.bcss.org
• Family events calendar http://www.familyevents.bcss.org
• Online support groups for family members – (facilitated) including groups for adult children, lesbian/gay family of choice and siblings
• Population-specific resource e-newsletters - feature and promote resources for family members to various audiences.

**If your agency provides support or information events or groups to relatives/supporters of persons with a mental illness in BC, please send in your information for posting on this calendar to onlinesupport@bcss.org

Kelty Resource Centre
Families to Refer: Families needing help finding and accessing mental health info and services for children/youth with a mental health concern, youth with a mental health concern, adults/youth with eating disorder. Run by BC Mental Health and Addictions Services – office in BC Children and Women’s Hospital, service area BC-wide through phone and email.

BC Schizophrenia Society
Families to Refer: Families of persons with a serious and persistent mental illness (including but not limited to schizophrenia, psychosis, schizoaffective disorders) All family members welcome at support groups, family education groups (regardless of family member diagnosis). Kids in Control program provides service to children 8-13 of parents with any kind of mental illness, as does Family Respite program. Online support groups for family members is also not diagnosis-limited and are facilitated including groups for adult children, lesbian/gay family of choice and siblings. Referral details at the above links. Service areas: BC wide except respite and kids programs.

The FORCE For Kids Mental Health
Families to refer: Parents of children with a mental illness looking for support and information. Service area: specific regions, see website.

Here To Help Website
BC Partners for Mental Health and Addictions information offers a wide variety of general audience information on mental health, addictions and mental wellness. All information is evidence based. Funded by provincial health authority.

If this e-resource has been forwarded to you by a friend, you can sign up for your own copy here

Featured Resources

Visions Journal: Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy

Vol. 6, No. 1 (2009) | 32 pages | table of contents | pdf (2.1 Mb)

Cognitive-behavioural therapy, or CBT, is a type of talk therapy that helps you understand the relationship between your thoughts, behaviours and feelings. It’s the leading type of therapy for many mental health and substance use issues, including depression, anxiety, psychosis and problem substance use. This issue of Visions explores the history of CBT, current CBT practices and different approaches to treatment for different groups of people. You’ll learn how CBT works and you’ll see how CBT has helped people with different mental health problems.  As you read this issue, you may notice a distinct theme in many articles: despite the successes of CBT, it can be very hard to access this treatment in BC. We hope that this issue of Visions brings the problem of access to light and encourages you to learn more about this effective therapy. Click here to read more. or click on the links in the excerpted table of contents, below

Background

• Editor’s Message
• The Time is Now: Let’s improve access to CBT services in BC [Guest Editor]
• Mind Traps
• CBT in Practice: Part science, part art
• CBT: What is it?

Experiences and Perspectives

• Conversations with Myself
• From Pain to PTSD: Running the gamut of CBT
• When Life’s Demands Take Their Toll: Changeways for depression

Alternatives and Approaches

• The LEAF Program: Peer-led group CBT
• The Cognitive-Behavioural Approach to Treating Individuals with Eating Disorders
• Metacognitive Training: Influencing schizophrenia treatment worldwide
• CBT for Children and Youth in BC
• CBT: Does it work well with the Chinese population in Vancouver

Regional Programs

• CBT for Adults With Mental Health Problems: Working to improve access in BC
• Help with Mild to Moderate Depression: CBT-based self-management options
• Taming Worry Dragons: Helping children and youth cope with anxiety
• Bounce Back: Reclaim Your Health

A Child And Youth Mental Health Guide for Families is now available. Download a copy from B.C. Kids Mental Health.

CAMH Mental Health and Addictions 101 Series Now Available en Francais
The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health recently released a French version of its 15 user-friendly web tutorials, “Mental Health and Addictions 101.” The tutorials provide francophone communities with basic information on topics from depression and schizophrenia to harm reduction and stigma. To access the free, self-directed tutorials, click here To access these tutorials in English, go to “Mental Health and Addiction 101.”

The Canadian Coalition for Seniors Mental Health has recently released several online mental health information booklets for seniors and their families. The guides provide educational, high quality, user-friendly information on important issues in seniors’ mental health, such as depression and delirium. The guides are available to download for free from the Coalition’s website. French language versions are also available.

Federal Study to House More Than 200 Homeless in Vancouver
The federal government has recently announced a $110 million, four-year housing experiment created by the Mental Health Commission of Canada that will provide housing and intensive support to more than 1000 homeless people with mental illness in Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto, Moncton and Winnipeg. The project will operate on the “Housing First” approach. Participants progress will be tracked over the course of the study, and then compared with other participants who continued to receive standard support, such as access to shelters and counseling, that were previously available in the cities. The study will also compare the associated costs of the two approaches. The Vancouver project will focus particularly on people with substance use problems. The project team in Vancouver is still working to secure all the needed housing sites for participants, who will be chosen next month. For more information on this project, visit the Mental Health Commission website.

Mental Health Commission To Establish Consumer/Peer Research Network
The Mental Health Commission of Canada plans to establish a consumer/peer research network to engage persons with lived experience in mental health and substance use research. The commission also hopes to expand the capacity of consumer/peer research in Canada. A summary of network models and key stakeholders is currently being completed, and interviews will be conducted within three specific groups – individuals with lived experience who want to do research, researchers with lived experience, and non-consumer researchers who have an interest in the area of mental health. The commission will hold a visioning meeting at their national conference “Into the Light: Transforming Mental Health in Canada” in Vancouver. The network is scheduled for launch in March 2010. For more information, see “Consumer/Peer Research Network Development (CPRND) Project”.