CrossCurrents - The Journal of Addiction and Mental Health articles from December 2002

CrossCurrents - The Journal of Addiction and Mental Health archives from December 2002

Note from the editor.
December 22, 2002... IN THE NOTE FROM THE EDITOR OVER the past few issues, I've outlined changes gradually being made to the magazine, based on feedback from the readership survey sent out at the beginning of the year. With this Winter issue, we launch the...

A new approach to care. (News from the Centre).(Brief Article)
December 22, 2002... CAMH has begun a pilot project at its Queen Street site, which is designed to test and refine a new approach to inpatient care. Earlier this year, CAMH opened the Integrated Rehabilitation Unit (IRU), which offers specialized services, based on...

New CAMH resources. (News from the Centre).(substance abuse)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2002... A new pocket guide has been developed to help front-line workers address the range of substance use issues they may encounter. Managing Alcohol, Tobacco and other Drug Problems: A Pocket Guide for Physicians and Nurses was developed...

Focus on creativity. (News from the Centre).(Ontario's Lieutenant Governor, James K. Bartleman)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2002... Ontario's Lieutenant Governor, James K. Bartleman, has chosen mental health as a focal area during his term. As part of that commitment, he has agreed to be a patron of CAMH. In partnership with CAMH, new works from the artists of the Workman...

First Nations develop alcohol harm reduction policies. (Profile).
December 22, 2002... "EVERYTHING HAPPENS HERE," SAYS EVELYN WOLFE, OF THE bustling Joseph Saunders Recreation Centre, based on Brunswick House First Nation land. Weddings, bingos, dances, movie nights and after-school children's programs are held in what is the hub...

Helping kids understand a parent's depression. (News).
December 22, 2002... Kathleen Scharer recalls speaking with the six-year-old daughter of a woman with severe depression. "My mommy doesn't love me anymore," the little girl told her. "Why do you think that?" asked Scharer, a registerd nurse then working...

Resegregating psychiatric wards may protect women. (News).
December 22, 2002... IN THE LATE 1960S, WHEN PSYCHIATRIC INSTITUTIONS integrated men's and women's wards, the prevailing wisdom was that the more natural, home-like environment would yield therapeutic benefits. Over time, that wisdom has changed with changing...

Family history may affect alcohol tolerance. (Research Update).(Brief Article)
December 22, 2002... Individuals with a family history of alcohol dependency may develop a tolerance to alcohol, which that that they need to drink more to maintain the same affects. Researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine studied 58 individuals...

Gay, bisexual men have higher suicide rates. (Research Update).(Brief Article)
December 22, 2002... Researchers at the University of California at San Francisco have found that gay and bisexual men are at far greater risk for attempted suicide than the heterosexual population. Almost 3,000 urban gay or bisexual men completed a telephone...

Smokers prone to panic attacks may share neurotic traits. (Research Update).(Brief Article)
December 22, 2002... There may be a link between cigarette smoking, panic attacks and neuroticism, according to research conducted at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University. The study, involving 3,000 adults throughout the United States,...

Good health of wine drinkers may be due to lifestyle. (Research Update).(Brief Article)
December 22, 2002... The good health of wine drinkers may be due not to wine consumption, but to contributing lifestyle factors, according to researchers at Duke University Medical Center. Results of the study, which examined 4,400 middle-aged men and women,...

Schizophrenia may be linked to two genes. (Research Update).(Brief Article)
December 22, 2002... Two separate studies, undertaken in Ireland and Iceland, have each pointed to a specific gene that may contribute to the onset of schizophrenia. Since 1983, researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University gathered genetic data from 270 Irish...

Marijuana may help alleviate fearful memories. (Research Update).(Brief Article)
December 22, 2002... A substance similar to THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, has been found to help the brain erase unpleasant memories, according to researchers at the Max Planck Institute in Munich, Germany. Normal mice and mice lacking the cannabinoid...

Poor prognosis for older persons with depression. (Research Update).(Brief Article)
December 22, 2002... The natural history of late-life depression in the community appears to be poor, say researchers, with elderly individuals representing the group with the worst prognosis. This is the conclusion reached by researchers at Vrije Universiteit in...

Risperidone treats children with autism. (Research Update).(Brief Article)
December 22, 2002... Children with autism may benefit from a new antipsychotic medication, according to a study conducted at five sites of the Research Units of Pediatric Psychopharmacology network in the United States. One hundred and one children aged five to 17...

Report paves way for smoke-free teens. (News).
December 22, 2002... NINE VOCAL ONTARIO TEENS HAVE A STRONG MESSAGE FOR their provincial government, one they hope will echo across the country: make it harder for young people to buy cigarettes. As members of the Ontario Lung Association's Youth Tobacco Team...

Intravenous drug users face barriers to hepatitis C treatment. (News).
December 22, 2002... AS NEW AND IMPROVED DRUG THERAPIES FOR TREATING THE hepatitis C virus (HCV) are explored, the hope is that treatment will reduce transmission and disease complications, such as liver failure. But the shortcomings of current treatments, coupled...

Burning bright: psychiatric nurses feel burden of care (Focus).
December 22, 2002... "I've experienced loss of interest in the work, a feeling of apathy and exhaustion: of not knowing what to do or how to change things, and not being heard or understood no matter how hard I try." "I felt I was reacting to patients more,...

Nurse-client abuse: when care turns to coercion. (Focus).
December 22, 2002... Judy, a registered nurse at a psychiatric institution, has been assigned the difficult task of giving a bath to Anne, an inpatient who hates taking them. Already overloaded with work, Judy becomes impatient when Anne begins to protest and...

Turning smokers into quitters: nurses prepare to help clients butt out. (Focus).
December 22, 2002... Nurses are integrating smoking cessation into their daily practice in a new pilot project at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). The Best Practice Guidelines for Smoking Cessation is one of several such guidelines being piloted...

A nurse is a nurse is a ....? A showcase of nursing skill and accomplishment. (Focus).
December 22, 2002... Not long ago, nurses were seen as not much more than handmaidens to the medical profession. But times have changed. Nurses are facing the future with a new assertiveness to demonstrate their medical expertise and technical skills. With the...

Leading the way in restraints reform: nurses strive to provide safe, competent and ethical care. (Focus).
December 22, 2002... A new philosophy regarding client restraints is sweeping through hospitals, and nurses are playing a critical role in both formulating and implementing least-restraint policies. "Nurses are the most responsible for restraints," says Krista...

Q&A: Common questions about addiction nursing. (Focus).
December 22, 2002... The following is based on interviews with five addiction nurses in Canada and the United States. What does an addiction nurse do? When people think about nursing, they usually think of dispensing medication, counselling clients or...

The Noonday demon: banishing depression's shadow.(Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression)(Book Review)
December 22, 2002... A DEMON AT NOON. A DEMON THAT HAUNTS ITS PREY IN THE witching hours of dusk and dawn, in darkness and light. It's a demon that author Andrew Solomon all too readily appreciates, having suffered several severe episodes of depression. ...

Encountering the sacred: spirituality in therapy.(Book Review)
December 22, 2002... ENCOUNTERING THE SACRED IN PSYCHOTHERAPY DISCUSSES the value of acknowledging spiritual issues in psychotherapy, challenging the long-established tradition of avoiding subjects hinting of religion in therapy. While public interest is growing in...

The Tao of Sobriety: east meets west self-help.(Book Review)
December 22, 2002... DAVID GREGSON AND JAY EFRAN'S book is one of the latest in a trend that synthesizes Eastern philosophies with Western counselling techniques. The authors describe the book as a translation of the messages of Lao Tzu (founder of Taoism) and...

Focus on nursing. (downloaded).(Brief Article)
December 22, 2002... Upgrading? Juggling full-time work and school? Chances are you are feeling overwhelmed at the changes in the field and feeling disconnected from campus life and services. Through the Ontario Learning Resources for Nursing Consortium, a...

Why are Jewish men depressed? (The Last Word).(Brief Article)
December 22, 2002... JEWISH MEN ARE SADDER THAN MOST. THIS IS NOT A PROVEN scientific fact, but my personal opinion. However, this much we do know: although women in the general population are more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety than men, depression...

Conferences.
December 22, 2002... CANADA Annual Winter Conference of the Canadian Academy of Psychiatry and the Law March 3-6, Whistler, British Columbia Contact: Dr. Dominique Bourget tel (613) 722-6521 ext. 6366 e-mail thira@sympatico.ca web www.caplnet.org...