CrossCurrents - The Journal of Addiction and Mental Health articles from June 2009

CrossCurrents - The Journal of Addiction and Mental Health archives from June 2009

Note from the editor.(Editorial)
June 22, 2009... Schizophrenia affects only a small percentage of the population--about one per cent worldwide--but it can be devastating. Schizophrenia often interferes with the ability to think dearly, distinguish reality from fantasy, manage emotions, make...

A view from CAMH.(Centre for Addiction & Mental Health)
June 22, 2009... We a know the facts: Approximately 350,000 Canadians live with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Each year there are 31,000 hospitalizations more than 2.3 million hospital days--and direct and indirect costs over $7 billion. But these costs do not...

Voice hearers' groups inspire new ways to listen.(profile)
June 22, 2009... Traditionally, auditory hallucinations have been considered a symptom of schizophrenia or psychosis, with the solution being medication to get rid of the voices. But for the last 10 years, Dr. Margaret England, associate professor in the...

Revisiting myths about schizophrenia with implications for treatment.(myth busters)
June 22, 2009... In 1994, Dr. Courtenay Harding and colleagues published a paper entitled "Empirical correction of seven myths about schizophrenia with implications for treatment" in Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica. It presented evidence to challenge myths about...

Mindfulness mediation paves the road to recovery in addiction.(issues and trends)
June 22, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Kerry * sits in the bathroom at a party, concentrating on her breathing. Thoughts float in and out of her head about the cocaine sitting just outside the door on the table, seemingly beckoning to her. "Breathe" she...

Early intervention shows promise for first-episode psychosis.(research update)(Brief article)
June 22, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The development of specialized services for the treatment of first-episode psychosis (FEP) gives reason to believe that prognosis may be better than previously thought and indicates that there is a critical period...

Case managers struggle with client disengagement.(research update)(Brief article)
June 22, 2009... A new study from New York University highlights the difficulty case managers often face in building hopeful relationships with their clients when faced with the reality that many of those clients leave their programs before achieving a...

Adjustment disorders common among refugees.(research update)(Brief article)
June 22, 2009... Research from the University of Zurich in Switzerland has found high rates of adjustment disorders (AD) among refugees from countries that have experienced recent conflict. Using data from a previous epidemiological survey, researchers looked...

Methadone use increase babies' risk of withdrawal.(research update)(Brief article)
June 22, 2009... A new study from Princess Royal Maternity in Glasgow, Scotland, highlights the risk of withdrawal in babies born to women prescribed substitute methadone during pregnancy. The study looked at 450 infants born to drug-dependent women prescribed...

"Wet" housing reduces health costs for people with alcohol problems.(research update)(Brief article)
June 22, 2009... Programs that provide housing for homeless people with severe alcohol problems without requiring them to become abstinent can significantly reduce health care costs, according to new research from the University of Washington in Seattle....

Integrated treatment for substance use and depression effective.(research update)(Brief article)
June 22, 2009... Integrated psychological treatment shows promise for people with co-occurring substance use disorders and depression, but not for those with substance use disorders combined with anxiety, according to research from the University of Aarhus in...

Drugs often involved in sexual assault.(research update)(Brief article)
June 22, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Drugs are used to facilitate a significant number of sexual assaults, according to new research from Women's College Hospital in Toronto. Researchers screened 882 sexual assault victims at seven hospital-based sexual...

Hope in recovery: there is life after a diagnosis of mental illness.(focus)
June 22, 2009... FOR MANY, LEARNING THAT ONE HAS SCHIZOPHRENIA IS LIKE receiving a "kiss of death" diagnosis. The history of our understanding--or lack of understanding--about severe mental illnesses like schizophrenia is, for the most part, encapsulated in...

First steps through psychosis: a journey through early intervention to lasting recovery.(focus)
June 22, 2009... AT AGE 17, ROB NEVILLE APPEARED TO BE LIVING A REGULAR teenage life. He had always been somewhat of a loner, so no e took much notice when he started to talk less, and then grew silent altogether. What others couldn't see, however, were the...

What clients want from treatment: quality of life issues top list of desired outcomes.(focus)
June 22, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE SCHIZOPHRENIA SOCIETY OF CANADA HAS RECENTLY RELEASED the results of North America s largest-ever poll of people living with schizophrenia. The Quality of Life Survey asked 1,086 mental health consumers and...

It's about more than symptoms: cognitive-behavioural therapy promises to improve functioning.(focus)
June 22, 2009... TRADITIONAL SCHIZOPHRENIA TREATMENT FOCUSES HEAVILY on medication to treat psychosis. But new approaches that incorporate cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) suggest that neurobiology may not be destiny when it comes to schizophrenia, and...

Meeting the challenge: integrated treatment tackles co-occurring schizophrenia and substance use.(focus)
June 22, 2009... SUBSTANCE USE ISSUES AMONG PEOPLE WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA ARE more common than most people realize, with significant implications for symptoms and treatment. According to the Schizophrenia Society of Canada, 40 to 60 per cent of individuals with...

Positive partnerships: embracing peers as service providers to enhance recovery.(focus)
June 22, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WHEN CERTIFIED PEER SPECIALIST ROY MUISE MEETS WITH A new client, one of the first questions he asks is, What do you want me to help you with? "The reaction is always the same," says Muise. "The person says, 'I've...

Can cognitive remediation benefit clients with schizophrenia?(q & a)(Interview)
June 22, 2009... Evidence is growing that cognitive remediation--often used to help people with traumatic brain injuries restore function and compensate for cognitive impairments--may help people with schizophrenia improve cognitive skills necessary for good...

Voluntary madness: a questionable commitment to fighting stigma.(Voluntary Madness: My Year Lost and Found in the Loony Bin)(Book review)
June 22, 2009... For Norah Vincent, who lived as a man for her book Self-Made Man, her latest foray into immersion journalism takes her into three mental health and addiction facilities posing as a client. Unfortunately, she called her book Voluntary Madness:...

First-episode psychosis.(downloaded)(Brief article)
June 22, 2009... Canadian Mental Health Association www.cmha.ca Download A Guide to Canadian Early Psychosis Initiatives and other resources from the ongoing Early Psychosis Intervention project at CMHA's web site under About CMHA, National Projects. ...

Why work? Disincentives to employment in the benefits system.(the last word)
June 22, 2009... At least half of people with schizophrenia or a similar mental illness are capable of competitive work. This may seem improbable to many mental health professionals, few of whose patients may be working, but the evidence exists. In studies...

Conferences.(Calendar)
June 22, 2009... CANADA 50th Annual Institute on Addiction Studies July 12-16, Barrie, Ontario Contact: Addiction Studies Forum, Box 322, Virgil, ON LOS 1T0 toll free tel 1 866 278-3568 toll-free fax 1 888 898-8033 e-mail...