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

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

Note from the editor.(Editorial)
March 22, 2009... Every day, front-line mental health and addiction professionals work with people who have a history of trauma--physical, sexual or emotional abuse, witnessing violence, disaster or war. These front-line professionals are often the first to hear...

A view from CAMH.(Centre for Addiction and Mental Health)(Column)
March 22, 2009... This issue of CrossCurrents focuses on trauma-informed care, which in its broadest conceptualization means an effort to understand and integrate the experiences of the individual into efforts to support and help that person--a position against...

When helping hurts: program targets vicarious trauma.(profile)
March 22, 2009... It was the early 80s. Lorraine Telford was a young nurse--empathetic, ambitious and optimistic. Her first job was with a bereavement program in Alberta, which involved visiting grieving family members. Assigned to visit a widow who had recently...

"Get over it!" Combating myths about PTSD.(myth busters)(post-traumatic stress disorder )
March 22, 2009... Throughout history, people have recognized that the experience of extreme stress can have a profound effect on the mind and body; however, it was not until 1980 that the diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was formalized in the...

Equine therapy harnesses the healing power of horses.(issues and trends)(equine assisted illicit drug addiction therapy)(equine-assisted psychotherapy )
March 22, 2009... In his treatise On Horsemanship, the ancient Greek historian and soldier Xenophon noted that "horses greatly appreciate" certain "courtesies." Xenophon, who lived from 430 to 355 B.C., is often cited as the original "horse whisperer." His...

Happiness linked to happiness of one's social contacts.(research update)(Brief article)
March 22, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A person's happiness largely depends on the happiness of the people with whom they are connected, according to research from the University of California in San Diego. Using data on 4,739 individuals from the...

Acetaldehyde links binge drinking with cardiovascular disease.(research update)(Brief article)
March 22, 2009... Research has demonstrated that binge drinking can contribute to atherosclerosis, characterized by hardening of arteries and the build-up of fatty deposits within them. A new study from the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York, has...

Much of risk for PTSD, anxiety and depression inherited.(research update)
March 22, 2009... A new study of survivors of a catastrophic earthquake that struck Armenia in 1988 demonstrates that a substantial proportion of the risk for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression is inherited. Researchers from the...

Integrated treatment needed for concurrent disorders.(research update)
March 22, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Two new studies of co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto highlight the need for better service integration in the treatment of these...

Beyond survival: facing the past, claiming the present.(focus)
March 22, 2009... A sexual abuse survivor is involuntarily hospitalized in a psychiatric ward for suicidal behaviour. She writes in her journal: "I feel like I am being raped over and over again. I feel like I have to tell things to people I don't know who scare...

No safe haven: restraints reform targets traumatizing hospital practices.(focus)
March 22, 2009... TONIER CAIN'S VOICE TREMBLES AS SHE RECALLS BEING PUT INTO isolation on an inpatient psychiatric unit for refusing to go into her room. Had staff asked, she may have told them she was afraid of being alone in the dark. As a young child,...

Helping to heal the scars: what does trauma-informed care look like?(focus)(Case study)
March 22, 2009... KIM IS A 38-YEAR-OLD WOMAN WITH TWO CHILDREN, AGES 7 AND 8. a child, she experienced physical and sexual abuse and now truggles with flashbacks, nightmares, hypervigilence, depression and anxiety. At 14, Kim began drinking and cutting herself....

"Hear me, don't hurt me": survivors teach powerful lessons in trauma and transformation.(focus)(Personal account)
March 22, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] TWO OF TOM REGEHR'S BEST MEMORIES DURING HIS STRUGGLE WITH alcohol addiction are heart-rending, singular moments of trauma-informed care. Of course, living on the streets of downtown Toronto, the 30-something Regehr...

Expanding the circle of care: what does trauma-informed care mean for family-centred care?(focus)(Case study)
March 22, 2009... IN THE 32 YEARS SINCE MAUREEN FOY'S DAUGHTER WAS DIAGNOSED with paranoid schizophrenia, the experiences Foy has witnessed her go through are vividly ingrained her mind. She has watched her daughter desperately pounding on the window of an...

Are you trauma-informed? A service provider checklist.(focus)
March 22, 2009... Answer "yes" or "no" to help you decide whether your practice is trauma-informed. Knowledge Y N [ ] [ ] Can you explain to a client what trauma is, including effects? [ ] [ ] Do you...

National Child Traumatic Stress Network: www.nctsnet.org/nccts.(Trauma-informed Care)
March 22, 2009... The NCTSN promotes standards for trauma-informed care for service providers in child-serving systems. See the Tools You Can Use box on the main page to access resources from NCTSN and other organizations. The NCTSN resources are provided for...

BC Centre of Excellence for Women's Health: www.bccewh.bc.ca.(Trauma-informed Care)
March 22, 2009... The 2002 report Violence and Trauma in the Lives of Women with Serious Mental illness: Current Practices in Service Provision in British Columbia indicates that existing approaches to dealing with violence and mental health are primarily...

Should inpatient psychiatric wards be gender segregated?(the last word)
March 22, 2009... Historical references conjure up negative images of crowded insane asylums, where men and women segregated by gender were housed for years or decades. Then came the enlightened age of social psychiatry, where social determinants of mental...