Institut Douglas - Actualite

Community partner: PABEMSON

A young boy is the helpless witness to his father's depression and suicide attempts. He is so distressed that he feels guilty and starts thinking about taking his own life. This is the story of Belgian director Frédéric Dumont's Angel at Sea, which was screened in May during the 2010 Frames of Mind, a series of films on mental health presented by the Douglas Institute. The topic of the film indeed touched Gisèle Forget Bordron, Director of PABEMSOM, who attended the screening as an invited expert. "Our association does a lot to help children cope with this kind of difficulty. I found it useful to emphasize the importance of resilience and the work we do in this area," she said.

Founded over 20 years ago, PABEMSOM works with the families and loved ones of people with a mental health problem in the Sud-Ouest borough of Montreal (Côte Saint-Paul, LaSalle, Lachine, Pointe-Saint-Charles, Saint-Henri, Verdun, and Ville-Émard). The organization has cultivated a very special relationship with the Douglas, as it initially held all of its activities here at the Institute. Louise de Bellefeuille, RN, was the one who organized the first support groups in 1984. This community association promotes respect and empathy for the people who seek its services. Their primary goal is to support the families of people with a mental health problem that may or may not have been diagnosed.

A dedicated director

Gisèle Forget Bordron has devoted all of her energy to PABEMSOM since 1993. A psychotherapist by trade, she first worked in multiple areas at the organization, both as coordinator and counsellor. She then took a management training course and became director of the organization in 1997.

PABEMSOM has indeed grown over the years. At first, the grant money they received was only $23,000—today their funding is up to $130,000. However, membership has also increased to about 400 members. Their working capital is therefore insufficient to provide all members with quality services while supporting a team of three employees and thirty volunteers. Passion and dedication are needed if their projects are to become a reality.

"My mother suffered from borderline personality disorder," said Mrs. Bordron. "At the time, we didn't really talk about it, and help was almost non-existent. This is without a doubt what motivated me to help loved ones and families in a similar situation and to share my experience and expertise."

Adapted services

PABEMSOM offers various services to its members. First, people can have one-on-one sessions with a knowledgeable person to whom they can express their feelings and talk about their experiences. Family members and spouses can also take workshops led by a counsellor trained in the approach of Hélène Busque, a clinical CLSC psychologist and trainer for nearly 10 years. In one-on-one sessions, the counsellor gives families a variety of tools to help them progress and develop and to identify negative emotions that prevent the person from thriving in his or her living environment. Work is also done to enhance positive emotions and self-esteem. Support groups bring a together a number of people to share experiences on a particular topic. "The topic could be guilt, for example. The group leader suggests useful reading material and exercises and then follows up the next week," explained Mrs. Bordron.

Through its matching service, PABEMSOM puts people who are dealing with particular problems or the same issues in touch with one another. They can then call and help each other as needed. PABEMSOM also refers people to the right therapy services. Finally, the organization is authorized to make clinical assessments of dangerousness upon request from the information provided by family members who must appear in court and then go to a police station.

As PABEMSOM must find new sources of funding, a new service was recently introduced. The organization gives clients access to its computer graphics services to create such items as engraved plaques, trophies or certificates. The money raised goes in particular to respite services to allow the family members of a person with a mental illness to get a break from their everyday routines.
PABEMSOM proposes a number of concrete and original solutions to make daily problems more manageable and allow family members to regain control of their lives.

Partnerships with the Douglas and other organizations

This year, PABEMSOM collaborated for the very first time in the Douglas Institute's Frames of Mind event. As a panelist, Gisèle Forget Bordron answered questions from the public about depression and suicide. The expertise that PABEMSOM has gained in this field through its workshops for young children is what earned the director her invitation. Over the years, the Douglas and this community organization have collaborated in other ways, for example, as part of a symposium on confidentiality or for scientific research.

As she has been for the previous three years, PABEMSOM's director is again this year serving as Vice-President of the Fédération des familles et amis de la personne atteinte de maladie mentale (FFAPAMM), an organization made up of 40 provincial associations. This federation is politically active and is working in particular on a major project: the creation of a regulatory framework to ensure that basic quality services are equally accessible throughout the province. A dozen associations have already obtained accreditation, and PABEMSOM should receive theirs in the spring.

Evaluating mind and body: New training for nurses

This fall, the Nursing Directorate will host online training and hands-on workshops for Douglas nurses. The goal is to ensure all nurses are able to conduct physical and mental health patient evaluations according to best practice standards. To learn more, we spoke with Jennifer Hague, the clinical nurse specialist overseeing the project.

Jennifer, why did the Nursing Directorate choose to do this type of training?

When Bill 90 came into effect in 2003, it identified 14 acts (called reserved acts) that Quebec nurses must be able to perform. Bill 21, which became law in 2009 and was developed in part by Jean-Bernard Trudeau, MD, also specifies that these 14 acts must be part of a nurse’s skill set. One of these acts is conducting rigorous physical and mental health evaluations.

We’re not alone in this challenge. Bill 21 stipulates that a number of other professionals, such as psychologists, must also meet rigorous standards.

There are 14 reserved acts. Why focus on physical and mental evaluations?

They affect the entire care process. If our staff conduct quality physical and mental health assessments soon after patients are admitted, they can treat the problems more effectively. Accurate assessments also decrease work for nurses and other staff, since the path from admitting to discharge flows more smoothly.
There’s another important reason. Because our population is aging, patients are arriving at the Douglas with more physical health problems, like diabetes, obesity and hypertension. We must be as skilled at assessing these issues as any other general hospital or related institute in Quebec.

What can you tell us about the upcoming training?

It will be held in Porteous Pavilion. Each nurse will take one online training course on physical and mental health assessments. There will be staff on site to provide support. This will be followed by a full-day, hands-on workshop. We’ve incorporated feedback from last year’s Therapeutic Nursing Plan audit to make the whole experience as effective as possible.

Once the training ends, will nurses receive ongoing support as they refine their skills?

Absolutely. In addition to online training and workshops, the Nursing Directorate will also introduce a new evaluation guide this fall. This guide will provide detailed information on how to conduct a global health assessment. Called “Guide d’évaluation en soins infirmiers,” it will be used in all Douglas internal and external departments/services and will be the standard to follow for every unit. As well, all nurses (day, evening and night shifts) will have resource people to consult on an ongoing basis.

Final thoughts?

As registered nurses, we are responsible for completing full physical and mental health evaluations of our clients. The need to perfect these skills has been identified in practice at the Douglas. The combination of online training and the workshop, supported by our new “Guide d’évaluation en soins infirmiers” and our resource people will meet this need and advance nursing practice throughout the Institute.

Twenty-five years of research on Alzheimer's Disease

Established in 1985 as a multi-disciplinary academic unit dedicated to gerontological research and postgraduate teaching on the mechanisms of aging as well as prevention of age-associated disorders, it has more recently gotten involved in novel areas of aging research.

Most importantly, the MCSA has achieved international recognition for its integrative work on the neurodegeneration of the aging central nervous system and neurodegenerative diseases.

Douglas researcher Jens Pruessner, PhD, is Director of the Centre. Its scientists are renowned for their contributions in the fields of Alzheimer and Parkinson's diseases and other cognitive disorders.

The Centre is located at 6825 LaSalle Blvd.,on the grounds of the Douglas Institute.

What goes on in the minds of anxious students?

The summer is not yet over and already certain students are petrified by the thought of returning to class. Do you know a student who has such difficulty managing his or her anxiety about school that it affects his or her daily functioning? You can help by informing yourself about the mechanisms that cause anxiety in order to better understand what is happening in the mind of an anxious student.

[-Participants of the 2009 Mini-Psych School talk about their experience|145-] Camillo Zacchia, PhD, Professional Chief of Psychology at the Douglas and lecturer about such topics as anxiety and stress is available to discuss this with you. He will also be the host of the Mini-Psych School’s 2010 sessions, which are aimed at the general public and will deal specifically with the mental health of children and youth. The following clinicians and researchers from the Douglas Mental Health University Institute will be the Mini-Psych School teachers this year and are available for interviews:

Childhood abuse affects the brain. Is the damage reversible? To answer this question, Gustavo Turecki, MD, PhD, Director of the McGill Group for Suicide Studies, will share the results of his team’s most recent discovery from research done at the Douglas and McGill.

Is it true that children can suffer from depression? Are you skeptical? Certain child psychiatrists are also. Nevertheless, there are studies that show that we can help children by identifying early warning signs. This subject, which divides the scientific community, is of interest to Johanne Renaud, MD, MSc, FRCPC, Medical Chief of the Youth Section of the Depressive Disorders Program at the Douglas.

Hyperactive children: When and how should you take action?Questions such as these can cause great distress to parents with a child presenting symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Ridha Joober, MD, PhD, Director of the Neurodevelopmental Disorders Research Theme, can shed light on this subject.

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New website for the Douglas Institute Foundation

The Douglas Institute Foundation’s long-awaited new website was officially launched last week at their Annual General Meeting.

There are many features on the site’s innovative pages that the Foundation is very proud of, including:

A secure and user-friendly online donation form
An interactive picture gallery that will be used to thank donors for specific contributions (and thank volunteers!)
An easy-to-navigate calendar that will keep users informed of upcoming Foundation activities
Patient stories of hope and recovery
Steps someone can take in their life to help those with a mental illness
Concrete examples of how donations have changed lives
Video testimonials from donors and volunteers

The Foundation invites you to visit their new website at www.fondationdouglas.qc.ca

Information and suggestions

As they are eager to improve the quality of their site, please feel free to send your comments or suggestions to the webmaster at tijana.potkonjak@douglas.mcgill.ca

Mini-Psych School 2010: Mental illness in children and young adults

With the Mini-Psych School entering its fifth year, the Douglas Mental Health University Institute will be offering a series of classes in French and another in English. Both series will explore child and youth mental health. Register now!

Mini-Psych School 2010 Season

Are my children “normal”?
Is there hope for youngsters whose mental health is disturbed?

The 2010 Mini-Psych School series of classes can help you answer these questions. You will learn about some of the mental health problems that can cause difficulties for children and youth.

Does childhood abuse affect the brain?
Can children suffer from depression?
What goes on in the mind of anxious students?
Attention-deficit hyperactive children: when should you take action?

[-Participants of the 2009 Mini-Psych School talk about their experience|145-] Researchers and clinicians from the Douglas Institute will discuss these topics during the classes that will be held every Tuesday from October 12 to November 2 in French, and every Thursday from October 14 to November 4 in English. Classes are from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm at the Douglas Institute.

The first class will be given by Gustavo Turecki, MD, PhD, Director of the McGill Group for Suicide Studies at the Douglas. In 2009, Radio-Canada named Dr. Turecki one of three scientists of the year for his work on how child abuse can cause changes to the human brain.

"All the professors are recognized experts in their fields, which makes this an exceptional opportunity for the public to benefit from their knowledge first hand," notes Camillo Zacchia, PhD, Professional Chief of Psychology at the Douglas Institute and who will host the 2010 session.

"We worry about our children; we want to know that they are safe, that they are eating well. So it's only natural to be concerned about their mental health too. Educating oneself can reduce the sense of anxiety that we can sometimes feel as parents or teachers,” adds Dr. Zacchia.

Registration and program schedule

To consult the program schedule or to register, please visit the 2010 Mini-Psych School Session page.

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Judes Poirier, Ph.D., C.Q., McGill University and the Douglas Mental Health Institute, awarded a 2010 Genesis Award

At a ceremony on June 2, Judes Poirier, PhD,C.Q, McGill University Professor of Medicine and Psychiatry and Director of the Molecular Neurobiology Unit at the Douglas Institute, received the prestigious BIOQuébec 2010 Genesis Award in the Biotechnology of Tomorrow category.

GénomeQuébec bestowed the award, one of six presented annually, upon Dr. Poirier in recognition of his significant impact on the potential use of genomics in the healthcare system and for his vision and leadership in genomics research.

Biomedical researcher internationally renowned

Dr. Poirier has made key contributions to the advancement of the study of aging, particularly as it relates to bettering our understanding of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.

He is internationally renowned for his work on the role of Apolipoprotein E in the normal and injured brain and in the genetics of Alzheimer's disease. Besides this seminal contribution in the field of the neurobiology, he is a pioneer in the establishment of the pharmacogenomic bases of brain disease treatments. Recently, his work on the use of cholesterol lowering drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease has gained international recognition, as several independent epidemiological studies have demonstrated the potential protective effect of cholesterol lowering drugs in sporadic Alzheimer’s disease.

“Judes is a researcher of the highest calibre who possesses a unique talent for innovation and applying commercial principles to the results of his work. We are proud to count him among us at the Douglas and at McGill,” said Rémi Quirion, Scientific Director, Research Centre, Douglas Institute and vice-Dean, Science & Strategic Initiatives, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University.

“Dr. Poirier is an extraordinary member of our Faculty of Medicine and a true pioneer in this nascent century of genomic science and personalized medicine”, added Dr. Richard I. Levin, Vice-Principal (Health Affairs) and Dean of Medicine at McGill. “His work in the area of Alzheimer’s Disease, as well as Parkinson’s, is bringing not only hope but tangible outcomes to better treat those who suffer from these debilitating conditions. This recognition is so well deserved.”

Information

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Allison Flynn
Media Relations
McGill University
Tél.: 514 398-7698
allison.j.flynn@mcgill.ca

Second presence of the Douglas Institute at Festival Eurêka!

For the second year in a row, Douglas Institute researchers and students will be taking part in the Eureka! Festival, the annual event where science meets fun! This year, the Festival will take place June 11 to 13, 2010 at the Quays of the Old Port of Montreal.

Joseph Rochford, PhD, Director of Academic Affairs, Research Centre, Douglas Institute, and ten of his students will host a booth for the entire festival, titled "Where are my keys? Your brain and your memory." The highlight for visitors will be without doubt the chance to see a real human brain up close.

Here's your chance to meet researchers, professionals and future scientists. All of them are advancing the cause of science right here! You can experiment, create, observe and discuss with them and enjoy almost fifty inspiring hands-on activities - and it's all free!

View the pictures on Flickr

Plaisirs glacés: this summer, a refreshingly good cause on the grounds of the Douglas Institute

Érick Godin has been pretty busy lately. With the help of Julie Barrette, special education teacher, and Dominique Paquin, clinical administrative manager of the Psychotic Disorders Program rehabilitation unit at the Douglas Institute, he’s been working hard on the Monday, June 7 launch of a new summer dairy bar, Plaisirs Glacés.

This is a challenge that Érick, a young man in his late twenties, is looking forward to with great enthusiasm. The last few months have seen his life take a positive turn: he recently moved into an apartment after completing a series of treatments over several years at the Douglas Institute. It’s fair to say that Érick has had his share of hardship. He's been dealing with bipolar disorder since his youth and has also had to cope with a drug addiction problem and psychotic disorders. He's now in a transitional period, another important step in his recovery. Plaisirs Glacés promises to keep him busy all summer and will help him gain work experience that could come in useful later on.

Plaisirs Glacés – a refreshingly good cause

Through collaboration with the Douglas food services and a contract with Nestlé, Érick and his team will be selling luscious iced treats, fruit smoothies and frappucinos to passers-by, cyclists and local residents wanting to take a refreshing break in the cool greenery of Bruce Le Dain Park, located in the heart of the Douglas grounds.

Assisted by Julie, Érick will oversee supplies, service and administration for the project. He’s hoping not only to balance his books, but also to make a bit of a profit. “Because the profits will help fund activities for the beneficiaries of the Psychotic Disorders Program rehabilitation unit,” he explains. If the hot weather keeps up, sales certainly won’t be a problem and Érick can look forward to having his hands full. “In the summer, the Douglas grounds are always busy with Frisbee players, cyclists and pedestrians, who I’m sure won’t be able to resist our frozen desserts; they’ll come looking for us!” he adds confidently.

“We also want to meet the people who come to enjoy this urban oasis so that we can help raise awareness and reduce the stigmas associated with the Douglas and individuals living with a mental illness.”

So, the next time you're thinking of visiting our neck of the woods, make sure to bring some cash and treat yourself to some delicious Plaisirs Glacé. The dairy bar will be open from Monday to Friday, as of June 7 and until September 3, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Please note that it will be closed August 2-16.

Choose from
Nestlé frozen desserts
Fruit smoothies
Frappucinos
Juices and healthy lunch boxes

When
Plaisirs Glaçés – Grand Launch: Monday, June 7, 2010
11:00 a.m. Opening speech and ribbon cutting
12:30 p.m. Wellington Centre choir

Where
Summer pavilion, Bruce Le Dain park, Douglas Institute (entrance at 6875 LaSalle Blvd.)

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Douglas Institute research scientists outside Quebec

19th World Congress of the International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions (IACAPAP) and 6th Congress of Asian Society for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions (ASCAPAP)
Beijing, China, 2 to 6 June 2-6, 2010

Johanne Renaud, MD, Medical Chief of the youth section of the Depressive disorders Program at the Douglas, will be presenting a poster and participating in a symposium. Her poster is titled Unmet needs and trajectories of services in youth suicide attempters and suicide completers: towards a better mental health services organization. She will also participate in a symposium, Severe disorder of mood regulation in children and adolescents, where she will talk about suicidal behavior in the context of severe mood disorder. She will be accompanied by David Cohen, Jean-Jacques Breton and Jean-Marc Guile as the other participants.

The International Association of Forensic and Mental Health Practice annual conference
Vancouver, BC, Canada, May 25-27, 2010

On May 25, Anne Crocker, PhD., Director of the Services, policy and population health Research Theme and Assistant Director of the Mental Health Policies and Knowledge Transfer, gave a presentation with her colleagues Michael Seto and Tonia Nicholls, about the National Trajectory Project. The National Trajectory project is examining the changing face of the forensic mental health population and services in Canada. The project, funded through the Mental Health Commission of Canada, is based on an ongoing study in Québec funded by the Fonds de recherche en santé du Québec (FRSQ). It will examine the operation of current criminal justice provisions for individuals declared not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder (NCRMD) and under the authority of a provincial or territorial review board.

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Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation—offering an alternative treatment for major depression

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation sounds more like a Sci-fi application than a healthcare treatment. But TMS—as it is most commonly referred to—is the newest kid on the block at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute when it comes to treating depression.

Dr. Marcelo Berlim, a psychiatrist at the Douglas and assistant professor at McGill University, is a young man on a mission: to understand the mechanism of action of TMS as much as possible and to understand its full potential in regards to clinical care for patients with depression. Dr. Berlim is the commander of this newest treatment, which arrived in mid-2008 at the Douglas. He is responsible for developing research protocols, supervising the technicians that administer it and doing the assessments for the patients who are referred to him.

How does it work… and why?

According to Dr. Berlim, TMS, which was used for the first time for clinical depression in 1995 in the US, requires a very simple device. “It has a capacitor, which means it has an equipment inside that stores electricity,” he says. “Then a metallic coil, which looks like a figure-of-eight, releases the stored energy in very brief and fast pulses in certain regions of the patient’s head.”

Parameters, such as the number of pulses, their intensity and the interval between pulses, are chosen by the professionals. These parameters are determined using current safety guidelines.

The question is, why does it work? “Well, this is not yet fully understood,” says Dr. Berlim. “What we do know is that these electromagnetic pulses are able to induce electrical currents in the brain, which is an electrical organ that communicates significantly through electrical pulses. Due to this we are able to modulate the activity of the neurons of the brain based on the electrical currents. The how is still under investigation.”

Since the machine arrived in mid-2008, it has only been used in a pilot study with depression. The idea was to learn how to use the machine, assess its usefulness, and see what side effects accompanied it. “We really wanted to be able to try the machine before making it available to the community,” says Dr. Berlim.

Who is it for?

Typically TMS is indicated for patients suffering from current major depression, who have tried unsuccessfully at least two antidepressants, or for patients who cannot tolerate the medications prescribed for depression.

“But this is not a treatment for everyone,” stresses Dr. Berlim. “The rate of improvement is probably around 30 to 50 percent. And it takes up to four to six weeks of daily treatments for symptoms to improve. We have also found that as depression gets more severe, the rate of response usually decreases.”

For some people, the positive effect can last up to a year. With others, however, maintenance TMS is required after only a few months. This treatment is not as intensive, only once or twice a week, but it has sometimes to be done indefinitely.

“When we are finally ready to offer TMS to our community as a treatment we will ask that patients have a medical referral,” says Dr. Berlim. “This means they will need a medical consultation from a general practitioner or ideally a psychiatrist. Then I will meet with the patient, assess his/her clinical history and confirm the diagnosis of major depression. I will then assess safety issues with TMS, which is primarily that the patient cannot have a personal history of epilepsy/convulsion.”

Benefits and side-effects

According to Dr. Berlim, the treatment is very safe. “The worst side effect that can happen—and this happened in the past before the safety guidelines were developed in 1998—is a convulsion,” he says. “Patients say that with every magnetic pulse they feel a ‘click’ in their heads, but after a few days they usually get used to it. It can also contract the muscles in the head so if you have a history of tension headache it could trigger headaches, which gets better with ibuprofen or aspirin.”

TMS is also being tried as a treatment for several psychiatric and neurological illnesses, such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, anxiety disorders (for example, obsessive compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and generalized anxiety disorder), schizoprenia and eating disorders. These are much more recent areas of research, but it is Dr Berlim’s plan to be able to offer TMS for some of these clinical conditions in the near future.

The only illness TMS has been approved for by the FDA so far, however, is major depression.

When the new Douglas Brain Imaging Centre is ready—expected to be completed by early 2011 —there will be a specific suite for TMS, which will house two to three devices,. Also in the centre will be located several different kinds of methods of investigation of the brain, including neuroimaging and electroencephalography, which will complement one another in improving patient care and outcomes.

Currently, the Douglas is the only healthcare facility in Quebec that uses TMS specifically for treating psychiatric illnesses.

McGill researcher honoured for groundbreaking work in epigenetics

Moshe Szyf and colleagues have produced findings on how environment affects DNA

McGill University Professor Dr. Moshe Szyf, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, has received Radio-Canada’s Scientist of the Year 2009 title for his pioneering work into how our environment can alter the way our DNA expresses genes.

The award has been bestowed upon Szyf, along with Drs. Michael Meaney and Gustavo Turecki, both from the Douglas Mental Health University Institute and Professors of Psychiatry at McGill, for their collective contribution to the field of epigenetics.

Read more

The new Wellington Centre blog

The Wellington Centre now has its own blog called the Wellington Sun, a communications tool written by and for users. On-line since the beginning of April, this blog will inform users about the various activities taking place at the Wellington Centre. Ultimately, the blog will serve as another way to structure the lives of users, rebuild their confidence, and help them develop skills that will be useful in the future.

Barry Crago, Clinical-Administrative Chief of the SPECTRUM Rehabilitation and Community Support Centre at the Douglas, is overseeing the project with the help of Jacob Saltiel, Blogger-in-Chief.

The Wellington Centre is a Douglas Institute rehabilitation centre that promotes the social reintegration of people suffering from severe and persistent mental disorders through training, activities and customized support.

New Grants for Pursuing Science Research in Mental Health at the Douglas Institute

The following Douglas Mental Health University Institute research teams were recently awarded grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) to pursue work in their respective fields of expertise.

Birth hormone surge and brain functions: understanding the physiology of the birth process

Patricia Boksa, PhD, research scientist, and her students will use this $175,000 grant to better understand the role of epinephrine (Epi) in determining variations in brain function. Normal birth stimulates very large surges in levels of many hormones in the blood, but surprisingly we do not know the function of many of these hormonal surges. Patricia Boksa’s long-term goal is to better understand the physiology of birth and in particular to understand how regulatory mechanisms protect the brain during birth. Her team will use animal models that mimic brief periods of birth hypoxia to test if Epi, which is released during normal birth and in response to more severe birth hypoxia, is able to protect the brain from hypoxic damage. They will also test if the presence or absence of circulating Epi at the time of birth can have long-term effects on brain function. These experiments may help describe how early events at the time of birth may contribute to subtle differences in brain function among individuals as adults.

Episodic memory: a cognitive neuroscience approach to better understand schizophrenia

Martin Lepage, PhD, Director of the Brain Imaging Centre, and his team of students will use this 5-year $175,000 grant to pursue research on episodic memory using a cognitive neuroscience approach and to build on their previous work with functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). In the past few years, Martin Lepage and his students have been exploring multiple dimensions of the episodic memory system using a cognitive neuroscientific approach. Using fMRI, they will use memory tasks they developed in the past—namely emotional face memory, memory interference, and action memory—to develop electrophysiological indices of those processes. The goal is to build on previous studies in healthy participants and continue making advances in their research program on the cognitive neuropsychiatry of schizophrenia.

How the brain perceives and processes stress and how this could relate to mental illness

Jens Pruessner, PhD, Director of the Aging and Alzheimer’s Research Axis, and his team will receive $175,000 over the next 5 years to investigate the association between structure and function of the central nervous system and stress perception and processing by using new neuroimaging techniques. It is well known that systemic changes in hormonal and metabolic levels as a result of stress are linked to specific disease states, such as depression). What is much less clear, however, are the exact mechanisms involved, i.e., how stress is perceived and processed in the brain and how these neural changes govern metabolic changes and ultimately the development of disease. This team has made significant progress over the last five years to identify possible structures, networks, and activation patterns linked to adverse health effects as a consequence of stress. Jens Pruessner’s current goal is to make significant advances in the methods used to investigate the effects of acute stress in the central nervous system.

How we make sense of new information: to further knowledge about schizophrenia

Jacques Bruno Debruille, MD, PhD, research scientist, will use $135,000 over 5 years to identify the mechanisms by which we understand the meaning of stimuli, such as words in their contexts. The component of brain electrical activity that indexes these mechanisms is called the N400 potential. It is known to be abnormal in schizophrenia, but we do not yet know what this anomaly means. Jacques Bruno Debruille will continue to gather cumulative data on how the N400 potential plays a role in abnormal brain cognition.

New state-of-the-art equipment: to study complex cell populations

Nicholas Cermakian, PhD, research scientist, and five other investigators from the Douglas will use $142,000 this year to purchase an on-site flow cytometer to study brain processes and neuro-immune interactions. Flow cytometry is a primary method for performing a variety of measurements in heterogeneous cell populations and complex samples to identify characteristics and identity at the single-cell level. Research aimed at deciphering brain function, and cross-talk between the brain and other physiological systems, is critical for understanding mental and neurological disorders. The research performed using the flow cytometer will lead to a better understanding of how the brain works, including biological timing, learning and memory, brain development, and mechanisms of psychiatric disorders.

How we learn and make new memories: understanding the role of a new type of neurone

Sylvain Williams, PhD, research scientist, and his team will receive $135,000 to pursue their work in understanding the role of a new type of neuron they had found in 2003 in a region called the medial septum which is a nuclei critical for learning and memory. Before theirfindings it was generally acknowledge that the medial septum contained only cells utilizing the neurotransmitters acetylcholine and GABA. When they revisited this paradigm they found that 25% of the neuronal population actually released glutamate, the most prominent excitatory transmitter in the brain. The goal of this grant is to understand how these glutamate neurons contribute to the activity of the hippocampus which is the brain region where new memories are made and stored for short amount of time.

Statistical tools: to help define the phenotype in genetic studies

Aurélie Labbe, PhD, will receive $60,000 over 5 years to develop a set of statistical tools to help defining the phenotype in genetic studies. Typically, a large number of items (phenotypes) are measured on each subject in such studies. The methods developed will help identifying a summary measure allowing a better characterization of the underlying disease in order to identify the genes associated with the disorder studied. The applications of her research are in schizophrenia, ADHD and autism.

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French delegation visits the Collaborating Centre

The Montreal WHO/PAHO Collaborating Centre welcomed French delegates on May 4, 2010. Representatives from the Commission des affaires sociales of the National Assembly of France came to the Douglas Institute in order to learn about psychosocial risks at the workplace.

Gaston P. Harnois, MD, Consultant at the Collaborating Centre, reminded them that mental health problems and the psychosocial factors that often cause them have become essential components of any human resources management program in the workplace. He also told them that it is easier to cope with this reality by developping policies and specific programs focusing on mental health problems and psychosocial risks.

Frames of Mind 2010 opens with "Dédé à travers les brumes"

More than one hundred people attended yesterday's screening of the opening Frames of Mind film, Dédé à travers les brumes. The launch took place at the NFB’s CinéRobothèque. Frames of Mind is part of the Public Education Program of the Douglas University Mental Health Institute, the main goal of which is to combat prejudices against mental illness. These misconceptions often prevent those with mental illnesses from getting the care they need, as explained yesterday by Claudette Allard, President of the Board of Directors of the Douglas Institute.

Actor and Youth Net spokesman Antoine Bertrand also gave a speech last night and explained how, through the films and discussions facilitated by Douglas experts, Frames of Mind tries to uncover feelings of shame or fear felt by those affected so that they can express the symptoms they experience. The sisters of Dédé Fortin, who were invited to the event along with child psychiatrist Johanne Renaud, delivered a moving testimony. When Dédé was alive, they did not recognize the symptoms of depression that their brother, who committed suicide, probably exeperienced. Today, however, they are advocates of the importance of becoming well informed about mental illness and being familiar with available resources so that lives can be saved. In its 7th edition, Frames of Mind has another great year in store.

The documentary La peau et les os, après... is being presented tonight and Un ange à la mer will be screened Saturday evening. The invited experts from the Douglas Institute are Howard Steiger, PhD, Johanne Renaud, MD, PhD, and Jean-François Bélair MD.

View more pictures from the Frames of Mind on Flickr.

Gaston P. Harnois, MD: Psychiatrist, Leader, Expert

Gaston P. Harnois, MD, has been at the Douglas for nearly 40 years. This eminent psychiatrist was Director General of our institution for 17 years and saw it through many steps in its evolution. For example, he was responsible for establishing the WHO/PAHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Training in Mental Health and helped lay the foundation for what would become the Research Centre. Following his retirement, he took a generous and humour-filled look at the memories he will keep from his time at the Douglas.

Unorthodox beginnings

On April 5, 1971, Dr. Harnois walked through the doors of the Douglas for the first time. As Director General, the weight on his shoulders was quite substantial. After spending several years in Hull, where he had established the Centre hospitalier Pierre-Janet, he was contacted by the Douglas. “I thought that Ottawa was going to be my home for many years, but after barely six years, I received a call from John Birks, Chairman of the Douglas Corporation, who invited me to meet with three other Board members for dinner at the Queen Elizabeth,” explained Dr. Harnois.

At the time, the Douglas was renowned mainly because of the work of Dr. Heinz Lehmann. “I was a little nervous, because I went from a small regional hospital with 40 beds to an institution with 1000 beds,” he said. “My first morning on the job, Dr. Lehmann, decked out in a white lab coat, came knocking at my door to tell me he was at my service. As a young psychiatrist of 37 years, I was quite awestruck!” He had to quickly adapt to the culture at the Douglas, which was almost a hundred years old and stood out from other institutions in the health care network. At the time, all senior managers lived on the hospital grounds in houses that are still there today. A family atmosphere pervaded the institute. Although the Director General of the Douglas was required to live in the largest of these houses, Gaston Harnois preferred to do things differently and instead settled with his family off-site: a first!

A leader with an impressive track record!

As Dr. Lehmann's psychopharmacology work was well known in Geneva, Dr. Harnois was put into contact with the head office of the World Health Organization (WHO), which decided to name the Douglas a Collaborating Centre in 1982. A psychosocial component was added to the Centre's mandate very early on, which involved applied research to improve the everyday lives of patients with mental illness. To celebrate this good news, the Douglas organized a major international meeting lasting 20 days. “The project was a little crazy,” recalled Dr. Harnois. “No one would ever attempt something like that today!” The Douglas received 26 international delegates largely chosen by the WHO’s head office in Geneva. “All of these people were lodged and fed on site while they attended a symposium on the organization of psychiatric services around the world.” This large-scale event was a real marathon for its organizers, but it helped bolster the influence of the Douglas and was a brilliant way to mark its new collaboration with the WHO.

It was also during Dr. Harnois’ tenure that the Douglas underwent a change in philanthropic culture. After receiving a grant to reconstruct the geriatric care pavilion, the Douglas became the proud owner of a beautiful new building but had no money to furnish it. Dr. Harnois convinced Mr. William E. Stavert, the Chairman of the Board of Directors at the time (the Corporation), to find money from the community. Back then, psychiatric hospitals did not try to raise funds from the public sector, which often held the belief that psychiatry, as the treatment of “madness,” was the responsibility of the State. That taboo was broken during a campaign to raise $600,000. Thanks in large part to the energy and tenacity of Mr. Stavert, more than double that amount was raised.

Dr. Harnois then built upon this result to realize his next achievement. “As Director General, I came to understand that we could convince the Board of Directors to turn their future efforts to fundraising.” Thus, in 1982, the second capital campaign became much more ambitious: $6 million over 5 years. Again, the target was exceeded by nearly $2 million. “At the time, interest rates were very high, so we ultimately took in $12 million—a result that really made other health care institutions jealous!” This campaign would lead to the creation of the Douglas Research Centre, which remains the largest and most funded of its kind in Canada.

Toward a mental health policy

One day, Ms. Thérèse Lavoie-Roux, former Minister of Health, called Dr. Harnois to ask if he would be interested in chairing a committee to create a mental health policy in Quebec. He agreed, and the report (which bears his name) was published in 1989. This document has been the cornerstone of mental health policy in Quebec since that time. With the report in hand, Minister Lavoie-Roux decided to convene a commission on mental health. One hundred and twenty testimonies were submitted, and Dr. Harnois sat beside the Minister for an entire week while a large part of of civil society (unions, organizations, boards of trade, etc.) expressed their views on the issue. At the end of the week, the Minister decided to present the document as a policy on mental health. Both the commission and the media attention helped to finally push the issue of mental health into the public sphere.

Around this same time, Dr. Harnois began participating in the international psychosocial rehabilitation movement. The World Association for Psychosocial Rehabilitation (WAPR) was established to examine the post-psychiatric care process, or the time when patients return home to their normal lives. People began to realize that psychiatric treatment was not the be-all and end-all of mental health care; patients also need help navigating the road to health, and other specialists must be involved in this path. As the Douglas has been a part of this movement from the beginning, and because Dr. Harnois served as the second president of the WAPR, the institute has developed a tradition of providing community follow-up to those who are severely disabled by mental illness.

Changing course

In 1988, Gaston Harnois resigned as Director General after 17 years of loyal service. “I wouldn't recommend that anyone hold this kind of position for so long,” he said with a touch of humour. After stepping down, he decided to reorient his career to dedicate himself full-time to the WHO Collaborating Centre as well as to international issues and the development of psychosocial rehabilitation.

He is also interested in the issue of access to work for the mentally ill. On behalf of the WHO, he is studying mental health in the workplace, delving into questions of how employers can deal with the mental health problems of their employees. He believes that every modern company should develop a mental health policy for its staff. In 2007, again for the WHO, he produced the Atlas: World Resources for People with Intellectual Handicaps and was responsible for creating a profile of the mental health resources available around the world. Minister Couillard committed to supporting the project with $250,000, and the federal government matched this amount. This ambitious endeavour required a lot of time and the work of many collaborators. It still serves as the WHO reference on intellectual handicaps.

After the recent the earthquake in Haiti, the WHO asked Dr. Marc Laporta, who will take over at the helm of the Collaborating Centre, to visit the area and evaluate the impact of the disaster on the mental health of the local population. These important missions entrusted to the Douglas demonstrate the WHO’s high opinion of the Institute. “Our success comes from Douglas professionals who are interested in international issues and are willing to spend time on them.” This dedication also emphasizes the importance of the Collaborating Centre, whose role, Dr. Harnois hopes, will be even more important in the future.

Maryse Gagnon, an engaged journalist

Addressing taboos with sensitivity and respect

Information has always held an important place in the life of Maryse Gagnon. Her childhood was filled with books, and her parents stimulated her inquisitive mind by encouraging her to dig deep to find quality information. As a Secondary V student, she benefited from a teacher exchange between France and her school in Lac-Saint-Jean. She particularly remembers a visiting professor who was impressed by the quality of her work and who encouraged her onto the path toward writing. “I was horrible in math but very good in French. Getting encouragement from a teacher from France motivated me to pursue my talents,” she stated.

In cegep, she began studying tourism and geography before heading to the University of Alberta where she did a Minor in Arts & Sciences. In 1990, she turned to journalism at Université de Montréal. She began her career as a journalist and reporter at Radio-Canada, where she worked on the TV news show and regional newscasts for Edmonton, Ottawa and Montreal. In 1999, she joined Groupe TVA, her current employer. She works in the news department for TVA's newscast as well as for LCN, the channel's 24-hour news channel, and for the Web. As a journalist, she covers the daily national and international news, is involved directly in almost every federal, provincial and municipal election night, and even serves as a special envoy for the war in Afghanistan.

Through her reports, Maryse Gagnon has developed a special interest in mental health topics. With a focus on human contact, she derives stimulation through encounters with patients, clinicians and researchers alike, and she looks to explore the disease while uncovering the suffering and distress of those who are too often forgotten. “Mental health is an extremely important topic and is just as important as any other issue. In my opinion, news shows should talk about mental health on a regular basis.” As a journalist, she feels useful when she communicates quality information about these often-taboo subjects. However, experience has taught her that what she does makes a difference. She is always pleasantly surprised by all of the e-mails she receives after her reports. People thank her for talking about their condition or about their difficulty as the loved one of someone who is mentally ill. “I get more e-mails for the stories I do on mental health issues, and I strive to answer each one personally,” she said.

Empathy is certainly one of her great qualities. She is moved by the everyday lives of the people she meets and is able to remain sensitive to their plight—a task that is not always easy in the fast pace of a TV newsroom. She also has great respect for her subjects, which is probably why she refuses to address certain complex and delicate issues in the limited time available. “My job is to report the news,” she explained. “I can’t cover subjects like schizophrenia in one minute and forty-five seconds!” The journalist also dislikes how mental illness is often addressed in the context of violence. For example, she does not like reporting on events like mass killings. Instead, her interest lies in the human and social dimensions of mental illness, which allow her to tell good stories.

Maryse Gagnon is a regular at the Douglas, where she has produced a number of reports. In fact, she does not hesitate to visit us to profile cases that put mental illness in a more human light. Over the years, she has become particularly interested in post-traumatic stress, prenatal stress, Alzheimer's disease, the Douglas Brain Bank and, more recently, cognitive remediation. Her latest report was screened on March 2 at the Open Minds Benefit Evening organized by the Douglas Foundation. During the event, Maryse Gagnon was honoured for her sensitivity and commitment to the cause of mental health and her loyalty to the Douglas. “I’m always amazed at the openness of your clinicians and researchers. To me, it seems like the Douglas Institute never hesitates to open its doors.” Let’s hope this successful partnership continues for a long time to come!

In a few words ...

How would you best describe mental illness? Two words: suffering and light

What film has most influenced your ideas about mental health? Rain Man

How do you keep a balanced lifestyle? To avoid self-doubt and insecurity, I like taking care of the people I love. I also volunteer and am a pianist and a singer for a show that I put on with another journalist.

In your opinion, who performs outstanding work to destigmatize mental illness? Guy Latraverse. It does so much good when people speak out publicly about their own mental illness.

One word to describe the Douglas? Openness.

Experts in recovery visit England

Researcher Myra Piat and her colleagues, Sonia Coté, Senior Manager at the Douglas, Catherine Briand, Junior Researcher at l'Hôpital Louis-H. Lafontaine and Professor at the University of Montreal, and Janina Komaroff, Douglas volunteer went to the United Kingdom. The ten day trip, April 10-21, 2010, included visits to many of England's top mental health and recovery hot spots. The group planed to source ideas and exchange insights on recovery, employment and housing for people living with mental illness.

They wrote a blog during their visit, available at http://recovery-trip-uk.blogspot.com/

In 2008, another Douglas researcher, Eric Latimer, PhD, spent a year in England and wrote a blog on mental health services there.

Catalan delegates visited the Collaborating Centre

The WHO/PAHO Collaborating Centre is involved in a collaborative study on mental health in the workplace with experts from Barcelona (Spain). As part of this project, two Catalan experts participated to a colloquium at the Douglas.

Professor Luis Salvador, from Girona, talked about depression in Catalonia, among others. His colleague Jordi Cid, from the Institut d'Assistencia Sanitaria, commented with Caroline Dubé, of the Douglas, the results of a Léger Marketing survey. This survey compared occupational health initiatives in Girona to those in place at the Douglas Institute.

Our Catalan partners had the opportunity to discuss with several experts at the Douglas. They also met with respresentatives from other institutions and made contacts with colleagues in Montréal.