The conference “Challenging Our Understanding of Psychosis and Exploring Alternatives for Recovery” help November 3 & 4, 2011 at the University of Toronto was a great success.

The conference offered a unique opportunity to hear from a distinguished group of writers, clinical practitioners, researchers, advocates and activists who are foremost in their fields of critical psychiatry, psychology, education, journalism, community development and activism. Below are links to some downloads from the presentations.

Alisha Ali – The Pathogenesis of Oppression
Shery Mead – Intentional Peer Support – a Personal Retrospective
Joanna Moncrieff – The Psychopharmaceutical Complex
Sandra Escher – Accepting and Making Sense of Voices
Robert Whitaker – Anatomy of an Epidemic
Michaela Amering – Trialogue
Julie Repper – A Rights Based Approach to Recovery
Hearing Voices Groups using CBT for Psychosis Tools & Principles w. CRCT
Joe Goodbread – Process Work with Extreme States of Consciousness

Challenging Our Understanding of Psychosis and Exploring Alternatives for Recovery

Mark Your Calendar
November 3 & 4, 2011
University of Toronto, Hart House
Registration and conference details to follow.
Sponsored by INTAR and The Leadership Project.

This conference offers a unique opportunity to hear from a distinguished group of writers, clinical practitioners, researchers, advocates and activists who are foremost in their fields of critical psychiatry, psychology, education, journalism, community development and activism. Their inspiring work on psychosis, depression and recovery puts them in the vanguard of the push to transform mental health care. Join them as they present the case for a new perspective on psychosis, and humanistic, community-based alternatives for recovery.

Our Guests:

Robert Whitaker, “Anatomy of an Epidemic”
Richard Bentall, Ph.D. Deconstructing Schizophrenia
Sandra Escher, Ph.D. Hearing Voices
Dr. Philip Thomas, Critical Psychiatry
Rufus May, Ph.D Unusual Beliefs
Dr. Joanna Moncrieff, Psycho-Pharma Complex
Alisha Ali, Ph.D. Oppression/Depression
Dr. Michaela Amering Trialogue
Joe Goodbread PhD. Process Oriented Psychology
Julie Repper, Ph.D. Social Inclusion
Will Hall MAPW Psychiatric Drugs/Harm Reduction
Maria Haarmans CBT for Psychosis
Dr. Peter Stastny “Crisis or Opportunity”
Ron Bassman, Ph.D. “Inspiration, Hope & Possibility”
and others

Download the preliminary flyer for the event here.

Download Conference Registration form here.

Download Conference Registration package here.

For information: Brian McKinnon at 416 285 7996, ex. 227 bmckinnon@alternativestoronto.org

Work with Celine Cyr on a one day Train the Trainer Workshop!

Date: Monday, December 13, 2010
Time: 9:30am to 4:00pm
Location: 65 Wellesley Street East, Ste.300 (Wellesley & Church)
Cost: $75.00

Self-Management of Psychiatric Medication is something survivors have been doing with very little support for a long time. A mental health coalition in Quebec has created a resource guide and a training program (GAM) that offers essential support to those who are seeking to navigate the medication maze.

GAM Is About:

* Learning and understanding medications and its effects on all aspects of a persons life.
* Questioning ones needs and preferences with respect to medication.
* Making decisions, self-advocacy, engaging external supports, taking risks and taking charge.

The ultimate goal of this process is to achieve a more satisfying quality of life.

Quebecoise GAM facilitator and psychiatric survivor, Celine Cyr, will share an approach that can be used to help others to create their own plan for their use of psychiatric medication. She will also outline the ways that one can be helpful to someone who is reducing or coming off medication. A Self Management Guide to Psychiatric Medications is included in this training.

This workshop is for people who are actively working in the field and who have opportunities to apply this learning within their own communities. This information/training program is also useful for people in recovery and families. Space is limited to 20 people. Make the registration cheque payable to Family Outreach & Response. 901 King Street West. Suite 500a. Toronto, ON M5V 3H5.

To register call Karyn Baker at 416-535-8501 ext 2011

The Family Outreach and Response Program is often asked to speak to different groups on mental health recovery and the important role that families play in recovery. On this page you will find Adobe pdf versions of the slides used in some of the presentations that the FOR Program has given in the past. If you would like to have someone from the Family Outreach and Response Program come and talk to your group about the Family Outreach and Response Program and its work or mental health recovery please contact us!

Presentations given during 2005 and earlier

1. Recovery and the Role of Social Workers, November 2005, Toronto
2. Toronto East Counselling Support Services AGM, November 2005, Toronto, given with Ann Thompson
3. The Family Experience, June 2005, Toronto, given with Wayne Skinner
4. Family Mental Health Recovery, May 2005, Thunder Bay
5. Why Work With Families Anyway?, May 2005, Niagara Falls
6. The role of the family in mental health recovery, October 2004, Toronto
7. Building a Recovery Community: The Role of Family, October 2003, Niagara Falls

Presentations given during 2006

1. Mental Health Recovery: What is the Role for Families?, March 2006, Owen Sound, given with Paddy McGowan
2. Hope, Help and Healing – Positive Approaches to Mental Health, March 2006, Kitchener
3. Working with Families Using a Recovery Approach, June 2006, Kingston
4. CMHA-Chatham Kent Annual General Meeting, June 2006, Chatham
5. An Evening of Hope in Chatham, October 2006, Chatham

Presentations given during 2007

1. Suspecting psychosis – finding support, spring 2007, Scarborough
2. Radio interview with FOR’s Krista Mackinnon

Presentations given during 2007

Suspecting psychosis – finding support, spring 2007This presentation was given at a forum sponsored by the Scarborough Early Intervention Partnership Initiative. There are 2 files for this presentation. The first file is the slides from the presentation. The second file are the notes from the break out group.

View the slides from this presentation

View the break out group discussion notes from this presentation

Presentations given during 2006

An Evening of Hope in Chatham, October 2006
This presentation was given at a forum sponsored by the Mental Illness Awareness Committee of Chatham-Kent…

View the slides from this presentation

CMHA-Chatham Kent Annual General Meeting, June 2006
This presentation was given at the Annual General Meeting of the Chatham-Kent branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association.

View the slides from this presentation

Working with Families Using a Recovery Approach, June 2006
This presentation was given at the Eastern Ontario Summer Institute in Mental Health and Addictions in Kingston.

View the slides from this presentation

Hope, Help and Healing – Positive Approaches to Mental Health, March 2006
This presentation was given at the Recovery – The Role of Families and the Power of Hope conference in Kitchener.

View the slides from this presentation

Mental Health Recovery: What is the Role for Families?, March 2006
This presentation was given in Owen Sound with Paddy McGowan from Ireland.

View the slides from this presentation

Presentations given during 2005 and earlier

Recovery and the Role of Social Workers, November 2005
This presentation was given to social workers at the Centre for Addictions and Mental Health.

View the slides from this presentation

Toronto East Counselling Support Services Annual General Meeting, November 2005, given with Ann Thompson
This presentation was the keynote speech at the 2005 Annual General Meeting of Toronto East Counselling Support Services.

View the slides from this presentation

The Family Experience, June 2005, given with Wayne Skinner of CAMH
This presentation was part of the forum Covering Addiction and Mental Healthhosted by the Institute of Addiction and Mental Health Studies for Journalists .

View the slides from this presentation

Family Mental Health Recovery
Bringing Families and Recovery Together Through Education and Support, May 2005
This presentation was given at the recovery conference organized by the Thunder Bay branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association.

View the slides from this presentation

Why Work with Families Anyway? May, 2005
This presentation was done at the Family Matters conference held in Niagara Falls, Ontario in May, 2005.

View the slides from this presentation

The Role of the Family in Mental Health Recovery, October 2004
This presentation was given at the annual conference of the Ontario Case Management Association in Toronto.

View the slides from this presentation

Building a Recovery Community: The Role of Family, October 2003
This presentation was given at the first Making Gains conference in 2003.

View the slides from this presentation

Organized by the Schizophrenia Society of Ontario.

download all presentations in a .zip file

Conference Materials:

SSOJusticeMentalHealth08-ASharmaCrisisResponse.ppt
SSOJusticeMentalHealth08-AVarnishSharmaCrisisResponse.ppt
SSOJusticeMentalHealth08-BDonaldsonORB.pdf
SSOJusticeMentalHealth08-ConferenceTopicOverviews.doc
SSOJusticeMentalHealth08-DMeddPrivacyCommunication.ppt
SSOJusticeMentalHealth08-DPallandiForensicvsCorrections.ppt
SSOJusticeMentalHealth08-FinalAgenda.doc
SSOJusticeMentalHealth08-FOR.ppt
SSOJusticeMentalHealth08-LFritzleyPrivacy.ppt
SSOJusticeMentalHealth08-MDykemanPrivacy.ppt
SSOJusticeMentalHealth08-NBurnsPrivacy.ppt
SSOJusticeMentalHealth08-PFleischmannCrisisResponse.ppt
SSOJusticeMentalHealth08-SWoodsideCrisisResponse.ppt

About the International Recovery Perspectives Conference

Download the conference program here.

Key Contributors and Sponsors:

The International RECOVERY Perspectives conference is sponsored by the following agencies. We thank them for their support.

ALTERNATIVES – East York Mental Health Counselling Services Agency is a community-based program for individuals with serious mental health problems living in East York / East Toronto.

COMMUNITY RESOURCE CONNECTIONS OF TORONTO (CRCT) provides direct service to adults who struggle with day-to-day living as a result of severe and persistent mental health issues as well as health promotion/community development support to consumer/survivors, families and groups in Toronto.

FAMILY OUTREACH AND RESPONSE (F.O.R.) is a program that provides support services to families and friends of people who are recovering from a serious mental health problem.

The Leadership Project also thanks Licien Valverde, Peter MacDonald and all of the volunteers for their hard work and assistance.

The Leadership Project Conference Planning Group

• Karyn Baker - Family Outreach and Response Program
• Heinz Klein - Consumer/Survivor Activist
• Brian McKinnon – Alternatives – East York Mental Health Counselling Services
• Leslie Morris – Community Resource Connections of Toronto
• Mel Starkman – Consumer/Survivor Activist
• Ann Thompson – Family Outreach and Response Program

About The Leadership Project
The Leadership Project’s goal is the promotion and the enhancement of a ‘Recovery’ vision for the mental health system in Ontario. We do this by organizing educational events with an advocacy message/agenda. All of our events are facilitated in partnership with consumer/survivors, families and service providers.
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