Who: For relatives and friends of young adults in recovery who have already completed a group at Family Outreach previously.

What: A course designed to improve communication skills by learning how to incorporate the wisdom of Solution Focused Counselling in everyday conversations.

When: Wednesday nights from 6:30 -8:30pm, June 8th – July 13th.

Where: At our new location: 658 Danforth Ave. Suite 402 (@ Pape Subway Station)

Why: To enhance your ability to be helpful to people you love, and to give and get peer support.

Contact: To register, please contact Krista MacKinnon, 416-535-8501 ext 1935 or krista_mackinnon@familymentalhealthrecovery.org

Course Description

A 6-week psychoeducational course for families interested in learning about basic principles and techniques of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Psychosis. Through PowerPoint presentation, discussion, video, and group exercises participants will acquire an understanding of:

•    how CBTp can help,
•    the psychological and psychophysiological processes involved in psychotic experiences with a particular focus on hearing voices, and
•    relapse prevention.

*This course does NOT equip participants with training to deliver CBTp but it does offer information that can help families make sense of what may sometimes seem bewildering or confusing. It can also increase understanding of how a cognitive approach can be helpful to both themselves and their relative.

Provisional Outline

Week One: Theme: Why Now? Understanding Vulnerability from a Cognitive Perspective
Introductions & what participants hope to get out of sessions. Stress-Vulnerability Model for Psychosis; The Subjective Experience of hearing voices: Content, Locus, Cues/Triggers, & Beliefs about Voices. Summary & Feedback of Session.

Week Two: Theme: The Normality of Unusual Experiences
Check-in; Bridge to previous session; Quiz, CBT and Normalizing psychotic experiences, Why is normalizing information helpful? BBC Radio Podcast: “Am I Normal?” Summary & Feedback of Session

Week Three: Theme: Making Sense of Unusual Experiences
Check-in; Bridge to previous session; Generic Cognitive Model—
Thought-mood-physiological-behaviour diagram—make own diagram; Cognitive Model for Psychosis–Understanding the development & maintenance of unusual experiences/‘symptoms’; Summary & Feedback of Session.

Week Four: Theme: Where’s the Evidence? Evaluating Thoughts & Beliefs
Check-in; Bridge to previous session, Levels of
Cognitions: Automatic Thoughts, Intermediate Beliefs & Core Beliefs; Cognitive Interventions, e.g. Thinking errors/‘Downer’ thoughts, delusional beliefs, paranoid thinking; Relation of Downer thoughts/Core Beliefs to voice content [E.g. When voices express person’s thoughts/beliefs; exploring thoughts/beliefs about voices]; Generating Alternative Explanations; Summary & Feedback of Session.

Week Five: Theme: Helpful & Unhelpful Ways of Coping
Check-in; Bridge to previous session; Behavioural Interventions;
Introduce coping strategies for voices/delusional beliefs: doing things, thinking things, feeling things; What is the Difference between Coping Behaviours & Safety Behaviours? Summary & Feedback of Session.

Week Six:  Theme: Staying Well
Check-in; Bridge to previous session; Relaxation techniques &
Practice in session; Relapse Prevention; Evaluation & Recommendations

Cost: $75 Survivors and family
members. $125 Mental Health Workers.
Food: Lunch and materials provided.

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

The GAM model is about learning and understanding medication and its effects on all aspects of a per-
son’s life.  It is about questioning one’s needs and preferences with respect to medication.  It is about mak-
ing decisions, self-advocacy, taking risks and taking charge.  The ultimate goal of this process is to
achieve a more satisfying quality of life.

Quebecois facilitator, Celine Cyr, will share a method which you can use to help others to create their own
plan for their use of psychiatric medication.  She will also outline the steps that can be taken to reduce or
get off of medication if the person is interested in exploring this direction.

This workshop is aimed at psychiatric survivors who are actively working in the field and who have oppor-
tunities to apply this learning within their own communities.  However, this information/training program is
also useful for families, professionals and allies.  Space is limited to 20 people.

RSVP by Jan. 31, 2009 to Leslie Morris at 416 482-4103 ex. 227
or Brian McKinnon at 416 285-7996 ex. 227

Gaining Autonomy With Medication Workshop Flyer