Exploring the interrelationship between mental health and addiction

“Understanding Concurrent Disorders” conference inspires attendees

A standing-room only audience of healthcare professionals and students in the field attended the 10^th Annual Mental Health Conference hosted by George Brown College, underscoring the need for information about this year’s topic of concurrent disorders

Wayne Skinner, Deputy Director, CAMH Addictions Program, speaks to the many challenges still facing clinicians treating co-occurring mental health and addictions problems (concurrent disorders) at the Mental Health Conference hosted by George Brown College.

Held in late February in partnership with CAMH, Understanding Concurrent Disorders featured presentations by CAMH staff with expertise in the field.

Concurrent disorders describe a condition in which a person has both mental health and substance use problems. An estimated 30% of people diagnosed with a mental illness living within the Toronto Central LHIN also have addiction issues. Historically, there’s been little integration of services to adequately treat individuals with concurrent disorders.

Susan Piggott, CAMH Vice President of Communications and Community Engagement, welcomed attendees and expressed her delight to see so many community partners and agencies represented at the conference. “This event is important and unique in that it brings together physicians, practitioners, social support workers, educators, policymakers, and consumer/survivors to hear each other and learn from each other,” Ms Piggott said.

Staff from many CAMH programs spoke at the “Understanding Concurrent Disorders” conference, including Wayne Skinner, Addictions Program, Susan Pigott, VP Communications & Community Engagement, and Dr Bruce Ballon, psychiatrist with the Addictions and Child, Youth & Family programs.

Wayne Skinner, Deputy Clinical Director of CAMH’s Addictions Program, outlined the history of concurrent disorders treatment and the many challenges still facing clinicians and social services providers, such as the disconnect between specialized institutional services and community-based services, as well as the disparity in different treatment practices and ideologies. Mr Skinner discussed the barriers clinicians and clients face and stressed that healthcare providers must always consider the complexity of their clients’ issues in order to provide holistic care.

“We need to aspire to best practices. We need to think beyond mental health and addictions issues and consider the whole person. We need to build a continuum of care,” he said.

In an evocative presentation entitled The Tangled Web: The Wired World and Mental Health Issues, CAMH scientist Dr. Bruce Ballon examined the wired world, youth culture, and media influences that surround and bombard us daily. He provoked a lively audience discussion as the presentation displayed disturbing images that children and youth encounter online.

The uproar pleased him.

Dr Ballon believes that healthcare professionals need to be aware of online influences so they can understand the context of the issue their younger clients face. Children and youth may develop problems with internet use and online gaming and Dr. Ballon believes that these behaviours are the result of their inability to find coping strategies for existing mental health issues. The technology does not cause the issues, but use of the technology highlights underlying issues.

CAMH psychiatrist and researcher Dr Bruce Ballon gave a provocative presentation examining the wired world, youth culture, and media influences.

Valerie Pringle moderated the afternoon panel session in which healthcare practitioners, service providers and consumer/survivors shared their experiences and stories of trying to provide or find integrated services to treat concurrent disorders. Each described the challenges inherent in a system which was historically exclusive and not set up to treat people with the complex problems associated with mental health and addictions issues.

Cheryl Peever, a social worker and manager of CAMH’s Women’s Inpatient Unit and Transitional Care Program, spoke about her challenges as both a consumer/survivor and healthcare practitioner. Having struggled with addictions from a young age, she went on to achieve her Masters degree in social work.

Ms Peever urged clinicians to stop seeing themselves as “mental health specialists with training in addictions, or as addictions specialists with training in mental health” because it adds to the ongoing fragmentation of services. She believes that in as much as concurrent disorders are unique and complex, so must be the training for clinicians learning to treat people with concurrent disorders.

All who spoke at the conference agreed that the need for a broader understanding of concurrent disorders is required by everyone working in healthcare and social services. The conference was a perfect opportunity for support and knowledge exchange networks to be formed amongst the attendees and for clinicians and consumer/survivors to learn from each other, much like the partnership that exists between CAMH and George Brown College.

• Print
  Follow us on
  
  Share