What is START? It is a model of short-term psycho-dynamic psychotherapy that was developed at the McGill Mental Health Service in the years 1995 to 2006 for the treatment of emotional distress in students. It us specifically oriented towards an adolescent or young adult population, though it is effective in any age group. It was […]
Evan Tran and the Sad State of University Services
The news of Evan Tran’s tragic death should give us all a pause to think. Here is another talented, well liked young man who decided to take his own life. There will undoubtedly be numerous articles written about the hardship of “mental illness” and the difficulty faced by university student services in providing help to […]
Umpqua shooting: When will the Violence Stop
It is too early to understand the details or motivation in the tragic shooting at Umpqua Community College. What we can be sure of is that there will be the usual rhetoric about mental illness and gun control. What there will not be is any solution to the growing problem of violence on campus. It […]
McGill Mental Health Service Intent on Labelling and Medicating Students
A student waits two month for an appointment at the McGill Mental Health Service. When eventually seen, he is given a diagnosis of “bipolar 2” after just six minutes and then handed a prescription for an antipsychotic. When seen outside of McGill fro a proper assessment, it is clear that both the diagnosis and […]
The Law of Averages
In most professions in life, average implies not too bad. One isn’t getting the best, but hopefully one isn’t getting badly treated. The average car mechanic will be perfectly good at doing an oil change or general repairs. The average family doctor will be able to handle most common ailments, like high blood pressure, sore […]
Donald Trump, Stephen Harper and Mental Health
There is much that can be said about Donald Trump’s and Stephen Harper’s views on mental health. Both seem intent on labelling people and seeing “mental illness” as the root of many of society’s problems. In their approaches one can understand the real cause of emotional distress in our societies. Both men, and to some […]
Sexual Assault on Campus
There has been considerable publicity about sexual assault on campus over the past while. Recently the CBC publicized a survey done in Canadian universities to try to determine the extent of the problem. Though the survey produced limited useful information due to the varying ways universities collect and report data, it does bring some issues […]
Stop Blaming Mental Illness
The actions of co-pilot Andreas Lubitz in crashing the Germanwings plane, murdering 150 people in the process, has raised the issue of mental illness once again. It has been reported that Lubitz had suffered from bouts of depression and had hid his illness from his employers. Almost every time there is some type of tragic […]
The Problem With Research Models of Psychotherapy
There has been extensive promotion of research models of psychotherapy, largely due to the demand from certain industries for evidence based practice. The problem with psychotherapy research is not necessarily in the research itself but in the superficial application of whatever evidence one can glean from the research. There is now a growing concern […]
The Epidemic of Self-Harm
There has been a growing awareness and concern about young people who self-harm or injure over the past ten years. While self-injury used to be considered to be pathognomonic of Borderline Personality Disorder, it is so common these days that it is more useful to think of it as way individuals have come to deal […]