Day 2 :
Keynote Forum
Wai Kwong TANG
The Chinese University of Hong Kong, China
Keynote: Structural and functional MRI correlates of Post stroke Depression
Time : 09:00 AM
Biography:
Professor WK Tang was appointed to professor in the Department of Psychiatry, the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2011. His main research areas are Addictions and Neuropsychiatry in Stroke. Professor Tang has published over 100 papers in renowned journals, and has also contributed to the peer review of 40 journals. He has secured over 20 major competitive research grants. He has served the editorial boards of five scientific journals. He was also a recipient of the Young Researcher Award in 2007, awarded by the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Abstract:
Depression is common following an acute stroke. Poststroke Depression (PSD) have notable impacts on the function recovery and quality of life of stroke survivors. Incidence decreased across time after stroke, but prevalence of PSD tend to be stable. Many studies have explored the association between lesion location and the incidence of PSD. For example, lesions in frontal lobe, basal ganglia and deep white matter have been related with PSD. Furthermore, cerebral microbleeds and functional changes in brain networks have also been implicated in the development of PSD. In this presentation, evidences of such association between the above structural and functional brain changes and PSD will be reviewed.Acknowledgement:This project is supported by the following grants.Health and Medical Research Fund, reference number: 02130726 Health and Medical Research Fund, reference number: 01120376 National Natural Science Foundation of China, reference number: 81371460General Research Fund, reference number: 474513General Research Fund, reference number: 473712
Keynote Forum
Michael Sheehan
Executive Director at Relationships Australia Western Australia
Keynote: If you continue to raise your voice, we will have to ask you to leave! Whatever happened to compassion in mental health care?
Time : 10:10-10:50
Biography:
Michael is currently Executive Director at Relationships Australia Western Australia and oversees its Family Mental Health, Domestic Violence and Child Contact Services. For over 25 years, he has held senior management positions within the community services sector, involving setting up and managing mental health, substance use and government and community services. This has involved: Developing and reviewing all policies, procedures and good practice standards around workplace safety, child protection and working with families affected by domestic violence;Providing professional clinical supervision to staff, including staff needs assessments and overseeing the design and implementation of staff training interventions;Writing Family Court assessments, professional articles and reports; University lecturing, delivering national and international conference presentations and workshops on domestic violence, mental health;Liaising and networking with government and non–government agencies including memberships of various key reference groups.
Abstract:
Despite the belief that compassion is at the essence of caring and the heart of practitioner-client relationships, it is no longer a common feature of mental health care discourse. Moreover, there continues to be a gaping imbalance of power in mental health services evidenced by a lack of tolerance for ‘difference’ and the imperative to deal decisively with ‘problematic’ clients. This is a result of societal concerns and priorities around the need to control risk and uncertainty and an emphasis on rationalisation of services and evidence-based practice. In this paper, I discuss how globalisation and our current political climate have led to a lack of compassion that has developed in mental health practice. I argue for the need to reintroduce and support compassionate care where it can thrive and is expected. Only through the eyes of compassion can we truly understand a person who is grappling with despair, persecuted by voices, or a prisoner of their fears, and assist them on their journey to recovery.
- Sessions:
Schizophrenia | Mental health education and Training | Psychiatry & Psychology practice | Mental Health & Rehabilitation | Psychiatry and Psychological disorders
Session Introduction
Allan Donsky
University of Calgary, Canada
Title: The promise of empathy for the relief of suffering: A hermeneutic and mindful exploration of a promise often implied, sometimes wanted and occasionally not needed
Time : 11:10-12:40
Biography:
Formerly a Pediatrician, he has practiced as a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist for 22 years. The current focus of his work is capacity building, and enhancing mental health using Mindfulness as the foundation. He is consultant Psychiatrist with the Healthy Minds/Healthy Children (HMHC) program in Calgary and a Core Committee Member of the Alberta Health Services Addiction and Mental Health Strategic Clinical Network.Mindfulness is a core human capacity and has been shown to enhance all domains of human experience by increasing awareness, opening new possibilities in relating to ourselves and improving the quality of both our interior and exterior world.His a vision is to incorporate a “Human Curriculum” into all of our lives and educational institutions. With mindful practice, we better understand how our brain and mind works and appreciate the fullness of our humanity in all it’s dimensions ( Mental, Emotional, Physical, Spiritual ). This in turn leads invites us to live more intentional and significant lives.Allan has delivered presentations and led Mindfulness workshops with educators and administrators, at Teacher conventions, Medical conferences, Psychiatry residents, Post Graduate University students, Wellness Center staff at the University of Calgary, the City of Calgary Fire Department Leadership team and Calgary Catholic Immigrant society.
Abstract:
It is a given that empathy is a worthy and necessary part of any healing practice practice and perhaps nowhere more heartfelt than in the field of mental health. This is taken for granted and never questioned. Yet, who decides if empathy is always needed and where should it live? When was it promised and by whom? This presentation will explore the virtuous and highly treasured goal of relieving suffering, both for oneself and others. With the clarity that a mindful awareness of our own necessary fictions can bring, we will discuss the construct of and the various facets of empathy. The initial promise of empathy, who some would argue is at the core of caring, will be examined from the moment of it’s arising, through the desire grounded in the “rescue fantasy” of healers, to the ultimate realization that suffering itself may offer it’s own paths to healing. Is it possible that empathy is already embedded in suffering? With a hermeneutic lens we may see that some of our caring is a fictional construct and that suffering and empathy have their own relationship, beyond our promises. This presentation will include quotes from persons who willingly suffered their humanity and found relief in completed suicide.
Christina Chen
University of Southern California, USA
Title: Examining the Relationship between Verbal Fluency and Brain Surface Area in Boys with Autism Spectrum Disorders
Time : 13:40-14:10
Biography:
Christina Chen is a Ph.D. Candidate in Neuroscience at the University of Southern California based in Los Angeles. She has presented her research at many international scientific conferences and published peer-reviewed articles on sex differences in autism spectrum disorders. Her current interests include examining the brain structure of boys versus girls with autism exhibiting language deficits and restricted repetitive behavior.
Abstract:
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a mental health condition associated with communication deficits. Previous studies have examined the relationship between left superior temporal gyrus and receptive language in children with ASD [1]. However, little is known about the neural substrates behind verbal fluency in boys with ASD. Our goal is to examine the brain regions involved in verbal fluency in boys with ASD, relative to typically developing (TD) boys.Methods: Five research institutions were involved in data collection: USC, UCLA, Seattle Children’s Institute, Harvard, and Yale. The sample included 52 boys with ASD and 42 TD boys, ages 7 to 17. Diagnosis was based on the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised [2]and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-II [3]. Verbal fluency was defined as one’s ability to formulate sentences, evaluated by the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals Scale [4]. Freesurfer [5]was used to determine brain surface area for 146 regions extracted from the Destrieux atlas [6]. Regression analyses were performed in each subject group to establish the brain areas that predict verbal fluency.Results: The left straight gyrus (p=.003) and transverse temporal sulcus (p=.006) were significantly related to formulated sentence scores in boys with ASD. The right temporal plane of superior temporal gyrus (p=.002) and posterior segment of lateral sulcus (p<.001) as well as the left inferior occipital gyrus and sulcus (p=.002) and transverse temporal sulcus (p=.009) were significantly associated with formulated sentence scores in TD boys. Conclusion: Boys with ASD relied on the left hemisphere, while TD boys relied on both the right and left hemispheres for verbal fluency, suggesting that verbal language laterality may depend on diagnosis. Furthermore, TD boys appeared to depend more on visual and auditory brain regions to orally express themselves, compared to boys with ASD.
Wai Yee Mak
University of West of England Bristol, UK
Title: Exploring the impact of mental health first aid on nursing students’ knowledge and attitude: A pilot randomised controlled trial
Time : 14:10-14:40
Biography:
Wai Yee Mak is a final year DHSC (Doctor of Health and Social Care) part time student in the Department of Nursing and Midwifery, the University of West of England Bristol, UK. He is a Registered Mental Health Nurse, experienced in community psychiatric nursing for more than 20 years in Hong Kong. His current research interests are Mental Health First Aid, Mental Health Literacy and Stigma
Abstract:
Statement of the Problem: Many general registered nurses could lack the mental health competencies to identify and treat mental disorder. Nurses and nursing students view people with mental illness negatively. Therefore, additional education is required for nursing students. This study aimed to explore the impact of providing the Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training to general nursing students and to evaluate their Mental Health Literacy (MHL) and attitude toward mental illness.Methodology & Theoretical Orientation: This is a single site, parallel pilot RCT. Seventy nursing students randomly assigned to intervention (MHFA plus Usual Education Practice, UEP) or UEP alone. MHFA is the education programme and UEP is the clinical placement. The primary outcome was the vignette questionnaire in MHL, secondary outcomes included attitude. Assessments were conducted at baseline, post-intervention and 6-month follow-up. Intention to treat and mixed methods were examined.Findings: Repeated measure ANOVAs suggested a strong time effect for MHFA group with partial eta-squared = 0.14 from baseline to post-intervention and significant time effect from post-intervention to 6-month follow-up for attitude. Friedman tests indicated that order effects might influence three vignette responses. The ANOVAs also supported the attribution model on controllability and dangerousness. In beliefs about treatment, six categories were grouped as professional, pharmacological intervention, psychiatric assessment, therapeutic communication, problem-solving skills and psychosocial intervention. Both quantitative and qualitative data concluded the primary outcome variables were statistically nonsignificant because of random error.Conclusion & Significance: This study was the first pilot RCT for MHFA for nursing students in Hong Kong. The significant tests may represent Type I and Type II errors but, using p-value 0.01 and mixed methods are effective to reduce these errors. Although nonsignificant results in the primary outcome it is clinical meaningful. Protocol amendments in expanding the age range and using validated tool are recommended.
Kate Ball
FlourishAustralia, Australia
Title: Second stage development of an early screening tool for detection of vulnerability to schizophrenia, as an example of empathic action
Time : 14:40-15:10
Biography:
Kate Ball is a Senior Evaluation and Research Coordinator for Flourish Australia. She has obtained her PhD entitled “Non-psychotic trait abnormalities as a function of cerebral asymmetry in schizophrenia and related disorders: Development of a potential early screening tool”
Abstract:
Statement of the Problem: The concept of empathy in psychiatry infers an understanding, concern or interest in a person’s emotional state or experience. The experience of psychosis that usually precedes schizophrenia is often frightening; destabilizing a person’s sense of self and confidence in reality. Empathic action calls for ways to diminish the likelihood of a person experiencing psychosis.Methodology & Theoretical Basis: The current research tests the theory that vulnerability to developing this type of psychosis can be identified by an early-screening-tool (Schizophrenia-Traits-Questionnaire, STQ) in teenage, in a second stage of development by Flourish Australia. Originally developed in a PhD by the author, it is based on the neurodynamic/psychobiological theory of Robert Miller. Originally, 600 adults participated in the STQ to test both the theory and its power to predict whether someone would fit into the schizophrenia category or not. The current research trial is on teenagers.Findings: The factor analysis supported the underlying theory and thirteen (13) of the items in combination, in the original sample, accurately predicted schizophrenia to 85% accuracy with no mention of psychotic symptoms. With early-detection and the appropriate education and resources, not only can the STQ potentially stop a psychotic episode from occurring, it also identifies the types of occupations to avoid, to prevent being overwhelmed by stimuli/environments that challenge
Aamir Saeed Malik
Universiti Teknologi Petronas , Malaysia
Title: Feature Selection Method of EEG Biomarkers for Unipolar Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)
Biography:
Aamir Saeed Malik is an Associate professor in Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP). He received his BS in EE from Pakistan while MS and Ph.D. from Republic of Korea. He has more than 10 years of working experience. His research interests include 3D imaging, medical imaging, brain sciences and visual surveillance. Currently he is affiliated with Centre for Intelligent Signal and Imaging Research (CISIR) at UTP. He is also senior member IEEE.
Abstract:
Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), a leading cause of functional disability worldwide, is a mental illness. The clinical management of MDD patients has been challenging that includes an early diagnosis. The electroencephalography (EEG)-based studies for diagnosis have shown less clear clinical utilities and warrant further investigations. This research advocates the use of EEG as a biomarker for early diagnosis for unipolar MDD patients. More specifically, an improved feature selection and classification system involving pre-treatment EEG data termed as Intelligent Treatment Management System (ITMS) has been presented. The ITMS involved an integration of the most significant EEG features as input data. The study hypothesized that the MDD patients and healthy controls could be discriminated based on integrating the EEG alpha asymmetry and synchronization likelihood (the EEG measure to quantify the brain functional connectivity). The method helped during diagnosis of MDD patients and was termed as ITMS for diagnosis (ITMS-diagnosis). The proposed ITMS for depression includes a general machine learning (ML) framework for EEG feature extraction, the selection of most noteworthy features that could give high-performance classification models such as the logistic regression (LR), support vector machine (SVM) and naïve bayesian (NB) classifiers. Moreover, the proposed methods have been validated with EEG data involving 34 MDD patients (medication-free) with a confirmed diagnosis of depression and a group of 30 age-matched healthy controls. In addition, the proposed method was validated with 10-fold cross validation (10-CV). Consequently, the EEG features for diagnosis such as the power of alpha band, alpha interhemispheric asymmetry, and synchronization likelihood were extracted from the frontal and temporal regions. The features were found significant for both the MDD diagnosis. Furthermore, the proposed SVM method exhibited diagnosis accuracy = 98.8%, sensitivity=98.6%, specificity=99.4%, and F1-score=0.98. In conclusion, the classification results have proven the proposed ITMS useful for diagnosis of unipolar MDD patients.