When a person first experiences symptoms of psychosis, the treatment they receive can be critical in their long-term recovery. Psychosis, which is an inability to determine what is real or not, usually emerges in early adulthood.

Currently, the only treatment for psychosis symptoms is antipsychotic medication. But there are a number of challenges related to medication use, including the simple fact that it is hard for anyone to take medications daily. In addition, physicians have to decide which of potentially 60 medications to prescribe, and when to adjust dosing or try a different option. And if a patient stops taking medication and relapses, sometimes a drug that previously worked loses its effectiveness.  Read the rest of this article at CAMH…

A colleague of mine was teaching a group of medical students recently and they asked a patient why he was in hospital with an injured leg. He answered, “Because I have no money.”

As a family doctor who works largely with people living on low incomes, poverty is at the root of many of the illnesses I treat. And, a dozen or so years into my career, my workload shows no sign of easing up. A shortsighted perspective would say: “good for me.” The Cost of Poverty in Toronto report released recently turns this thinking on its head. This report calculates that poverty costs Toronto alone five billion dollars a year.  Read the rest of this article at The Huffington Post…

Haven Society and other community organizations have joined together to launch the Clothesline Project to coincide with the International 16-day campaign of activism against gender violence. Read more about the international campaign here.
Read more about Haven Society’s leadership and Nanaimo’s participation here.

“What can I do?”

Amid what seems like a rising international tide of anger and bigotry, this question is on many minds. But it’s also just a handful of words, one so small you could tuck it in a coat pocket and forget about until next year, when the holiday season rolls around again. “There’s no question, the goodwill meter goes off the charts around December,” says Nick Saul, president of Community Food Centres Canada. “It’s a good impulse. Volunteering is an expression of being connected to one another and it’s an important impulse to nurture.”  Read the rest of this article at The Globe and Mail…

Haven Society and other community organizations have joined together to launch the Clothesline Project to coincide with the International 16-day campaign of activism against gender violence. Read more about the international campaign here.
Read more about Haven Society’s leadership and Nanaimo’s participation here.