Family Help Update
Family Help
Principal InvestigatorsPatrick McGrath, IWK/Dalhousie University
Cathy MacLean, Dalhousie University
Cathy Thurston, Cumberland District Health Authority 5
Staff Patricia Pottie, Project Manager
Paula Forward, Writer, Data Base Manager
Beth Currie-Shier, Writer
Steering Committee
Jean Carriere, Mental Health Services, District 5
Mary Clark-Touesnard, Mental Health Services, District 4
Cornelis de Boer, Mental Health Services, District 4,5,6
Patricia Gerrior, Mental Health Services, District 6
Pippa Moss, Mental Health Services, District 4,5,6
Consultants & Investigators
Vivek Kusumakar, Dalhousie University
Darcy Santor, Dalhousie University, IWK Health Centre
Dan Waschbusch, Dalhousie University
John Blake, Dalhousie University
Findlay Muir, Dalhousie University
Bo Larrsson, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
Allen Finley, IWK Health Centre
Matt McGrath, McGrath Health International, Ottawa, ON
Chuck Cunningham, Chedoke McMaster Health Centre, Hamilton ON
Paul McDonnell, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB
Gary Hodson, IWK Health Centre
Forrest Scoggin, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA
Pat O’Neill, Acadia University, Wolfville, N.S.
Krista Wilkins, Dalhousie University
Carl von Baeyer, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK
Mary Ann Campbell, Dalhousie University
How to Reach Family Help
By phone: (902) 428-2934
By e-mail: patricia.pottie@iwk.nshealth.ca
By mail: Trish Pottie, Project Manager
- Pediatric Pain Research Lab, 8th floor
IWK Health Centre
Halifax, Nova Scotia
B3J 3G9
| Family Help: Science Helping Families |
What is Family Help?
Family Help is a service being developed to provide up-to-date, primary care, mental health treatment for families with significant problems who are currently not seen in mental health services. Family Help will fill the gap between currently available primary care and mental health services. Family Help will treat families who require help with specific, significant problems and are referred by family physicians (and perhaps by others). Treatment will be delivered by telephone, written manuals, videotapes and audiotapes. Treatment will be delivered according to the best evidence-based protocols by therapists under the direct supervision of mental health professionals. Referring family doctors will receive a Continuing Medical Education (CME) package on the problems of children they refer. A major advantage of Family Help is that it will be cost effective both from the point of view of the families (no travelling or taking time off work) and from the point of view of the health care system (1/4 to 1/5 as costly as standard treatment). Research and training of health professionals will be an important part of Family Help.What is Family Help Update?
Family Help Update, is a newsletter designed to keep you informed about the development of Family Help. If you did not receive the past issue that gave the background for Family Help, you may call our office to have one sent to you.Family Help wins .9 million in funding!
Early development funds for Family Help were from the Hospital for Sick Children, through Dr. McGrath’s salary award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and a grant from Mental Health Services of the Northern Regional Health Board (now District Health Authorities 4,5,and 6). We have just received funding from the CIHR, the Community Alliances in Health Research division, for .9 million to complete project development and to evaluate Family Help over the next 5 years.Who are the people involved in Family Help?
Our masthead gives you the names and affiliations of the major players but we will also feature certain individuals in each issue.Trish PottieFamily Help. Trish has a Bachelor of Nursing, with 9 years of experience in co-ordinating clinical trials. Trish is in charge of the day-to-day operation of Family Help and will be the point of contact for Family Help. She is currently organizing the office and developing time lines and forms for the project. Trish loves to go camping with her husband and 3 children when she is not working.
Paula Forward has also just started her job as Writer/Data Base Manager of Family Help. Paula did her Honours degree in Psychology and worked as a researcher for Patrick McGrath studying pain in children and adolescents. She will write manuals and other material and develop the data bases for Family Help. Paula’s hobbies include writing fiction and gardening.
What progress has been made?
Progress has been rapid! The Pain Module was written by Patrick McGrath and Krista Wilkins, a student researcher in the Pediatric Pain Lab at Dalhousie University. This module was externally reviewed. Dr. Tony Otley, a pediatric gastroenterologist, Drs. Peter and Carol Camfield from the Neurology Service at the IWK Grace Health Centre, and Dr. Carl von Baeyer of the University of Saskatchewan gave valuable feedback.The Patient Manual for the Depression Module, has been written by Maryanne Campbell, a graduate student with the supervision of Patrick McGrath and Darcy Santor, a professor at Dalhousie University. The Therapist Manual is now being revised and the package should be ready for review in the near future.
The Bedwetting Module was completed by Beth Currie, a research associate now living in Oakville Ontario and Patrick McGrath. The module was externally reviewed and subsequently revised. Bedwetting alarms are being built by Chris Wright, Dalhousie University.
The Anxiety Module is being written by Paula Forward. The literature is currently being reviewed and writing will begin very soon.
The Disruptive Behavior Module is being written by Beth Currie based on the program originally designed by Chuck Cunningham PhD, Professor at McMaster University with initial work drafted by Valerie Corkum, psychologist.
The Attention Deficit Module is being developed by Dan Waschbush PhD, professor at Dalhousie University and Angela Mailman, a psychology student. Mike Kilcup is a medical student helping Cathy MacLean develop the Continuing Medical Education aspect of our project.
We expect to begin enrolling patients in January 2002.