Family Help Update

Family Help

Principal Investigators
Patrick McGrath, IWK/Dalhousie University
Cathy MacLean, Dalhousie University
Catherine Thurston, Cumberland District Health Authority 5
Staff
Patricia Pottie, Project Manager
Paula Forward, Writer, Data Base Manager
Liz Coffin, Research Assistant
Mike Kilcup, Medical Student
Angela Mailman, Psychology Student
Beth Currie-Shier, Writer
How to Reach Family Help: By phone: (902) 428-2934
By fax: (902) 428-2912
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 distance treatment 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 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. Family Help will fill the gap between currently available primary care and mental health services.

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).

Family Help receives ,000 for a web-based system!
In late August, 2001, The Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC), Amherst Office, awarded Cathy Thurston, Director of Cumberland Mental Health Services and Co-investigator of Family Help, a ,000 grant over one year to design and pilot a web-based version of Family Help.

The services of AMA Marketing of Amherst have been contracted for web-site design, which is well underway. We have recently posted jobs for a half-time Project Manger, a full-time Web-editor to work in Amherst on this aspect of the Family Help Program. A half-time therapist will be recruited shortly.

The study plan for the web-based system is very similar to the phone-based system. Patients ages 3 to 7 years of age, who are diagnosed with Disruptive Behaviour will be referred to Family Help by family physicians. For those parents whose children are randomized to Family Help treatment, they will receive a computer and free Internet access for the duration of study involvement.

The computer hard drive will be customized with the Family Help components so that the sessions can be completed on-line using confidential user names and pin numbers. The interactive sessions will include written material from the manual as well as include video and audio-clips. Parents will be able to utilize chat and discussion rooms specific to Family Help. The assigned therapist will be able to track their parent’s activity and will have telephone contact once a week to discuss the child and parental progress. The HRDC grant is in addition to our CIHR funding for the telephone based program.

What progress has been made?

We would like to send a special "thank you" to all of the reviewers for their valuable comments and their continued support.

The content of all of the Parental and Children manuals is now in the process of being finalized. Liz and Paula will soon begin to standardize all materials to have a look easily identified as Family Help.

A Curriculum Advisor, Farrida Gabbani from Truro, is providing on-going feedback on the manuals; grading the language as well as recommending ways to organize the information to ensure an optimal learning environment is created

Production of the educational "real-life" videos that will supplement the manuals has begun through Findlay Muir at Dalhousie Audio-Visual Department using some local community support.

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.

Would you like to participate?

You are receiving this newsletter because we think you might be interested in Family Help. You are invited to participate in any aspect of Family Help (such as review of materials being developed or suggestions for future issues of Family Help Update). Give us a call or send an email.

Future issues of Family Help Update:

Family Help Update will be published approximately every 3 months. If you know of anyone who might want to receive a copy of Family Help Update, just let us know.
(patricia.pottie@iwk.nshealth.ca).

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.

Liz Coffin has just begun as a Research Assistant at Family Help. Liz has a Certificate of Office Administration from the St. Lawrence College in Ontario. Liz is instrumental in assisting Trish and Pat with the busy day-to-day activities of the Family Help office. Liz shows enthusiastic interest in learning more about pediatric psychology with aspirations of pursuing related courses in the future. In her spare time, Liz loves to spend time with her cats Scampe & Monster and her soon-to-be-husband Kevin.

We are actively looking for a part-time psychologist/mental health professional to join our team!