Healing Hands Mental Health Association Public Workshops

Free public workshops/presentations on mental health issues

Healing Hands Mental Health Association of Nova Scotia An Incorporated, Non-Profit Society under the Nova Scotia Registry of Joint Stock Companies (Registration #3230323)

will be holding a conference of free public workshops/presentations on Saturday, September 19, 2009 in the Bloomfield Centre, 2786 Agricola St., Halifax, NS. The Healing Hands Mental Health Association of Nova Scotia has as its purpose the raising of general public awareness on issues relating to mental health and mental health services. We work to accomplish this through the holding of free public workshops where members of the healthcare professions can share their expertise with attendees. Also, we have been working to produce (and have produced) print and audiovisual materials on mental health issues.

With funding from

e-mail: [email protected] Phone: (902)479-4656 Address: 4 Shady Lane, Halifax, NS, B3N 1T9

Dear Friends: On Saturday, September 19, 2009 Healing Hands Mental Health Association of Nova Scotia, with supporting funding from Halifax Peninsula Community Health Board, will be holding a one day conference of free, public workshops on a variety of mental health and other health related issues. These workshops will be held in the Multipurpose Room and Seniors’ Lounge of the Bloomfield Centre, 2786 Agricola St., Halifax and you are invited to attend. We will be starting the day with registration at 9:00 a.m. in the Multipurpose Room. It would be greatly appreciated if you could pre-register via e-mail response to this notice (See details at the end of this letter.). Please indicate which sessions you wish to attend in the afternoon and, if you intend to share in the complimentary lunch, indicate whether you would prefer veg. or non-veg. pizza. Space is limited so please register early. The conference day will start with greetings at 9:15 a.m. from Ms. Susan Dunn, coordinator of the Halifax Peninsula Community Health Board. Satpal (Polly) Kaur Sodhi is the first presenter of the conference day. Satpal Kaur Sodhi is an experienced educator and has presented many successful workshops on this topic. In addition to her many academic qualifications—B.A. Math, B.Ed., M.A. Political Science (Alberta), M.A. Education (Dal), LLB (Punjab), and Author of Live Beyond 139 Years Joyous and Wrinkle Free, Polly is a Kundalini Yoga Master and instructor. Her presentation topic is “Compassionate Yoga and Mental Health” and will be in the form of an illustrated address. This presentation will run from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. in the Seniors’ Lounge and the moderator will be Mr. Ian MacDonald. We will have a refreshment break from 10:30 to 11:00 a.m. Dr. Stan Kutcher, our second presenter of the day is currently the !Sun Life Financial Chair in Adolescent Mental! !H!e!a!l!t!h!, Professor in the International Psychiatry Section, Department of Psychiatry!,! Dalhousie University, the Director of the !World Health Organization centre in Mental Health Training and Policy Development, and a Technical Consultant to UNESCO on Basic Literacy Projects. The topic of his presentation will be “Youth Mental Health? What is it? What should we be doing?” This presentation will run from 11:30a.m. to 12:00noon in the Seniors’ Lounge and the moderator will be Dr. S.S. Sodhi. President: Dr. S. S. (Sid) Sodhi; Vice-president: Mr. Ian MacDonald; Secretary/Treasurer: Mrs. Linda MacDonald

A complimentary lunch of veg and non-veg pizza and soft drinks will be served from 12:00 noon to 1:00p.m. coordinated by Mrs. Linda MacDonald with assistance from volunteers. The first session of the afternoon will be held from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. In this session you may choose to attend either the presentation by Jason Roth, Psychologist, of Roth Associates in Psychology on “Communication and Conflict Resolution Skills”. The presentation will focus on identifying specific techniques that enhance and facilitate effective communication. With this basis, we will then look at the nature of conflict resolution and discuss ways that clear, concise, honest communication can be utilized to resolve conflicts in an effective and positive manner. This presentation will run from 1:00 to 2:00p.m. in the Seniors’ Lounge and the moderator will be Mr. Ian MacDonald. Or the presentation by Dr. David Leitch, Director of the Atlantic Centre for Students With Disabilities (a division within the Student Services Department of Saint Mary’s University. Dr. Leitch, M.A. (Counseling), PhD (Special Education) will be presenting a workshop on “Technology/Speech Recognition and Its Importance in Classroom Learning for Students With Disabilities”. This presentation will run from 1:00 to 2:00p.m. in the Multipurpose Room and the moderator will be Dr. S.S. Sodhi. We will have a refreshment break from 2:00 to 2:30 p.m. The second session of the afternoon will be held from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. In this session you may choose to attend either the presentation by Dr. Sabina Abidi, Staff Psychiatrist in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry with the IWK Children’s Hospital and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Dalhousie University, will be on “Early Intervention for Youth With Psychotic Illness”. This presentation will run from 2:30 to 3:30p.m. in the Seniors’ Lounge and the moderator will be Dr. S.S. Sodhi. Or the presentation by Dr. Kishore Pasumarthi on “New Therapeutic Approaches to the Treatment of Heart Disease”. Dr. Pasumarthi is an Associate Professor of Pharmacology at Dalhousie University with a wide-ranging experience in both research and teaching about topics relating to pharmacology and, more specifically, research into potential treatments for heart disease. This presentation will run from 2:30 to 3:30p.m. in the Multipurpose Room and the moderator will be Mr. Ian MacDonald. 3:30p.m.: Closing and concluding remarks and thanks Please register your intention to attend by sending an e-mail to [email protected]. In your e-mail please include your name, which of the afternoon sessions you would like to attend, and, if you plan to share in the pizza lunch, whether you would prefer veg or non-veg pizza. You may also register by phoning 479-4656 and leaving a message with your name and the afternoon sessions you would like to attend. If you know of any other persons who might be interested in these workshops, please forward this notice to them. Thank you. Cash donations for Feed Nova Scotia will be gratefully received on the day of the conference.

For further information please call 443-3269.

President: Dr. S. S. (Sid) Sodhi; Vice-president: Mr. Ian MacDonald; Secretary/Treasurer: Mrs. Linda MacDonald