Monthly Updates

1. Noteworthy items

• In collaboration with the University of Manitoba, Mood Disorders Association of Manitoba will be offering a 6-session Cognitive Behavioural Therapy with Mindfulness Group, called the Turning Pages Program, geared toward adults ages 50-70 years who are experiencing challenges with life transitions. The first group will start in February 2018, with upcoming groups beginning in the spring, summer, and fall. We are looking for retired psychologists who may be interested in volunteer facilitation for the spring group or future group offerings. Please contact Tara Brousseau-Snider at taras@mooddisordersmanitoba.ca  if you would like to discuss this opportunity in further detail. 

• 24/7 crisis text line to be available for youth in Manitoba https://globalnews.ca/news/4027456/crisis-texting-line-now-available-for-kids-in-manitoba-24-7/

• Dr. Jen Theule was interviewed on CJOB on Feb 7, 2018 about youth mental health, behavioural issues, and the media

• Dr. Teresa Sztaba was interviewed by the Brandon Sun at the end of February about the effect of technology and social media on the brain, well-being, and relationships

• MPS members have been busy writing books! Below are some of the recent publications by our members:

3. MPS Updates

• MPS is on Facebook! Find us and “Like” our page to stay up to date on news and events: https://www.facebook.com/MBPsychologicalSociety/

• The Social Action Committee needs you to bring psychology’s insights to bear on pressing social problems. One of the ways for this to happen is for MPS members to use Facebook to Like and to re-post items that appear on the MPS Facebook page. It’s a small step, but it’s an increasingly important way to communicate our knowledge and our value. 

• Representatives from MPS arranged a meeting recently with the Minister of Education and his executive to discuss ways in which psychologists might resource government in their job.  The focus was on hearing the struggles of representatives and their staff along with building skills for dealing with distressed constituents.  The presentation went well and participants were interested and involved.  The hope is that this may develop into a series of presentations to help government do their job more effectively and to highlight the skills that psychology brings to the table.

4. Articles of Interest

• Comparative efficacy and acceptability of 21 antidepressant drugs for the acute treatment of adults with major depressive disorder: a systematic review and network meta-analysis http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(17)32802-7/fulltext

• Virtual-reality-based cognitive behavioural therapy versus waiting list control for paranoid ideation and social avoidance in patients with psychotic disorders: a single-blind randomised controlled trial http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(18)30053-1/abstract

• Facial Emotion Recognition Performance Differentiates Between Behavioral Variant Frontotemporal Dementia and Major Depressive Disorder https://www.psychiatrist.com/JCP/article/Pages/2018/v79n01/16m11342.aspx

1. Noteworthy items

• MPS is on Facebook! Find us and “Like” our page at https://www.facebook.com/MBPsychologicalSociety/

• Video launch: MPS has launched a commercial with the support of CPA, which can be viewed through our Facebook link above

• MPS President Dr. Andrea Piotrowski was featured in the Winnipeg Free Press discussing the shortage of psychologists in Manitoba 

• MPS President-Elect Dr. Jo Ann Unger spoke to Global News about New Years Resolutions 

• The APA has created a new initiative to recognize psychologists for leadership and commitment to their communities. The APA Citizen Psychologist initiative invites self or other nominations for a presidential citation related to such leadership. More information and nomination materials can be found here: http://www.apa.org/about/governance/citizen-psychologist/

3. MPS Updates

• The MPS Social Action Committee decided to support comments made in a Winnipeg Free Press Op. Ed. piece by Dr. Jim Silver, about the importance of addressing the social determinants of health.  As this is an area with well-documented research and with social significance, the committee sent a letter to the editor supporting Dr. Silver’s points and highlighting their relevance to mental health.  The letter was published on January 23, 2018.

4. Articles of Interest

5. Get to know an MPS Board Member

Featuring Dr. Jo Ann Unger, Clinical Psychologist & Assistant Professor, Clinical Health Psychology, Max Rady College of Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba.

What are your initiatives with the board?

I am currently involved in a number of ways with the MPS board. For the past year and a half or so, and under the mentorship of Dr. Len Greenwood, I have been MPS’s Membership Director. This involves a number of things including reviewing membership requests and sending out all of those lovely membership renewal reminders. I am also currently President-Elect and have been enjoying watching Dr. Piotrowski closely to learn about the President role which I will take on in June, 2018. I will be passing along the Membership Director role to another board member in the next few months; stay tuned.  

Another MPS initiative I am involved in is a proposal for a Mental Health and Addictions Community Advocacy Network.  The purpose of the network is to increase communication between groups that do advocacy in this area and to potentially create partnerships for specific advocacy efforts. A number of other board members and I are currently in the process of reaching out to community agencies and other professional associations to get their input and feedback on the creation of such a network. We have enlisted a number of students to help us compile this interview data and will use it to fine tune the original proposal. We hope to have a network established and host a meet-and-greet event in June.

What do you enjoy about being on the board? 

What drew me most to being a part of the MPS board was the opportunity to do advocacy work on behalf of the people who require psychological services and cannot gain access. There is such a shortage of psychologists in this province and the need is so great. Now that I have been a part of the board for a couple of years, I greatly enjoy getting to know and working with such a wonderful group of psychologists.  I look forward to our thought-provoking discussions, our collaboration on projects and informal conversations. I am looking forward to what the next few years at MPS will bring and am grateful for the ongoing mentorship of Dr. Piotrowski

1. Noteworthy items

• MPS is on Facebook! Find us and “Like” our page @MBPsychologicalSociety (www.facebook.com/mbpsychologicalsociety)

• Quebec is investing $35 million in mental health to launch the first public psychotherapy program

2. Upcoming Events

• MPS will be offering a free media training workshop to all members, facilitated by Judith Cameron. The workshop will focus on navigating the interview (strategies for interview success within a variety of modalities), communicating with media in crisis situations, and more.The workshop is tentatively scheduled for Monday February 5^th from 5-8pm.Please send an email to Dr. Kristin Reynolds (kristin.reynolds@umanitoba.ca) if you are interested in attending the workshop.

• Want an opportunity for learning, fun, camaraderie, and great food? The MPS Annual General Meeting and Conference is being planned for Monday, March 19, 2018. Continuing education presentations will be held in the afternoon, followed by dinner and the Annual General Meeting (keynote speaker to be determined).

• Student Poster Competition – we will be holding our bi-annual Student Poster Competition at the MPS AGM on March 19, 2018. Interested students should submit the title of their poster to Maia Kredentser by February 19, 2018 (posters presented at other conferences may be used). The winner will receive a cash prize and recognition at the AGM. More details will be sent to presenters closer to the date.

• February is Psychology Month! Information about events will be forthcoming through email and on our Facebook page.

3. MPS Updates 

• As Manitoba Psychological Society does not have an office, records from 50 years have been stored in boxes and files in the homes of various MPS officers, past and present. Thanks to receipt of an APA Organizational Grant, MPS can fund a project to digitize most of our records, which will make access easier for administration and clear some basement and home office space!  We are fortunate to have our student representative, Maia Kredentser, organizing assistance with this project and we also will be using a professional service. If there are any more MPS records lurking in basements somewhere in the city, please do contact Maia at umkreden@myumanitoba.ca or our Executive Director, Dr. Teresa Sztaba at executived@mps.ca and we will gladly retrieve them for this new posterity project.

4. Articles of Interest

• Putting Psychosis into Sociocultural Context

• Personality Change in the Preclinical Phase of Dementia 

• Facebook Upgrades AI to Detect Suicidal Ideation and Help Prevent Suicide

5. Get to know an MPS Board Member, featuring Dr. Kristin Reynolds, Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology (Clinical Area), University of Manitoba

What are your initiatives with the board? I eagerly joined the MPS Board in the fall of 2016. One of my main roles within the board is Communications Director. This involves preparing press releases, connecting media with clinical psychologists who have particular areas of expertise, and organizing media-related events such as the upcoming media training workshop (mark your calendars for Monday February 5^th 5-8pm and see details above)! 

I am also a member of the Mental Health and Addictions Advocacy Committee within the MPS Board. This newly-formed committee is in the process of bringing together a network of community agencies and professional associations who are involved in the advocacy of mental health and addictions services and treatment, in order to coordinate advocacy efforts.

What do you enjoy about being on the board? I am passionate about clinical psychology and the advancement of science and practice. Being on the MPS Board provides ample opportunities to become involved in initiatives that help to shape the future of psychology in our great province. MPS initiatives include those focused on mobilizing advocacy efforts, transferring psychological knowledge to the public, and collaborating with psychologists and organizations completing important work in the area of mental health. As a new investigator and early career professional, being on the MPS Board has also been a wonderful way to meet clinical psychologists who work in a range of professional settings.