For the second year, the Douglas Mental Health University Institute is offering Mini-Psych School. This year the session will be in French and running from October 23 to November 27, 2007. Here, students will learn how the brain works; they will also be able to better understand child psychology, depression, Alzheimer’s disease and eating disorders. If this sound interesting to you and you have some free time Tuesday evenings this fall, then you are the perfect candidate for this program!

The Douglas agrees with DNA-discoverer, Francis H.C. Crick, “there is no scientific study more vital to man than the study of his own brain. Our entire view of the universe depends on it.” “Approximately one quarter of the population is affected by mental illnesses,” says Hani Iskandar, clinical chief of the Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit at the Douglas, who is overseeing the program. “Increased understanding and awareness of the issues is essential to help these individuals function in society. We are confident that our Mini-Psych graduates will have an excellent understanding of these and will be better able to make informed decisions.”

Mini-Psych School will run for six-consecutive Tuesday evenings and each lecture will build on the previous one. The lectures will be taught by some of the Douglas’ leading researchers and clinicians who are also animated speakers. The topics will cover material that is taught in psychology or psychiatry classes. For example, the second course, L’Instabilité du cerveau en formation: la pédopsychiatrie, will discuss the difference between learning disorders and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Other topics include schizophrenia, bipolar disorders and how the brain works. In addition, this year, two new classes have been added to the curriculum: Au bout du rouleau : le burn-out et la depression et Nourrir l’espoir : les troubles de l’alimentation.

“The Mini-Psych School is an excellent way to share expertise and knowledge. These sessions will not only be informative, but also a fun experience for the teachers and students,” says Iskandar. “We are enthusiastic about bringing together experts in the fields of psychology and psychiatry with members from the community.” Last year more than 240 students graduated from the program, all of whom enthusiastically took their pledge and “promised to share the knowledge they gained about mental
health and mental illness with passion and determination.”