The Sashbear Foundation  |  September 2022 Newsletter

September 2022

Sashbear's Expert Education Series

Please join us for our next Expert Education Series event on September 28. In this free presentation, Dr. Gillian Galen, DBT expert, will address one of the most common questions we hear—how can I observe limits with my loved one?

If you can't make it on September 28, this event will be recorded so you can watch it later.

Wednesday, September 28, 2022

7:00 - 8:00 pm Eastern Time

Fear Gets in the Way!
Understanding how to use the Principles of Behaviour to Set Effective Limits

with Dr. Gillian Galen

Setting limits and expectations is often hard; doing so with a loved one who struggles with emotion dysregulation, self-injury, and suicidal thinking and behaviour is even harder. There are a number of reasons why it may be more difficult. The most common one for family members is that fear gets in the way. Other things like not understanding the function of the behaviour or why it persists are other common barriers. In this presentation we will discuss the principles of behaviour and what keeps problematic behaviours continuing. We will also discuss contingency management and how you can skillfully identify limits and communicate them with your loved ones in an effective way.

Dr. Gillian Galen—Program Director, 3East DBT Residential Programs and Director of Training, 3East Continuum at McLean Hospital, Boston Instructor in Psychology, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School

New Presentation Recordings

Managing Trauma and Distress when Coping with Loved Ones' Risky Behaviours

Dr. Cynthia Kaplan—Trauma Training and Consultation, Simches Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at McLean Hospital, Boston, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School

Family members who have experienced, witnessed or learned about their loved ones’ suicide attempts, non-suicidal self-injury or other high risk behaviours, can often struggle with trauma or stress related problems themselves, including increased distress, grief, and uncertainty. This presentation will provide some education designed to help family members manage their own trauma responses more effectively and improve family relationships through expanded skill use and support.

You can find the list of past and future presentations on the Sashbear.org website under Resources. We recommend that you subscribe to The Sashbear Foundation YouTube channel to receive notifications as new recordings are published.

Research Study Opportunities

Click on image above to enlarge the poster.

Click on image above to enlarge the poster.

Join the discussion to have your voice heard!

(FOR ONTARIO RESIDENTS ONLY)

Let's talk about:
Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD)

Researchers at CAMH want to hear what the family members of people living with mental health challenges think about MAiD for mental illness.

Contact the study team to find out more!

maidstudy@camh.ca

Phone/text: 437-329-9214

You will be compensated for your time.

[Approx. 2 hours].

Click on image above to enlarge the poster.

(FOR ONTARIO RESIDENTS ONLY)

Couple psychotherapy for borderline personality disorder

The TULiP lab at York University (directed by Dr. Skye Fitzpatrick) is currently testing a new psychotherapy for suicidal or self-injuring people with borderline personality disorder (BPD) symptoms and their romantic partners called COMPASS (Connecting, Overcoming, and Moving Past Suicide and Self-injury).

COMPASS is a 12-session couple psychotherapy intervention that is delivered to both the person with BPD symptoms and their romantic partner with the intent of improving suicidal or self-injury thoughts and behaviours, BPD symptoms, relationship functioning, and partner’s mental health. It’s informed by both Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) and Cognitive Behavioural Couple Therapies. We are now testing how well the this psychotherapy intervention works, which involves giving it to couples wherein one member has BPD and struggles with suicidal or self-injurious thoughts or behaviours. Participation in this study, including receiving the intervention, is free and participants are paid up to $250 for completion of study assessments. Participants are NOT prohibited from being involved in other therapies or interventions in this study. More information about COMPASS is available in the attached fliers or on our webpage here. Individuals who are interested in participating in our study are invited to email tuliplab@yorku.ca for more information.

This study is in English

Help us continue to make waves

“It's a lifeline for the drowning—giving you tools and hope to manage.”

We are sincerely grateful for your donations—for helping us make waves for mental health.

The objective of The Sashbear Foundation is to lead a mental health reform by promoting awareness for the need of early prevention, recognition, timely intervention and access to affordable treatment of individuals with emotional dysregulation. The Foundation offers Family Connections™, an evidence-based group program that provides education, skills training, and support for people who are in a relationship with someone who has emotion dysregulation or related problems. Family Connections™ groups meet weekly over twelve weeks, or two intensive weekends, and are offered across Canadian provinces, in English and in French.

Sincerely yours in skills and hope,

The Sashbear Team 

sashbear.org  |   info@sashbear.org

The Sashbear Foundation is a volunteer-run Canadian Registered Charity