2022 MPA Spring Scientific Conference

This event is online only.
Participants will be sent connection information prior to the event date.

Learning Objectives

At the conclusion of this event participants should be able to:

• Describe a treatment approach for somatic presentations of psychiatric illness
• Recognize the bidirectional nature of physical pain and psychological distress

Target Audience

Academic family physicians, residents, interprofessional teams, rural and remote practicing family physicians, researchers, urban practicing family physicians, psychiatrists, pediatricians, internists and neurologists.

Schedule

Sunday May 15

11:45-12:00 – Opening Remarks

12:00-1:15 – Understanding and Managing Somatoform and Functional Disorders: Lecture
Anton Scamvougeras and Andrew Howard

1:30-2:45 – Workshop A – Understanding and Managing Somatoform and Functional Disorders: Workshop
Anton Scamvougeras and Andrew Howard

3:00-4:15 – Workshop B – Somatization in youth: Piloting Mind-Body Connection Groups in Manitoba
Polina Anang and Jennifer MacMullin

4:15-4:30 – Closing Remarks

Monday May 16

8:00-8:15 – Opening Remarks

8:15-9:30 – Somatic Symptom Disorder with Predominant Pain
Pamela L. Holens

9:45-11:00 – Illness Anxiety Disorder
Patricia Furer

11:15-12:30 – Using Mentalizing to Address the Adult Impact of Childhood Adversity
Jon Hunter

12:30-12:45 – Closing Remarks

Download a printable agenda

Speakers

Jon Hunter MD, FRCPC is a Professor at the University of Toronto, and holds the Pencer Family Chair in Applied General Psychiatry at the Sinai Health System where he also heads the Psychosocial Team at the Marvelle Koffler Breast Center, and works on the Psychiatric Consultation-Liaison team. His interests include the psychological care of cancer patients, the role of early life experience in adaptation to disease, the role of therapeutic alliance in treatment outcomes, and supporting hospital staff in times of strain.

Anton Scamvougeras MBChB FRCPC is a Consultant Neuropsychiatrist in the University of British Columbia Neuropsychiatry Program, and a Clinical Associate Professor in the UBC Department of Psychiatry, Vancouver, BC. He obtained his medical degree in Cape Town, South Africa, and then worked as a family physician in rural Canada before specializing in Psychiatry at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, with fellowship studies in neurosciences, MRI, and research methodology. He has been at UBC since 1994, and has a special interest in understanding and helping individuals with severe Somatoform Disorders. He also runs the UBC Adult Tourette’s Syndrome Clinic, assisting individuals with Tourette’s and related conditions.

Andrew Howard MD FRCPC is a Consultant Neuropsychiatrist in the University of British Columbia Neuropsychiatry Program, and a Clinical Associate Professor in the UBC Department of Psychiatry, Vancouver, BC. He developed expertise in psychosomatic medicine, completing a psychology degree at Harvard, his MD at Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, and psychiatry residency & neuropsychiatry fellowship at the University of British Columbia. He is the consultant psychiatrist to the Parkinson’s and other movement disorders clinic, the Centre for Huntington’s Disease, and to the deep brain stimulation program at UBC. He oversees the BC Neuropsychiatry Program’s educational efforts serving medical students, residents, fellows and colleagues locally, nationally and internationally.

Pamela L. Holens, Ph.D., C.Psych., is an Associate Professor with the Department of Clinical Health Psychology in the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba. She has worked as a clinical psychologist at the Winnipeg Operational Stress Injury Clinic since 2010, and has recently taken on the role of lead psychologist for the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service. Dr. Holens’ research has followed her clinical interests, where she specializes in working with individuals who experience posttraumatic stress disorder and chronic pain. She is the developer of an online ACT-based treatment for chronic pain that has been used at the OSI Clinic since 2012 (Holens et al., 2017; Buhler et al., 2021; Libbrecht et al., 2021), and co-developer of a group-based mind-body healing treatment for individuals with chronic pain and other somatoform disorders based on the book “Unlearn Your Pain” by Howard Schubiner, MD (Schubiner & Betzold, 2019; Holens et al., 2021).

Patricia Furer, Ph.D., C. Psych., is a clinical psychologist and the director of the Anxiety Disorders Clinic at St. Boniface Hospital. She is the Program Director for the Clinical Health Psychology Residency program at the University of Manitoba. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Clinical Health Psychology and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Manitoba. Dr. Furer specializes in the assessment and cognitive-behavioral treatment of anxiety disorders. She has written papers and book chapters on health anxiety, perinatal anxiety, and other anxiety disorders, as well as a book on treatment of health anxiety and fear of death. She has developed a brief large group anxiety disorder intervention and group CBT programs for perinatal anxiety, health anxiety and fear of death, and mixed anxiety disorders. Current areas of research interest include treatment of perinatal anxiety, evaluation of stepped-care treatment models, and web-based interventions. Dr. Furer is involved in teaching and supervision of clinical and research activities with Clinical Health Psychology residents and other medical learners as well as graduate students in the Department of Psychology at the University of Manitoba.

Polina Anang, MD, PhD, FRCPC is Assistant Professor with the Department of Psychiatry, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, Fellow of Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Dr. Anang has obtained her medical degree, followed by a PhD in Psychosomatic Medicine from Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany. She enjoys close collaboration with pediatric interdisciplinary teams providing care for youth with chronic illness as well as youth with somatic symptom and conversion disorders. Dr. Anang is co-facilitating Mind-Body Connection groups for youth with Somatization and their parents in collaboration with Clinical Health Psychology. Dr. Anang provides supervision in psychodynamic psychotherapy to psychiatry residents, mentors medical students, and created the curriculum for Indigenous perspectives on Mental Health PGY1-PGY4 seminar series.

Jennifer MacMullin, PhD, C. Psych is an assistant professor with the Department of Clinical Health Psychology at the University of Manitoba. She is a clinical psychologist with the Clinical Health Psychology Program’s Child and Adolescent Consult Service at the Health Sciences Centre. She works with children and adolescents with chronic health conditions and co-morbid mental health concerns. Dr. MacMullin is co-facilitating Mind-Body Connection groups for youth experiencing somatization and their parents in collaboration with consult-liaison psychiatry. She is also involved in teaching and supervision of Clinical Health Psychology residents.

Study Credit

This event was co-developed with the CPD Medicine Program, University of Manitoba and was planned to achieve scientific integrity, objectivity and balance.

This one-credit-per-hour Group Learning program meets the certification criteria of the College of Family Physicians of Canada and has been approved by the CPD Medicine Program, University of Manitoba for up to 7.5 Mainpro+ credits.

This event is an Accredited Group Learning Activity (Section 1) as defined by the Maintenance of Certification Program of The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and approved by the CPD Medicine Program, University of Manitoba for a maximum of 7.5 hours.

Participants should only claim credit for the actual number of hours attended. The University of Manitoba CPD Medicine Program is fully accredited by the Committee on Accreditation of Continuing Medical Education (CACME).

About the MPA

The MPA’s objectives are to represent psychiatrists within Doctors Manitoba, as well as to provide a formal regional representation to the Canadian Psychiatric Association and its national components. The MPA plays a role in advocating (along with other groups) for the mental health and psychiatric care of Manitobans, promoting our psychiatric profession, addressing the wellbeing of our profession’s practitioners and learners, and fully participating and supporting the ongoing educational needs of its members.

Purchase or renew your MPA membership

Event Contact

Karen Simpson

KSimpson@hsc.mb.ca