Demystifying Concurrent Disorders Webinar Series
A virtual education series created by patients and families, for patients and families, to help us understand concurrent disorders better.
This quarterly education series helps patients and families better understand topics relating to mental health and substance use issues, or concurrent disorders. Participants learn about various topics, including:
- trauma-informed practice
- the Mental Health Act
- the forensics system
- medications
The webinar series is free and open to anyone interested in learning about these topics. Each session is led by an expert in mental health and substance use and includes a live Q&A facilitated by the webinar series host. The host is a person with lived/living experience.
The Health Literacy Working Group developed the Demystifying Concurrent Disorders Webinar Series. The group is led by patients and families working to advance health literacy across BC Mental Health and Substance Use Services and beyond.
Upcoming Webinar
Demystifying Bipolar Disorder
Join us on Thursday, Feb. 13 from 2-3:30 p.m. PST on Zoom as we aim to demystify bipolar disorder with our three subject matter experts coming from diverse backgrounds and experiences. We will be discussing a range of topics, including types of bipolar disorder, the diagnosis process, treatments available, and practical tips to support those in our lives who are living with bipolar disorder.
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Host: Laurie Edmundson MHA, CHE (she/her) is a settler of mixed European ancestry who lives on the unceded and stolen territory of the Sto:lo people. She is the senior leader of Patient Experience and Community Engagement with BCMHSUS. Laurie has been a mental health advocate for over a decade and uses her lived experience to improve the health system, promote health literacy and give hope to individuals and families. She is the creator of The Super Feelers Club, which provides low barrier and free peer support to people living with intense emotions and borderline personality disorder across the world and has helped others share their stories through podcasting since 2020. She is a member of the Lived Experience Committee with the International Society for the Study of Personality Disorders and was awarded with the Leadership in Advancing the Patient Voice award from HQBC in 2024.
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Speaker: Originally from Singapore, Kagan Goh (he/him) is a Vancouver-based Chinese Canadian multidisciplinary Mad Artist: award-winning filmmaker, published author, spoken word poet, playwright, actor, curator, mental health advocate and activist. He was diagnosed with bipolar mood disorder, also known as manic depression, at the age of twenty-three, in 1993.
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Speaker: Victoria Maxwell (she/her) is a recognized international keynote speaker who uses her personal story of recovery from mental illness to increase awareness, transform negative beliefs and ignite powerful conversations about mental health. She lives with bipolar disorder, anxiety and psychosis. The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health named her a leader in mental health and her theatrical keynote “That’s Just Crazy Talk” has been rated one of the top anti- stigma interventions in the country. Her media appearances include CNN, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and Women’s Health UK. She can also be seen in season 2 of CBC TV’s series ‘You Can’t Ask That’. She is also a lived experience strategic advisor at BCMHSUS.
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Speaker: Dr. Ivan Torres (he/him) is a clinical neuropsychologist, clinical professor in the Department of Psychiatry at UBC, and research scientist at BCMHSUS. His clinical and research activities involve understanding of cognitive functioning in people with psychiatric illness and how cognitive difficulties impact daily functioning.
Previous webinars
Demystifying information sharing and privacy (April 12, 2024)
Speakers: Becky Hynes (director, interprofessional practice, AMHSUS), Anita David (lived experience strategic advisor), Margo Dent (family partner)
Demystifying recovery (October 18, 2023)
Speakers: Rick Johal (senior lead of provincial education, BCMHSUS), Chris Lamoureux (leader of patient experience and community engagement, BCMHSUS), Dr. Heather Fulton (registered psychologist)
Adjusting our response to drug poisonings (April 28, 2023)
Speakers: Cherlyn Cortes-Manderson (clinical nurse educator, BC Centre for Disease Control), Corey Ranger (president, Harm Reduction Nurses Association and project lead, SAFER Knowledge Translation & Exchange project)
Demystifying psychosis (part 2): Supporting yourself and your loved one (February 10, 2023)
Speakers: Tracy Windsor and Abigail Schultz (lived experience experts)
Demystifying psychosis (part 1): Understanding psychosis (February 3, 2023)
Speakers: Dr. Randall White (medical director, Vancouver Community Mental Health Services and clinical director, BC Psychosis Program), Dr. Matthew Johnston (sociologist)
Demystifying prescribed medications for treating psychosis and substance use (September 9, 2022)
Speakers: Reza Rafizadeh (clinical pharmacy specialist, BCMHSUS), Dr. Christian Schutz (psychiatrist and clinical researcher, Red Fish Healing Centre, BCMHSUS)
Forensic journey and beyond: Where healthcare and legal systems intersect (June 10, 2022)
Speakers: Peter Parnell (director of access, transitions and forensic clinical risk, Forensic Psychiatric Hospital), Midhath Mahir (deputy supervising lawyer, CLAS)
Demystifying the Mental Health Act (February 22, 2022)
Speakers: Dr. Vijay Seethapathy (MD and fellow of The Royal College of Physicians of Canada and chief medical officer, BCMHSUS), Kendra Milne (executive director of health justice, Canadian Mental Health Association)
Demystifying trauma-informed health care (November 26, 2021)
- Speaker: Dr. Linda Uyeda, MD, CCFP
Related resources: Trauma-informed practice tips (PDF)
Privacy and confidentiality
BC Mental Health and Substance Use Services is committed to safeguarding your privacy and confidentiality.
As an attendee in a Zoom for Webinars event, your name will be hidden throughout the presentation, and you may choose to ask your questions anonymously in the Q&A chat box. Participants’ audio and video will be disabled. Questions will be monitored and selected by a facilitator, based on relevance and appropriateness. Please note that the speaker will not be able to address specific individual case questions. Sessions will be recorded and shared on our website, making them available to the public.
Related content
Contact us
To learn more about the Concurrent Disorder Webinar Series, contact engage_BCMHSUS@phsa.ca.