Children who self-destruct

The Montreal Children's Hospital and McGill University host a conference on self-injury and suicide in youth

MONTREAL - Burning, self-hitting, hair pulling - these are all symptoms of self-harm - behaviours that may begin as early as 14 years of age. Suicide, the ultimate result of self-injury, ranks second only to accidents, as the cause of death for Canadian youth aged 10 to 24. These two mental health disorders and their treatments are the topics of a daylong conference, hosted by the McGill Division of Child Psychiatry comprised of the Montreal Children's Hospital, the Douglas Mental Health University Institute and the Sir Mortimer B. Davis Jewish General Hospital.

Two internationally renowned clinical psychologists, Barbara Stanley, PhD and Alec L. Miller, PsyD, are the invited speakers for the April 11 event. They will address issues such as: adolescent borderline personality disorder; risk factors predicting self-injury and suicidal behaviours; and cognitive and specialized behavioural therapies.

"Today's young people often feel tremendous pressure," says Dr. Eric Fombonne, conference chairperson and director of Psychiatry at The Montreal Children's Hospital. "In an effort to cope with this stress, some may turn to extreme behaviours, such as self-injury and others may become overwhelmed and depressed. The goal of this conference is to discuss these disorders among fellow health care professionals and introduce the latest diagnostic criteria and treatment approaches."

"Both professors Stanley and Miller have extensive clinical and research experience in these fields and we are looking forward to learning from them."

What:
Self-Injury and Suicide in Youth: Current Understanding and Treatment Conference

When:
April 11, 2008; 8:15 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Where:
Centre Mont Royal, 2200 Mansfield, Montreal

The speakers will only be available for questions from the media between 10:15 and 10:45 a.m.

For more details about the conference visit The Montreal Children's Hospital website: http://www.thechildren.com/en/news/education.aspx?id=172

For more information about Dr. Stanley's work, please visit: http://excalibur.cpmc.columbia.edu/about_faculty.

For her most recent publications enter Barbara Stanley at www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez

For more information about Dr. Miller's work, please visit: www.aecom.yu.edu/home/faculty/profile.asp?id=4225&k=.

For his most recent publications enter Alec Miller at www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez.