The Pathways Advocacy Bulletin is published five times a year as both an insert in The Notepad newsletter and a stand-alone publication, and distributed to Pathways members and friends, health-care service providers, emergency services, other professionals, mental health organizations, universities, and the public.

We welcome your comments on anything you read in the Bulletin, and also your suggestions for stories. 

2024

January 2024 – David Cox – ‘We have hope for some breakthroughs’: can we change the way we treat schizophrenia? Icelandic neuroscientist Kári Stefánsson is the chief executive of deCode genetics, based in Reykjavík, which has studied genetic information from more than two thirds of the Icelandic population.

2023

November 2023 – Eileen Finan and Alexandra Rockey Fleming – Schizophrenia Caused Eric Smith to Threaten His Mother’s Life, but He Refused to Get Help — Here’s Why

October 2023 – A Letter to Minister: Pathways SMIS’s Position Regarding the Pending Federal Legislation on MAiD MI-SUMC

September 2023 – Dr. Richard O’Reilly – Guest Blog: Why A Man From PEI (Andrew Bryenton) Is Homeless on the Streets of Toronto

July 2023 – Susan Inman – Guest Blog: My Daughter with Schizophrenia Isn’t Living with Vancouver’s Homeless Mentally Ill….Yet

August 2023 – David Gratzer – A crisis of neglect: How society can help those with mental illness

2022

March 2022 – Bonita Sauder – How Learning About Anosognosia Might Just Change Your Life

2021

June 2021 – Minister of Mental Health and Addictions – response to Pathways SMIS letters from members

March 2021 – Cindy Beatch – Letter to MP re. Bill C7

March 2021 – Canadian Psychiatric Association position statement – MAiD

February 2021 – Susan Inman – Email re. Bill C7

February 2021 – Don Pavlovich – Letter to BC Premier John Horgan re. Bill 22

February 2021 – Car 87 where are you? Families say Vancouver’s mental health emergency team is rarely available – Shirley Chan

February 2021– Special Committee on Reforming the Police Act – Draft Report of Proceedings

February 2021 – Susan Inman: Why the B.C. children and youth rep’s report is alarming

2020

December 2020 – Whose Rights are Right? – Bonnie Sauder
June 2020 – The impact of the COVID crisis on people with severe mental illnesses by Jeffrey Geller, M.D., M.P.H., Psychiatric News
May 2020 – Family Member’s letter written to Daphne Bramham, Vancouver Sun

2019

November 2019 – A technology‐assisted life of recovery from psychosis
September 2019 – I hear voices, but I am learning to ignore them
March 2019 – Why Hitting Rock Bottom in Serious Mental Illness is Death – Julie A. Fast

2018

Nov. 2018 – HSO’s Mental Health Services Standards – Pathways  letter of concern addressed to the Standards Associate – Health Standards Organization (HSO), Ottawa, Ontario.

Sept. 2018-Mental Health Law Puts Parents in “Catch 22” – As BC’s Mental Health Act remains under attack, it’s useful to examine what proposed legislative changes mean for people living with psychotic disorders.

May 2018 – Shame on Our Cities  Neglect of the Mentally Ill – Allen J Frances M.D, Psychology Today.  Dr. Frances had previously written that the United States is the worst place in the world to have a mental illness, while Trieste is the best.

March 2018 -Current Cannabis Laws  A letter written by a mother, Alix Flynn, as a family directly affected by cannabis.

2018 – January Bulletin – Dr. Dianne McIntosh, Psychiatrist and Clinical Assistant Professor, UBC, – posted Dec.6, 2017 The Province – “Everyone needs to speak up about abuse by staff on psychiatric wards.

2017

2017-Nov. Bulletin – Cognitive remediation (CR) is an evidence based type of rehabilitation treatment offering brain exercises with an aim at improving cognitive processes.  – Cindy Beatch, Family-to-Family teacher, parent and member of Pathways.

2017-September Bulletin  – Marvin Ross’s latest blog details the untenable situation that too many family caregivers for people with severe mental illnesses confront.

2017- May Bulletin
Advice To B.C.’s Politicians On Mental Illness Policies – Susan Inman – Posted: 04/11/2017 1:29 pm EDT  – Huffington Post

2017- January – Bulletin
Personal Accounts: Becoming the Mother of a Child With Schizophrenia – Susan Inman – View Author and Article Information Published online: December 01, 2016

2016

2016-Nov-Bulletin
 B.C.’s sensible Mental Helth Act not in need of any challenges – Posted Oct. 13, 2016 – George Straight Commentary – Herschel Hardin, is a former president of the Pathways

2016-Sept-Bulletin Part 1
 You Can’t Deny Marijuana Is Dangerous For Developing Minds – Posted 04/08/2016 – Huffington Post- Dr. Diane McIntosh – Psychiatrist and clinical assistant professor at the University of British Columbia

2016-Sept-Bulletin Part 2
Marijuana’s Pro-Psychotic Effects May Put Teens At Risk – Posted 04/26/2016 – Huffington Post  – Dr. Diane McIntosh – Psychiatrist and clinical assistant professor at the University of British Columbia

2016 May Bulletin
The Federal Government Ignores the Treatment Needs of Americans With Serious Mental Illness – By Elinore F. McCance-Katz, MD, PhD
April 21, 2016

2016 March Bulletin
Schizophrenia’s Strongest Known Genetic Risk Deconstructed NIH National Institute of Health

2016 January Bulletin
Former patient pays it forward/ Brent Richter / North Shore News (reprinted with permission) January 8, 2016

2015

November 2015 – What You’re Not Hearing About the Hearing Voices Network
by Susan Inman Reprinted with permission from The Huffington Post

Vol. 8, No. 1, September 2015 Necessary physical care not always provided

Vol. 7, No.4, May 2015 The woman who desperately needed help Marijuana debate missing key factor

Vol. 7, No. 3, January 2015 Law suit signals ongoing need for accountability
Urgent outreach too long in coming Issue of authority to enter premises
Greg Matters case remains troubling

2014

Vol. 7, No. 2, November 2014
More problematic case histories, for the record Iacobucci report raises questions about police incidents

Vol. 7, No. 1, September 2014
Ignoring serious physical deterioration continues Ministry of Justice declines to make required change

Vol. 6, No. 5, May 2014
Primary training needs to catch up on info sharing Provincial judges could also benefit by more instruction

Vol. 6, No. 4, March 2014
Training needed in “school of hard knocks” The future of Riverview – Riverview redux, phoenix rising, or lost horizons?

Vol. 6, No. 3, January 2014
Progress is being made, but oh so very slowly
Progress also made with info sharing
Fuller Torrey book a cautionary tale

Vol. 6, No. 2, November 2013
Prosecutor’s decision in Paul Boyd case fails test

Vol. 6, No. 1, September 2013
Ashley Smith and Sammy Yatim – our stories, too
Smoking pot poses danger to vulnerable

Vol. 5, No. 5, April 2013
Persistent myth about the Mental Health Act
Random stabbing raises several issues
Misuse of language distorts reality

Vol. 5, No. 4, March 2013
Anatomy of a successful response to a crisis

Vol. 5, No. 3, January 2013
Marijuana risk needs to be recognized
BC health guide not so healthy
An advocate’s lot is not a happy one

Vol. 5, No.2, November 2012
Sometimes things don’t change to begin with
No urgent outreach an obvious deficiency
Inquiry in Amer case gets down to details

Vol. 5, No. 1, September 2012
Ill people left unhelped confounds police officers
Key possibility for improving system yet to be taken up

Vol. 5, No. 5, April 2012
Repercussions of phasing out Riverview still hurting
Schoenborn case a street of sorrows

Vol. 4, No. 4, March 2012
Seemingly small failures can mean large setbacks
Pathways files request on St. Paul’s case

Vol. 4, No. 3, February 2012
Cosmetic anti-stigma campaigns miss the point

Vol. 4, No 2, November 2011
Lack of capacity or lack of accountability?
Changing Her Mind: a review of Margaret Trudeau’s autobiography

Vol. 4, No 1, September 2011
Mental Health Commission a dysfunctional idea

Vol. 3, No. 5, May 2011
Misunderstanding worst for those found NCRMD
Advocacy Bulletin’s third anniversary
A step forward, but with questions

Vol. 3, No. 4, April 2011
Emergency service needs a serious rethink
What’s in a name? More than imagined.

Vol. 3, No. 3, February 2011
Coroner’s report a wake-up call for practitioners
A long way to go
“Physical deterioration” an often ignored clause
Mother wins case in Canada’s Tax Court

Vol. 3, No. 2, November 2010
Family involvement means information sharing
A special issue on the sharing of information with families

Vol. 3, No. 1, September 2010
Vancouver Coastal Health ducks the main issue
Internal reviews not likely to bring necessary change

Vol. 2, No. 5, May 2010
Those who need help most can be short-changed
“Mental health kills the mentally ill,” says American critic D.J. Jaffe
Not in Canada? Not necessarily so

Vol. 2, No. 4, April 2010
The more things change, do they remain the same?
Family peer workers needed in training of psychiatrists
Request for inquest in Ben Williams case

Vol. 2, No. 3, March 2010
Ben Williams: Could this death have been prevented?
The Michael Wild case: the pattern repeats itself
Leaving it to professionals not a reliable treatment plan
St. Pauls mental health staff share information

Vol. 2, No. 2, November 2009
“Independent” reviews not necessarily independent
Respecting dignity means assuring needed treatment
Cold weather law won’t protect from ravages of illness

Vol. 2, No. 1, September 2009
Overhaul of mental-health management called for
B.C. not only place information sharing runs into roadblocks
Ross Allan inquest brings forward 43 recommendations

Vol. 1, No. 4, May 2009
Unprofessional faddism can end in tragedy
The Soloist movie a good story, but not the whole story

Vol. 1, No. 3, April 2009
A surprising ignorance of the law
Tragedies that should not have happened
The Insanity Offense a disturbing read

Vol. 1, No. 2, February 2009
The woman known as Tracey dies needlessly
Direct advocacy to improve system
Information can be shared with family members

Vol. 1, No. 1, November 2008
Government ministry keeps mother in the dark
Delta case raises questions; Pathways called to comment
The Crisis File