The Douglas Mental Health University Institute will be hosting an international conference on the use of Internet in mental health care, May 14 to 16. This three-day conference will bring together sociologists, philosophers, clinicians and researchers, specialized in mental health and information technology from a dozen countries, including Australia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States. They will share their expertise and reflections on the Internet’s present and future role in mental health care.

Press meeting – Thursday, May 14 – 12:30 p.m.
Douglas Hall, Douglas Institute
6875, LaSalle Blvd., Verdun

The media are invited to meet the following guests speakers

John Grohol, Psy. D., United States - John Grohol is a pioneer in the use of Internet in mental health. In 1995, he created the Psych Central.com web site which he is still leads today. His site has been named one of the 50 best web sites in 2008 by Time.com

Simon Bignell, PhD, University of Derby, United Kingdom - Specialized in attention deficit disorders, Simon Bignell is leading a major research project (Psychology on Second Life) on how online virtual worlds can be used in psychology.

Michelle Blanc, M.Sc., web marketing consultant - Recognized as one of the most influential women in social medias in Canada and the most influential blogger in the French speaking world, Michelle Blanc will share her personal and professional experience on the use of blogging as a means of resilience.

Helen Christensen, PhD, Australian National University, Australia - Helen Christensen is studying how Internet can be used for the prevention of mental health disorders and is interested in Internet as a research tool for conducting online clinical trials.

David Spiegel, MD, Stanford University, United States - David Spiegel is a specialist on the analysis of how Internet can help organize the community reaction following a major traumatic event.

One of the first conferences on the subject

Alain Brunet, PhD, researcher at the Douglas Institute, is leading the conference organization. The organizing committee gratefully acknowledges the collaboration of McGill University and the support of the Quebec Health and Social Services Ministry, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).