Opening Up: A virtual forum about mental health and the menstrual cycle

Forum will unite people with lived/living experience and health professionals openly sharing knowledge with a supportive, community-building approach

Friday, Nov. 17, 2023, 9 a.m. to noon

Stella (not her real name) is a female in her 30s who has been on an antidepressant since she was a teenager. Bouncing between bouts of wellness and anxiety, clarity and brain fog, happiness and thoughts of death, it could be assumed that Stella was struggling with mental illness. That would only be half the story. Stella actually has premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), a common mental health condition related to sensitivity to reproductive hormone changes during her menstrual cycle.

A highly educated woman with many talents, she is so hugely impacted by her hormonal shifts that for many days of each month, she is debilitated by the mental symptoms that result. Stella is part of a group of women who experience real mental health impacts, month in and month out, that affect their quality of life, relationships, and ability to function. She is not alone.

This is why the Opening Up Forum, an initiative of the Women’s Health Concerns Clinic at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, was established. This virtual forum, now in its third year, will delve into the intricate connection between mental health and the menstrual cycle, with a special emphasis on understanding and managing premenstrual mood and anxiety problems.

Opening Up will have experts in women’s mental health sharing knowledge, resources, and support about these specific mental health concerns. The forum will provide a supportive space for individuals seeking knowledge and support in the vital intersection of mental health. Through participants with lived experience and health professionals, Opening Up will unite a collective of passionate and collaborative mentors openly sharing knowledge with a supportive, non-judgmental, and communitybuilding approach.

The Women’s Health Concerns Clinic at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton specializes in perinatal, premenstrual and perimenopausal mental health challenges, supporting women and their families in all stages of their lives.

Registration costs $10, and 100 per cent of your ticket purchase price will be donated to support the work of the Women’s Health Concerns Clinic at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton. Everyone who wishes to attend should be able to do so. If you need compassionate (free) access to this workshop, please email openingupforumsjwhcc@gmail.com for assistance.

Hosted by: Dr. Alison Shea

Obstetrician and gynecologist, menopause and reproductive mental health specialist, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton

Assistant professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, McMaster University

Dr. Benicio Frey

Psychiatrist and medical director, Women’s Health Concerns Clinic, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton

Professor and academic head of mood disorders, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University

SPEAKERS

Lived experience

Women with lived experience will share their stories and perspectives. These are the real experts.

Health professionals

Dr. Tory Eisenlohr-Moul

Associate professor of psychiatry with tenure, associate director of translational research in reproductive psychiatry, and associate director of the Medical Scientist (MD/PhD) training program at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Licensed clinical psychologist in the state of Illinois, specializing in assessment and diagnosis of premenstrual disorders. Associate director of the Medical Scientist training program in the College of Medicine.

Dr. Inger Sundström Poromaa

Professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Uppsala University, Sweden. Fellow of the Swedish Society of Medicine and the Swedish Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology (SFOG). Current member of the Board of Medicine and Health at the Swedish Research Council; scientific advisor at the Medical Products Agency in Sweden; past scientific secretary of the SFOG; past scientific secretary of the Nordic Federation of Societies of Obstetrics and Gynecology (NFOG).

Dr. Julie Thorne

Assistant professor, University of Toronto; lead, family planning at Women’s College Hospital and Mount Sinai Hospital. Researcher, AMPATH Kenya, with a perspective on global women’s health, health systems, and innovative ways of thinking about care delivery. Dr. Thorne’s fellowship was in the CARE program at Queen’s University.

Registration is now Live! Visit us at www.stjoesfoundation.ca/openingup/