Richmond Foundation
Commemorating World Mental Health Day 2015
Exploring Anxiety: An Educational,
Psychological and Psychiatric
Perspective
Speakers :
Prof. Joseph Zohar, Dr. Adrian Galea,
Dott.ssa Veronica Ellul Federici and Dr. Charlie Azzopardi
22nd October 2015
8.30 - 16.00
Dolmen Resort Hotel
Qawra, St. Paul’s Bay
Conference Programme
Time
08.00 - 08.30
Registration
08.30 - 08.40
Welcome to the Conference
Mr. Anthony E. Guillaumier
Chairman, Richmond Foundation
08.40 - 09.00
Opening Speeches
Hon. Evarist Bartolo (TBC)
Minister for Education & Employment
And
Hon. Chris Fearne (TBC)
Parliamentary Secretary for Health
09.00 - 09.45
The New Face of Anxiety – Moving From DSM IV to DSM 5
Prof. Joseph Zohar
09.45 - 09.55
Questions from the Floor
09.55 - 10.40
Anxiety and the Acute Psychiatric Services: Experience of a Crisis
Team Model of Care
Dr. Adrian Galea
10.40 - 10.50
Questions from the Floor
10.50 - 11.35
“When You Leave Me, I Feel So Scared”
Separation Anxiety Disorder in Children and the Impact on School
Dott.ssa Veronica Ellul Federici
11.35 - 11.45
Questions from the Floor
11.45 - 12.30
Re-Conceptualising Separation Anxiety
Dr. Charlie Azzopardi
12.30 - 12.40
Questions from the Floor
12.40 - 13.00
Introduction to Actograph.Dep
The information already stored in your smartphone could be useful
for you. Actograph.Dep is an innovative app that aims to use that
information towards early detection of depression.
Prof. Joseph Zohar
13.00 - 14.30
Lunch & Networking
14.30 - 15.30
Workshops
15.30 - 16.00
Reporting from Workshops and Closure
Workshops
Workshop 1
Anxiety and The Family
Workshop 2
Anxiety and Adults
Workshop 3
Anxiety and Children
Speakers’ Biographical Notes
Prof. Joseph Zohar
Dr. Zohar is a professor of Psychiatry at the Sacker Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv
University. Dr. Zohar is the immediate past-President of the European College of
Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP), Currently the Chair of the Expert Platform, Chair of
the Israeli consortium on PTSD, and Chair of the Israeli Brain Council. Dr. Zohar is a
board member for the International Master in Affective Neuroscience, a visiting
Professor at the University of Maastricht (The Nederland's), and an immediate pastChair of the International College of Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders
(ICOCS).
Dr. Zohar has been honored with several awards, including the Fogarty International
Research Fellowship Award (1984), the A.E. Bennet Award for Clinical Research (1986
and 2002), ECNP Neuroscience Award for Clinical Research (1998), and the WFSBP
Award for Excellence in Education (2001).
Dr. Zohar has authored more than 300 papers, has written or edited 16 books focusing
on refractory depression, OCD, post-traumatic stress disorder and Psychotropics, and
was the founding associate editor of CNS Spectrums and of the World Journal of
Biological Psychiatry.
Dr. Zohar is considered a world expert on OCD and posttraumatic stress disorder, and
has recently received funding from the American National Institute of Mental Health
(NIMH) to explore secondary prevention of PTSD.
Dr. Zohar was advisor to DSM – IV and 5 in OCD and co-chair of Sub-Workgroup
preparing the research agenda on OCD for DSM-5.
Currently Dr. Zohar Chairs an international collaboration (joint venture of ECNP, ACNP,
CINP and AsCINP) on developing new nomenclature for CNS drugs, Chairs the Expert
Platform on Mental Health focus on Depression along with being a Director at the
Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Israel.
Dr. Adrian Galea
Dr Adrian Galea is a Consultant Psychiatrist employed by Sussex Partnership NHS
Foundation Trust working in a Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Team in East
Sussex, UK. He is a Senior Honorary Clinical Lecturer at the Brighton and Sussex
Medical School and Clinical Tutor within the Trust for medical students and
postgraduate doctors in training in psychiatry across various schemes. He graduated
from the University of Malta (1995), commenced his specialty training at Mount Carmel
Hospital (1998), graduated in MSc Neuroscience with Distinction from Kings College
London (2000), became a Member of the Royal College of Psychiatry (2004) and
completed his training within the Maudsley scheme in 2007.
Dott.ssa Veronica Ellul Federici
Dott.ssa Veronica Ellul Federici is a registered Clinical Psychologist. She obtained her
B.Psy(Hons) degree in Psychology at the University of Malta and completed her
Masters degree in Clinical and Community Psychology at the University of Rome ‘La
Sapienza’. Veronica’s studies were followed by her clinical practice at the Casa di Cura
San Valentino in Rome and she then sat for her state exam to attain her warrant in Italy.
She also received specialised training in Juridical Psychology and Play and Filial
Therapy in Rome. Veronica worked for 6 years at the Foundation for Social Welfare
Services, specifically with children who presented with attachment difficulties,
behavioural, emotional and mental health difficulties. Presently, Veronica works in
private practice and co-directs Maia Psychology Centre.
She is the resident
psychologist at K.I.Ds Pogramme run by Richmond Foundation. Veronica works
primarily with children and their parents or caregivers but also with adults, offering
psychological assessments and psychological interventions. Veronica has been
Treasurer of the Maltese Psychological Association for 4 years.
Dr. Charlie Azzopardi
Dr Charlie Azzopardi is a Systemic Family Therapist. He has worked in the addictions
field since the mid 1980’s when he was involved in the setup of various addictions
services including San Blas, Programme Spark, and the Sedqa Family Services. Dr
Azzopardi underwent extensive training in the addictions, in Psychodrama, and in
Transactional Analysis in Rome. He obtained his Master’s degree in Family Therapy
from the Institute of Psychiatry in London, and his Doctorate in Systemic Psychotherapy
from the University of East London in conjunction with the Tavistock Clinic. Dr
Azzopardi has had training in various other psychotherapeutic techniques including
Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Solution Focused Therapy,
and Strategic Therapy of which he is a practitioner.
For the last 30 years Dr. Azzopardi was involved clinically within various local agencies
including Sedqa, Cana Movement, Richmond Foundation, Appogg, Eden Foundation,
Caritas and other private organisations. He also taught at the University of Malta for
several years and taught in the UK’s National Health Services and was Senior Tutor
with the Association for Psychological Therapies in the UK. Dr Azzopardi worked in the
UK within eating disorders services. He is the founding chair of and senior trainer at the
Institute of Family Therapy Malta and works privately meeting families, couples and
individuals with various presenting difficulties.
Dr Azzopardi has presented papers in various conferences and also published articles
on family life in local newspapers and magazines, and books about separation for adults
teens and children. His main interest remains the wide spectrum of family problems
including marital problems, addictions, adolescent problems, and parenting. Of special
interest is the development of new therapeutic techniques that make working with
families and individuals easier and more accessible.
Synopsis of Presentation
Dr. Joseph Zohar
The New Face of Anxiety – Moving From DSM IV to DSM 5
The focus of the psychiatric classification in the past 30 years has been refinements of
symptom-based classification. The initial expectations for DSM 5 were to incorporate
biomarkers and developmental findings to the classification: i.e. to integrate validators
derived from neuroscience advances such as neuroimaging, cognition, genetic riskfactors and familiarity to clinical decision making.
However, as the available data fell short from bridging between neuroscience and
clinical application, the DSM 5 still relies heavily in many disorders on symptoms rather
than bio signatures. The expectation that data from genetic, brain circuitry and
neuroscience studies will yield a bio signature which will add validity to the diagnostic
work was not realized in many disorders.
On the other hand, using some of these tools, including brain circuits and clinical
neuroscience, DSM 5 revolutionized the field of Anxiety Disorders. The major change is
the split of what was classified in DSM-IV under ‘Anxiety Disorders’ into three disorders
in DSM 5: the classical anxiety disorders such as Social Anxiety Disorder, Panic
Disorder, Phobia etc. remained classified under ‘Anxiety Disorders’; OCD (ObsessiveCompulsive Disorder) was removed from this title and placed under ‘ObsessiveCompulsive and Related Disorders’, a classification which now includes in addition to
OCD also Body Dysmorphic Disorder, Hair-Pulling Disorder (Trichotillomania), SkinPicking Disorder and Hoarding; PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) was also
removed from ‘Anxiety Disorders’ and was placed under ‘Trauma and Stressor Related
Disorders’ classification, which includes also Reactive Attachment Disorder, Disinhibited
Social Engagement Disorder, Acute Stress Disorder and Adjustment Disorders.
The implication of these changes regarding the diagnosis and treatment will be
presented and discussed in the session.
Dr. Adrian Galea
Anxiety and the Acute Psychiatric Services: Experience of a Crisis Team Model of
Care
Anxiety is a significant primary and comorbid mental health problem in adults with
consequences to the individual as well as society in general. Crisis Resolution and
Home Treatment Teams (CRHT) are acute psychiatric teams in the community focused
on gatekeeping inpatient beds and treating patients in their own home. Anxiety is a
major presenting feature of many patients referred to CRHT, frequently as a
consequence of social problems and very commonly with predisposing childhood
factors contributing to their presentation. Patients and carers prefer to be home treated
rather than be admitted to a psychiatric inpatient ward, reducing institutionalisation,
dependency and stigma and enabling recovery, independent living and continuing
employment. Case studies will be presented illustrating our experience of managing
such presentations within a CRHT environment.
Dott.sa Veronica Ellul Federici
“When you Leave me, I feel so scared”
Separation Anxiety Disorder in Children and the Impact on School
Throughout this presentation Dott.ssa Ellul Federici will make developmental
considerations about what “normal” anxiety in children is and what is pathological. The
presentation will focus mainly on Separation Anxiety and when this develops into
Separation Anxiety Disorder, since it is the most prevalent anxiety disorder in children
younger than 12 years. Even though Separation Anxiety Disorder may emerge during
adolescence and adulthood the typical age of onset is during childhood. If left untreated
or mismanaged, difficulties in adulthood will develop. Moreover, it may lead to school
refusal which will therefore effect a child’s academic achievement. This presentation
will outline how separation anxiety disorder may effect a child’s learning, social and peer
relations and future emotional health. Interventions that can be used to help children
cope with separation anxiety disorder will also be discussed, so as to help children
increase their potential at school and also improve their emotional health. Case
examples will be presented.
Dr. Charlie Azzopardi
Re-Conceptualising Separation Anxiety
Marital separation is bringing on a new type of anxiety manifested by children and
young people alike.
Because marital separation is now common, children often hear about it in many
contexts including family, school, extracurricular, and Church. Children are often
exposed to separation through their peers' experiences. Such exposure is oversensitizing children about the possible separation of their parents. This oversensitisation is experienced through the subtleties of everyday life and expressed in
different ways, especially through anxiety; moods, school performance, relationships,
extracurricular performance and at times even developing into ADHD, and tics. It also
effects children’s physical health and wellbeing and can lead to depression.