Menopause and the Changing Brain

Name something that 50 per cent of the world’s population will experience. We’ll wait right here…

The answer is MENOPAUSE, and it will be the featured topic at the Women’s Health Concerns Clinic Forum – Opening Up – on November 18, 2022.  Building on the success of the inaugural Opening Up in 2021, this year’s focus will be on Menopause and Cognition. It is an important opportunity for advancing the knowledge and awareness of hormone-related women’s mental health.

Using a virtual setting, Opening Up will connect leaders in women’s mental health with a local and global community, to share knowledge, resources, and support. Through panel discussions featuring women with lived experience, networking opportunities and presentations by leading experts, Opening Up will unite a collective of passionate and collaborative mentors through a supportive, non-judgemental, and community-building approach.

Join us as we explore the journey of the brain and menopause, and highlight opportunities in the future delivery of mental health care. The Women’s Health Concerns Clinic at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton specializes in perinatal, post-partum and hormonal mental health challenges, supporting women and their families in all stages of their lives.

Hosted by:

Dr. Luisa Caropreso
Psychiatrist, Women’s Health Concerns Clinic and Schizophrenia Outpatient Clinic
Assistant Professor, McMaster University

Dr. Benicio Frey
Medical Director, Women’s Health Concerns Clinic
Professor and Academic Head, Mood Disorders Program, McMaster University

Dr. Alison Shea
Obstetrician and Gynecologist, Menopause and Reproductive Mental Health Specialist
Assistant Professor, McMaster University

Speakers:

Dr. Elena Ballantyne
Clinician, Clinical Neuropsychology Service and Mood Disorders Program, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University
Supervisor, Psychology Residency and Postdoctoral Training Programs, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton

Dr. Jenny Blake
Professor, Department of Clinical Public Health at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto
Adjunct Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Ottawa, University of Toronto, and McMaster University
Founding Director, Canadian Partnership for Women and Children’s Health
Trustee, International Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Dr. Luciano Minuzzi
Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University
Interim Director, Neuroscience Graduate Program, McMaster University
Mood Disorders Program and Anxiety Treatment and Research Centre, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton

Dr. Pauline Maki
Director, Women’s Mental Health Research, University of Illinois Chicago
Professor, Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Illinois Chicago
Senior Director of Research, UIC Center for Research on Women & Gender
Professor, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, University of Illinois Chicago

Janet Ko
President, Co-Founder, The Menopause Foundation of Canada

Click here for more information. For any inquiries, please reach out to Jane Allison via email: openingupforumsjwhcc@gmail.com or via phone: 905-520-1745.