PedNIG is delighted to be hosting our Annual General Meeting in conjunction with the RNAO AGM on April 21 starting at 0800. This year our focus has been about CHILD & YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH! At our AGM, in addition to sharing the business of the interest group, we are honoured to be hosting 2 guest speakers in the field of child and youth mental health. Come join us for a breakfast to learn more about what you as a pediatric nurse can do to support the mental health of your patient and family!
Here is a bit about our speakers...
Alesya Courtnage MA, RP, CCC, CSFT
Solution-Focused Therapist/Child & Family Therapist at the Etobicoke Children's Centre
Alesya received a Masters of Arts degree from Drexel University and is currently studying for a PhD in Social Work at Wilfrid Lautier University. She has been practicing as a psychotherapist in different mental health settings since 2001. In 2008, she attended a workshop in Solution Focused Brief Therapy and fell in love with the hope, optimism and respect that drives this style of therapy.
Falling in love with the Solution Focused approach has led her to both lead and attend trainings around the world. She has traveled throughout Canada providing seminars on this approach to mental health agencies, professional associations and conferences. She has also received training in Europe from the leading Solution Focused minds in the world and has begun pursuing her own research and publication projects.
Alesya is also a Registered Psychotherapist (RP) and Certified Solution Focused Therapist (CSFT) offering counselling, training and supervision in the GTA and beyond. She has worked in the mental health field for many years and continues to be amazed at people's resilience, strength and ability to work through even the most challenging situations.
Laurie Horricks RN, MN, NP peds
Pedatric Nurse Practitioner at McMaster Children's Hospital in the Child and Youth Mental Health Program
Laurie graduated from McMaster University's School of Nursing in 1996 and began her nursing career in the emergency department of a small community hospital in Beaumont, Texas. After missing home, Laurie returned to Ontario in 1998 to work at the Hospital for Sick Children and completed her Masters in Nursing in 2001 from the University of Toronto. She spent fifteen years working in the role of a Clinical Nurse Specialist at SickKids and McMaster Children's Hospital in Hamilton, Ontario.
In 2016, Laurie returned to school and completed her training to become a pediatric Nurse Practitioner. In her current role at McMaster Children's Hospital, she leads a program that supports the mental health needs of patients admitted to the pediatric services across the organization and works hard to address various areas affecting child and youth mental health including lack of education at the undergraduate nursing level, and organizational and social stigma.
Laurie is a past president of PedNIG.
We hope to see many PedNIG members at our AGM!