CHeBA invites you to a Visiting Lecture with two special guest speakers: Professor Colin Shapiro from the University of Toronto and Dr Dor Zalai from Ryerson University in Toronto.
Professor Colin Shapiro: Unusual Yipping Polar Bears - and Other Rare Circadian Cases
Dr Dora Zalai: Insomnia and Melatonin Secretion in Patients After Concussion
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Dr. Shapiro has a major interest in the basic physiological aspects of sleep, clinical aspects of sleep disorders, the use of sleep recordings for diagnostic purposes and the prospect of using sleep related measures in psychiatry specifically in depression. His interests include measurement in psychiatry and at present this is focused on the measurement of fatigue. He also has an interest in chronobiology as it relates to psychiatry and pharmacology. Dr. Shapiro has further, more limited interests in a range of psychiatric topics including insomnia, psychopharmacology, education of psychiatrists and measurement in psychiatry.
In the last few years, Dr. Shapiro has developed interests in providing information to both family physicians and the general public about specific conditions. Formal evaluation of this information and the impact of this form of health care intervention has been undertaken. Recently he has developed with colleagues, a free behavioral treatment for insomnia.
For the last half a dozen years Dr. Shapiro has directed a paediatric sleep program at Youthdale Treatment Centre. He will usually mentor and train 1-2 post graduate students and 1-2 fellows at any one time.
The range of research topics Dr. Shapiro is currently focused on is broad and has recently included sleep aspects of: adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression, fetal alcohol syndrome, paediatric obesity and driving simulator studies. Further studies in obstructive sleep apnea, central sleep apnea and psychopharmacology have been carried out as have studies on cognitive behavioral therapy in patients with depression and insomnia.
Dr. Zalai, MD, Ph.D., C.Psych., was a physician before she became a doctor in psychology. She left medicine because psychology allows her to take a broader perspective with regards to well-being, health, and illness than a pure biological approach. She immensely values her relationship with clients and finds it gratifying to create an environment where people are respected, accepted and safe to be who they are.
Dr. Zalai provides cognitive-behavioural, mindfulness, and acceptance-based treatments to college age students and adults who feel tired, overwhelmed, unhappy, anxious, or stuck in life. In addition, she conducts cutting-edge sleep and body clock assessments and provides individually-tailored sleep and circadian interventions that are unavailable in most clinical settings. She can also combine sleep assessment and treatment with treatment of depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorders, trauma and concussion.
She has educated clinicians and patient groups about the relationship between sleep, fatigue, mental and physical health in Canada, Europe, Asia and Africa and is passionate about developing cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia programs in community and in hospital settings.
