Healthcare providers responsible for the diagnosis and/or the treatment of concussions are seeking information about the current best practices.  This includes best practice when it comes to assessing the severity and recovery of a concussion. These sessions are aimed at all health care practitioners (primary care physicians, sport medicine physicians, athletic therapists, physiotherapists, chiropractors, nurse practitioners, and psychologists etc…).

Dr. Bailly will be discussing how emotional function may be impacted after concussion. Some common presentations will be reviewed, with further discussion of ways in which providers can identify those patients who may be at risk for complicated or delayed recovery. Dr. Bailly will describe situations in which referral to a psychologist may be considered and will provide information related to referral and follow-up with patients deemed at risk. The presentation will conclude with a brief description of psychological treatment for those experiencing post-concussive onset or worsening of emotional distress.

Dr. Sareen will be discussing recognition and management of persistent mental health and addiction issues post-concussion. Discerning between mental health and post-concussion symptoms can be difficult. Clinical history, self-report instruments, and obtaining collateral information are important methods to determine whether the person is dealing with a persistent mental health problem. Options for medications that can be provided for people who are dealing with co-occurring mental illness and post-concussion and crisis resources will be discussed.

Speaker Profile

Dr. Sareen is Professor and Head of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Manitoba, Provincial Specialty Lead for Mental Health and Addictions, Shared Health.

Dr. Sareen has published over 400 peer-reviewed publications in the areas of traumatic stress, anxiety disorders, indigenous suicide prevention, and military veterans’ mental health. Many of these publications have been in high impact journals including: New England Journal of Medicine, CMAJ, JAMA Psychiatry, Psychological Medicine and Canadian Journal of Psychiatry.

Dr. Sareen has been supported by numerous national and local peer-reviewed grants (over $20 million in Principal investigator grant funding throughout his career). He has continuously held CIHR funding as a principal investigator since 2004. He currently holds the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Foundation grant (2015-2022) on Defining the Longitudinal Course, Outcomes, and Treatment Needs of Vulnerable Canadians with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

Dr. Sareen’s work has had national and provincial impact on policy makers decisions related to military veterans’ health, suicide prevention, homelessness, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Dr. Sareen has presented as a witness to the House of Commons and Senate Standing committees of Veterans and Public Safety Personnel.

The Manitoba Adult Concussion network is a grassroot network of healthcare providers working collaboratively to promote and facilitate high-quality evidence-based care of adult concussion. For information about MACN please go to or website at: macn.ca