GFDD Fellow Henry Montero stresses how Cognitive Behavioral Therapy improves practical thinking and diminishes the delusions of Parkinson’s disease patients

GFDD & Funglode hosted a special side event at the United Nations during the 8th Session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) on Thursday June 11. The lunchtime event, moderated by Marc Jourdan, GFDD UN Representative, presented the latest addition to the publication series Research and Ideas: a research study carried out by Henry A. Montero, a 2014 GFDD fellow on the topic of
‘Treating Parkinson’s Disease Psychosis with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy’. Before an engaged audience comprised of members of civil societies, UN Member State delegates and UN agency representatives, Montero presented his study confirming that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy improves practical thinking and diminishes the delusions of Parkinson’s disease patients.

In addition to Henry Montero, invited speakers
included H.E. Ambassador Choong-hee Hahn, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the UN; Dr. Olga B. Soto-Moise, Board Certified Geriatric Psychiatrist; Dr. Jayme Albin, Expert Psychologist in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dr.Beatrice Goodwin, Chair of the NGO Health Committee.

Marc Jourdan, GFDD’s UN Representative, welcomed the attendees before stressing that the work of GFDD Fellow Henry Montero helps to
give a voice to national health concerns regarding Parkinson’s disease in the Dominican Republic and offer a practical solution to these problems.

H.E. Ambassador Choong-hee Hahn, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the UN provided some introductory words regarding the importance of this civil society side event. He stressed that “what makes the CRPD conference unique is the active participation of a
wide range of stakeholders, including civil society, international organizations, the private sector, and academia”.  Referring to the Post 2015 Development Agenda, he emphasized the need for the new development framework to include and address mental health, given that “one million people die each year due to mental health conditions”.

Soto-Moise formally introduced Montero underlining the
importance of his research. She explained that “Parkinson’s disease psychosis (PDP) is a movement disease which worsens with age”, and it’s therefore important to treat psychosis early on. She valued CBT treatment as “one of the most important strategies for the management of PDP”.

Henry Montero discussed his three month research experience as a GFDD Fellow.   He noted that “six
million people worldwide are affected by PDP and 6% of the people in Dominican Republic, who are sixty five or older, suffer from the disease”. He remarked that 25% of people suffering from PDP go untreated thereby experiencing a diminish quality of life. Montero explained that “PDP patients don’t tolerate classic medication; therefore CBT treatment improves their coping skills” for such medication. As for the application of this treatment, Montero
noted that family and the residential home are important bearing points and integral components for the improvement of the patient’s mental condition and enhancing his/her life expectancy.

Following Montero’s presentation, Jayme Albin took the floor to praise his research and the fact that his study demonstrated how CBT treatment “could help with secondary things such as quality of life”. She also urged the importance for the
medical community to create a “diagnostic criteria for PDP” since there is a lack of pharmaceutical treatments. The CBT expert also confirmed she believes this type of treatment can increase life expectancy.

Taking the floor as the final speaker, Dr. Beatrice Goodwin also commended Montero on his publication. She expressed “it is important to involve the family with education about this disease from the very beginning”. Concluding
her intervention she invited all participants to take note of the fact that “all of us, as citizens have some responsibility” to educate ourselves about this disease.

Following the speaker interventions, Marc Jourdan opened up the discussion for an engaged question and answer with the audience. The questions focused on a variety of topics, including the obstacles faced in the Dominican Republic in contrast with those in the US, and the potential
benefits of applying CBT treatment to other diseases.

Thanking the guests and the speakers for attending the session, Jourdan reminded attendees of the theme of the CRPD conference “Mainstreaming the rights of persons with disabilities in the post-2015 development agenda” and invited them to continue participating in these side events so as to inform the main conference negotiations.

About the Fellows
Program
The Fellows Program, an extension of the internship and academic exchange program InteRDom, was developed in 2009 to respond to the desire of GFDD and FUNGLODE to develop a community of scholars that contributes to the Foundations” growing body of research on matters of international concern that directly impact the Dominican Republic, complementing the overall mission of GFDD and FUNGLODE to promote academic exchange, generate scholarship, and influence
the creation of public policy related to economic and social development both at the national and international level.

The Fellows Program provides opportunities for M.S., M.A. and Ph.D. candidates interested in conducting high-level research in the Dominican Republic on issues related to sustainable development. The final output of the investigation is a comprehensive report which includes empirical data. Fellows realize research in coordination with GFDD and FUNGLODE
staff, National Academic Advisors and their university professors. The ones that carry-out exemplary work have the opportunity to present their findings before the United Nations community.

About the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was adopted by the General Assembly by its resolution 61/106 of 13 December 2006. It
came into force on 3 May 2008 upon the 20th ratification. Article 40 of the Convention stipulates that “The States Parties shall meet regularly in a Conference of States Parties in order to consider any matter with regard to the implementation of the present Convention.” Since 2008, seven sessions of the Conference of States Parties have been held at United Nations Headquarters, New York.

The 8th session will take place at the United Nations
Headquarters from 9 to 11 June 2015. The theme of this year”s Conference is "Mainstreaming the rights of persons with disabilities in the post-2015 development agenda".

Related links:
http://www.un.org/disabilities/default.asp?id=1625
http://www.drfellowsprogram.org