Don't miss this engaging session, "Capacity Assessment – A Practical Approach From a Geriatric Psychiatry Perspective" with Dr. Michael Cooper, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, UBC. 

Topic

Capacity Assessment – A Practical Approach From a Geriatric Psychiatry Perspective

When

Wednesday, June 4, 2025, from 12-1PM

About the Session

Dr. Michael Cooper will unlock the secrets of capacity assessment with his practical approach from a geriatric psychiatry perspective. He will empower you to identify key medical experts, anticipate challenges, and recognize critical signs of psychiatric issues. You’ll learn how to effectively communicate with geriatric psychiatrists and navigate the intricacies of the assessment process. Enhance your ability to support your clients through these challenging assessments with these essential insights.

Learning Objectives

• Determine the most appropriate medical expert
• Identify red flags to anticipate challenging cases
• Consider the possibility of delirium – some key warning signs and how that will impact the process
• Identify a potential horror show – Personality Disorders and family dysfunction
• Consider the impact of common psychiatric disorders in the elderly that affect capacity
• Communicating with the geriatric psychiatrist – the groundwork
• Assisting the psychiatrist with practical issues around consent
• Overview of the assessment process – rapport is the key
• Discuss issues around accessing collateral information
• Discuss the final steps before the affidavit or medicolegal letter

Speaker Bio

Dr. Michael Cooper completed his MD and psychiatry training at UBC, and then subspecialty qualification in geriatric psychiatry. Dr. Cooper practiced in the South Okanagan for 17 years establishing Elderly Outreach Programs throughout the Southern Interior.

He worked closely with mental health programs involved in responding to elder abuse assessments including being the designated signing authority for Office of Public Trustee capacity assessments. 

Dr. Cooper continued in this role after moving to Victoria to be Division Head for Geriatric Psychiatry for Vancouver Island. This also included developing a clinical trial research program for testing new treatments for Alzheimer Disease.

In 2012, he shifted focus to developing the Postgraduate Psychiatry training program for Victoria until 2016, including training psychiatry and family practice residents in cognitive and capacity assessments. 

Dr. Cooper’s experience includes an appointment to the B.C. Review Board under the Criminal Code dealing with NCRMD cases at the Forensic Psychiatry Institute. He was also appointed to the B.C. Health Care Consent Review Board in 2000-2003. 

Dr. Cooper has done hundreds of IME and Capacity Assessments with an interest in complex and challenging cases.