Neuropsychiatric Patients’ Association of Newfoundland and   Labrador 

Mailing address: P.O. Box 369, Bay Bulls, NL, A0A 1C0 

Mandate:

The NPA is a nonprofit organization created to provide services to people who have experienced neuropsychiatric conditions which includes brain injury or brain insults of any kind. The 3 pillars of the NPA are:

1) Advocacy, 2) Neurocognitive Rehabilitation, and 3) Research.

Through advocacy, NPA aims to ensure patients are treated with proper care and respect. Through our Neurocognitive Rehabilitation program we can help aid our province’s Neuropsychiatric patient population on their road to recovery. Through our research on neuropsychiatric conditions we hope to improve the lives of neuropsychiatric patients all around the world.

Target Population:

The NPA serves individuals of all ages with Neuropsychiatric conditions (brain injuries/insults), as well as their families. Some examples of Neuropsychiatric conditions include: Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, multiple sclerosis, autism, “concussions” (including brain injuries that have happened through sports injuries,  motor-vehicle accidents, or domestic violence), whiplash, neurotoxicant inhalation, drowning, strokes, suicide attempts, eating disorders, lyme disease, among many others.

Highlights of Programs/Services Offered:

• Within Neurocognitive Rehabilitation, the NPA provides a free service of weekly meetings, in which patients participate in activities that promote brain plasticity (i.e. healing and repair). These activities are instructed by experienced professionals. 
• These activities are often “manual-mental”, where patients need to use both their brain and their hands simultaneously. For instance, sewing, painting, woodworking, chess, or learning an instrument. 
• Through research, the NPA’s aim is to better educate medical professionals and to ensure that brain injuries are properly assessed, diagnosed, and treated. 
• We work to raise awareness about neuropsychiatric conditions and to provide advocacy for those with neuropsychiatric conditions. 
• We provide the community with a monthly calendar of free or low cost ($5 or less) activities to promote brain health happening in and around the province. Examples of these activities would include meditation, yoga, physical activity, support groups and more. These activities are not directly offered by the NPA – we just provide the service of compiling brain-health-promoting activities held by various organizations for the benefit of the community.