Dr. Pamela Forsythe Becomes First Woman to Chair the Canadian Psychiatric Association Board

VANCOUVER, Oct. 3, 2015 /CNW/ - Yesterday the Canadian Psychiatric Association (CPA) elected Dr. Pamela Forsythe as its first-ever female Board Chair. She replaces Dr. Don Addington who has been Chair of the CPA Board since 2009.

Throughout her career Dr. Forsythe has striven to reduce the discrimination and stigma around mental illness, improve the system, and promote as a core Canadian value the notion that mental health is equal in importance to physical well-being.

She plans to carry that through to her work as Board Chair, "In our daily clinical work, through our research and in public policy, I believe the CPA and its members have an opportunity, and a responsibility, to influence the current focus on the mental health needs of Canadians. I am honoured to be a part of such important work."

Dr. Forsythe has served as chair on a variety of hospital, nursing home and mental health boards.  In 2012 she received the designation of Distinguished Fellow of the CPA in recognition of her work at CPA and in the broader community. Her clinical and volunteer efforts have also been recognized with awards from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and the Schizophrenia Society of Canada.

A community psychiatrist in Saint John, New Brunswick, Dr. Forsythe is also a medical educator, a clinical researcher and a medical administrator.  As she takes on the role of CPA chair, she will continue to teach medical students and residents as an assistant professor of psychiatry at both Dalhousie University and the Memorial University of Newfoundland.

The Canadian Psychiatric Association is the national voice for Canada's 4,700 psychiatrists and more than 900 psychiatric residents. Founded in 1951, the CPA is dedicated to promoting an environment that fosters excellence in the provision of clinical care, education and research.

SOURCE Canadian Psychiatric Association

Hélène Côté, Canadian Psychiatric Association, [email protected], 613-234-2815 ext. 232