Psychiatrists Recognize Outstanding Contributions to Mental Health at their Annual Conference

TORONTO, Sept. 14, 2014 /CNW/ - Last night the Canadian Psychiatric Association (CPA) recognized exceptional psychiatrists, psychiatric residents and individuals for their contributions to the mental health of Canadians.

Dr. Theresa Isomura from West Minister, British Columbia was awarded the CPA C.A. Roberts Award for Clinical Leadership for her transformation of the clinical psychiatric services and systems of care for the 1.7 million residents of the Fraser Region.  Her accomplishments include the creation of a Regional Mental Health and Substance Use Program, the development of an award winning Regional Psychosis Treatment Optimization Program, and the implementation of collaborative care programs within the Region's large community family practices.

Dr. Vasavan Nair from Verdun, Quebec received the CPA J.M. Cleghorn Award for Excellence and Leadership in Clinical Research for his research contributions to the fields of psychopharmacology, geriatric psychiatry and aging which have had a significant impact on contemporary psychiatric practice.  At a time when little psychiatric research was being conducted in Canada, Dr. Nair established several research programs.  He was instrumental in creating and developing the Douglas Mental Health Research Centre which integrates neuroscience, psychosocial research, and clinical research as well as the Institute's Program for Dementia with Psychiatric Comorbidity.  Dr. Nair is personally responsible for all clinical research occurring within the Memory Clinic, one of the dementia program's three major units.

Dr. John Langley from Toronto, Ontario was recognized with the CPA Paul Patterson Innovation in Education Leadership Award for his creative and innovative leadership in developing the new subspecialty training program in child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Toronto, one of the first programs accredited in Canada.  Only very recently have child and adolescent, geriatric and forensic psychiatry been recognized by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada as formal psychiatric subspecialties.  Dr. Langley has piloted a variety of innovative learning and performance assessment tools in support of this curriculum and has advised McGill, McMaster and the University of Ottawa to develop their accredited subspecialty programs.

R.O. Jones Awards for Best Papers:
Dr. Gary Hasey from Hamilton, Ontario received 1st Place, for his paper, Building a Virtual Psychiatrist: Using Digital Technology to Assist With Diagnosis and Treatment Planning.

Rohan Ganguli from Toronto, Ontario received 2nd Place for his paper, A Stepped Behavioural Approach to the Prevention of Antipsychotic-Associated Weight Gain: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.

Dr. Tracie Afifi from Winnipeg, Manitoba received 3rd Place for her paper, Child Abuse and Mental Disorders in Canada.

2013 CPA Annual Conference Best Poster Awards
Dr. Nate Charach and Kathleen Broad of Toronto, Ontario received 1st place, for their poster, Developing a Mentorship Program for Psychiatry Residents and Faculty.

Dr. Tricia Da Silva and Martha McKay of Toronto, Ontario received 2nd Place for their poster, Yoga for Social Anxiety Disorder:  Preliminary Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Dr. Veronique Wilson and Daniel St-Laurent from Montreal, Quebec received 3rd Place, for their poster, Interprofessinal Teamworking and Healthcare Professionals-Patient Partnership?

President's Commendation
Former NHL hockey player, Sheldon Kennedy, was recognized with the CPA President's Commendation for his work to improved the treatment and prevention of child abuse.  Abused by his Major Junior Hockey league coach, Kennedy has translated his personal situation into positive action.  Most recently he played a primary role in the vision and development of the Sheldon Kennedy Child Advocacy Centre.  This Centre brings together paediatricians, nurses, community services, police and legal services under one roof to deliver care to the most complex and difficult child abuse cases in Calgary and surrounding areas.

Foundation of the Canadian Psychiatric Association
The Foundation of the Canadian Psychiatric Association presented Dr. Jonathon Lee with a $3000 Scotiabank Grant for Children and Mental Health.  Studies have shown that environmental enrichment during development in children from disadvantaged backgrounds changes brain structure and performance.  Dr. Lee's study will examine long-term potentiation-like plasticity in healthy but disadvantaged adolescents ages 13-19 using paired association stimulation, or PAS which uses transcranial magnetic stimulation.  The hope is to better understand the process of brain development in adolescents and to test the feasibility of using PAS as a future clinical treatment.

Distinguished Fellows of the CPA and Fellows of the CPA
On Saturday morning, at its Annual General Meeting, the CPA inducted the 2014 Distinguished Fellows of the CPA and Fellows of the CPA. The honour of Distinguished Fellow of the CPA was bestowed upon CPA member psychiatrists Dr. Shabbir Amanullah, Dr. Howard Book, Dr. Jon Davine and Dr. Frank Sommers. CPA members Dr. Melissa Andrew, Dr. Nancy Brager, Dr. William Fleisher, Dr. Nathan Herrmann, Dr. Stephen Kisely, Dr. Javad Moamai, Dr. Scott Patten, Dr. Harry Prosen, Dr. Kiran Rabheru, Dr. Mark Rapoport and Dr. David J. Robinson received the designation of Fellow of the CPA.

Other psychiatric organizations also recognized the excellent work of their colleagues during the CPA Annual Conference:

Alex Leighton Joint CPA-Canadian Academy of Psychiatric Epidemiology Award in Psychiatric Epidemiology
Dr. Elliott Goldner

Joint CPA - COPCE Award for the Most Outstanding Continuing  Education Activity in Psychiatry in Canada
Dr. Mark Rapoport, Dr. Andrew Wiens, Dr. Dallas Seitz and Dr. Marcus Law

Association of Chairs of Psychiatry Award for Excellence in Education
Dr. Margaret Rajda

Association of Chairs of Psychiatry Annual Research Award
Dr. Gwyneth Zei

The Canadian Academy of Geriatric Psychiatry for Outstanding Contributions in Geriatric Psychiatry
Dr. Mark Rapoport and Dr. Keri-Leigh Cassidy

Canadian Organization of Undergraduate Psychiatric Educators Award for Best Paper by a Medical Student
Naomi Mudachi

Coordinators of Postgraduate Education in Psychiatry Award
Dr. Matthew Toews

The Canadian Psychiatric Association is the national voice for Canada's 4,700 psychiatrists and more than 600 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.

Photos and further information available upon request.

SOURCE: Canadian Psychiatric Association

Hélène Côté, [email protected], 1-613-297-5038