At CAMH, we’re enor- mously proud of our Campbell Family Mental
Health Research Institute, Canada’s largest group of researchers
dedicated solely to mental health.
As we celebrate its first anniversary, we have good reason
to be proud. With its focus on
understanding the brain – from
the genetic and molecular levels to
the circuits and systems that shape
our moods and behaviour – the
institute is moving mental health
research into the forefront of global science. Where will the next
breakthroughs come in unraveling the complexities of the brain?
How quickly can we translate
those discoveries into better treatments? Can we prevent mental illness before it starts? These are the
urgent questions that preoccupy us
at CAMH.
We know that the earlier we can
intervene, the better the outcome
– and research is taking us there.
But what does research really do
for those living with mental illness
today? Isn’t a research institute
just white lab coats, glass beakers
and distant dreams of treatments
that might someday exist? What
we need is real care today, some
might suggest, not a focus on 50
years down the road.
In fact, actual care is embedded into so much of our work
at the Campbell Institute. It is
an essential part of what we do.
As Canada’s leading hospital for
mental health, CAMH knows this
approach is the best way to ensure
patients benefit from research,
and that research benefits from
patients.
The Temerty Centre for
Therapeutic Brain Intervention – a thriving clinical research
lab under the umbrella of the
Campbell Institute – is pioneering
the use of several non-invasive
brain stimulation techniques to
treat a range of mental illnesses.
Our experts are the first in Canada
to test magnetic seizure therapy,
which uses magnetic pulses to
stimulate targeted areas of the
brain. As well, the Temerty Centre
is perfecting the use of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), providing better
outcomes and fewer side-effects
than traditional brain stimulation
methods. This technique shows
promise in up to 50 per cent of
patients, particularly those with
treatment-resistant illnesses.
The technique is already revo-
lutionizing care for many patients
– patients like Jane. As part of our
ongoing research, Jane underwent
rTMS treatments for the depres-
sion she’s lived with for more than
20 years. The treatment helped
her replace feelings of shame and
loneliness with an overwhelm-
ing sense of hope. Jane is a real
patient with a real story of a life
transformed today – a story only
written because of the Campbell
Institute.
Finding the right medication
for the right patient is a common
challenge when treating mental
illness. At the Tanenbaum Centre
for Pharmacogenetics, scientists
are actively working to lessen the
chances that treatment won’t work
or that unpleasant side-effects will
lead to a patient quitting his or her
psychiatric medications. Dr. James
Kennedy is using genetic testing
to identify the optimal medications
for a particular patient without the
frustrating trial and error. The test
looks at a person’s specific genetic
profile for breaking down particular medications and indicates – in
a simple red-yellow-green-light
format – which ones are most
suitable.
This is a mental health game-changer. So, when will this
research begin reaching actual
patients? It already is. Almost 400
CAMH patients have taken the
test. Early results suggest patients
are reporting better outcomes from
their medications with fewer side-
effects.
This project was initiated by
seed funding by visionary business leader Lawrence Tanenbaum,
which then led to substantial funding from Ontario’s Ministry of
Research and Innovation.
Recently, the study was expand-
ed into the broader community;
the test is now being offered to
patients at the Thornhill Medical
Centre, the Village Family Health
team, and other centres. Through
these partnerships, Dr. Kennedy
and his team will see how this sys-
tem works when used by frontline
family physicians, the ones who
prescribe 80 per cent of psychiatric
medications. In all, nearly 1,000
patients have taken the test.
Reaching patients is always
our goal – and we continue to
build upon our past successes.
For example, CAMH’s Dr. Jeff
Meyer’s advanced brain imag-
ing research provides a clearer
understanding of brain chemis-
try in major depression, which is
needed to create more targeted and
effective treatments. Dr. Meyer
is now focused on developing a
preventive approach to postpar-
tum depression and other serious
major depressive disorders, with
few if any side-effects. His team
is examining whether a dietary
supplement can provide the nutri-
ents removed by high levels of an
enzyme that breaks down impor-
tant brain chemicals like serotonin,
norepinephrine and dopamine.
The Campbell Family Mental
Health Research Institute is truly
advancing research into uncharted
territories, but it is also building
on a track record that is well-
established at CAMH.
Yes, there are white lab coats
and beakers to be found within this
Institute, as well as treatments in
very early stages of development.
But there are also real patients
receiving real care, and that is
something to be truly proud of.
CAMH’s Research Already
Helping Patients Today
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Publication(s): National Post Due Date: Oct 18
CAMH inspires hope through discovery at the
Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute.
We proudly present the first annual Campbell
Family Mental Health Research Symposium,
Personalized medicine: Revolutionizing care
in mental illness and addiction.
Dr. Anthony Phillips | Symposium Chair
Scientific Director, CIHR Institute of
Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction
Dr. Thomas Insel
Director, U.S. National Institute of Mental
Health, Bethesda, MD
Dr. Daniel Weinberger
Director and CEO, Lieber Institute for Brain
Development, Baltimore, MD
For more details and to register (space is limited)
please visit: camh.ca/campbell-symposium
Special Symposium Guests:
November 19, 2013
8: 30 a.m. – 4: 30 p.m.
Royal Conservatory of Music
273 Bloor St. West
Toronto, ON
CAM13CA041_Campbell_Symposium_Print_Ads_NationalPost_E5.indd 1 13-10-22 1:11PM
By Kathleen Powderley
Providingequalaccessisone of the fundamental chal- lenges facing health-care
planners and providers. Socioeconomic status, gender, race, language and sexuality all too often
– even in Canada – affect people’s
health outcomes and access to
health care. These factors have a
profound impact on diagnosis and
treatment of mental illness, which
is stigmatized in so many cultures.
A new research project at
Ryerson University explores
ways to reduce the stigma of
mental illness among men and
boys in Asian communities across
Canada, thanks to a $3-million
research grant from the Movem-
ber Foundation.
Solving this problem is essen-
tial in major cities like Toronto
where almost 50 per cent residents
were born outside of Canada.
Led by principal investiga-
tor Sepali Guruge, a professor
in Ryerson’s Daphne Cockwell
School of Nursing, this project
examines the effectiveness of
two pilot anti-stigma interven-
tions with 2,160 men living in
Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary.
Using innovative approaches to
reduce internalized stigma and
to support knowledge and skills
building, it will have enormous
impact. Community leaders from
faith-based, media, arts and advo-
cacy sectors will help to build
mental health supports within
their communities.
This project builds on two
strengths of Ryerson research –
diversity and health. Other related
Ryerson projects include the work
of Morton Beiser, professor of
distinction in psychology, which
examines equality of mental health
care for refugees and Donna Kol-
lar, professor in the School of
Early Childhood Studies, who
helps health-care professionals
decrease children’s stress levels
and allows them to take an active
role in their care.
Ryerson also leads the Ontar-
io Multicultural Health Applied
Research Network initiative in
partnership with York Univer-
sity and Markham Stouffville
Hospital, which examines and
affects change of health ineq-
uities among ethno-cultural and
racialized groups. Another project
led by Judy Finlay, professor in
Ryerson’s School of Child and
Youth Care, examines the social
determinants of health includ-
ing youth suicide prevention in
Northern Ontario First Nations
communities.
These research projects are just
a few examples of how Ryer-
son is making a real difference
through research and innovation.
More information about these
and other research is available at
www.ryerson.ca/research.
A new research project, led by Sepali Guruge, a professor
in Ryerson’s Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing, explores
ways to reduce the stigma of mental illness among men
and boys in Asian communities across Canada.
HEALTH AND WELL-BEING FOR ALL
“ We know that the earlier
we can intervene,
the better the outcome – and research
is taking us there. ”
Bruce G. Pollock, MD, PhD,
FRCPC
Vice-President, Research, Centre
for Addiction and Mental Health
(CAMH), Toronto
Director, Campbell Family Mental
Health Research Institute, CAMH
cases, programs developed for
mainstream communities in urban
centres are simply transplanted into
First Nations communities – with
limited or no success.
For example, research by Dr. Christopher Mushquash, an Assistant
Professor at Lakehead University
and the Northern Ontario School
of Medicine, has shown that community programs are more effective
when both cultural and contextual
differences are taken into account.
“There are big differences
between large urban centres and
remote communities and northern
rural communities,” he says. “You’re
also dealing with young people with
very different experiences.”
Mushquash, who is also a mem-
ber of Pays Plat First Nation in
Northern Ontario, says he’s not
trying to come up with a blanket
approach that works for every com-
munity. Rather, he is identifying best
practices from community-devel-
oped approaches, and western-based
science and adapting them in a way
that respects the unique cultures and
contexts of each community.
The research results have been
encouraging. In one project, youth
from two Mi’kmaq communities in
Nova Scotia who participated in a
collaboratively-designed intervention program drank less frequently,
engaged in less binge drinking,
had lower levels of alcohol-related
problems and were more likely to
abstain from alcohol use.
THE HEALING TOUCH
OF ANIMALS
Any scientist will tell you that
knowing something works isn’t the
same as proving it works. A case
in point is animal-assisted therapy
– a growing field that uses dogs or
other animals to help people recover from or better cope with health
problems, such as heart disease,
cancer and mental health disorders.
Saskatoon Health Region
(SHR) has no shortage of anecdotal
evidence that its dog and horse
therapy programs are having a
therapeutic impact with troubled
children and youth. What it needs
is hard evidence to support the
case for expanding these programs.
That’s where Dr. Colleen Dell is
helping.
The Research Chair in Sub-
stance Abuse at the University of
Saskatchewan works with teams
of veterinarians, animal handlers,
social workers and human health
practitioners to evaluate the results
on children and youth of animal-
assisted therapy.
“In one project we had many
kids who had experienced high
rates of sexual abuse. Our research
found that handling a horse helped
them learn what healthy touch was,”
says Dell.
Others learned how to trust by
developing a bond with their favor-
ite horse. “For some, it is much
easier to learn to trust with a non-
judgemental animal than a human”.
SHR and Dell have since applied
for a Canadian Institutes of Health
Research grant to further evaluate
the therapeutic effects of the region’s
horse and dog therapy programs.
“Developing a science-based
evaluation will enable Saskatoon
Health Research to implement more
of these animal therapy programs,”
says Dell.
PUTTING RESEARCH
INTO PRACTICE
One of the toughest jobs in men-
tal health research is ensuring the
results are used by those who need
them most. That’s where Healthy
Minds Canada helps. The nation-
al charitable organization funds
research, hosts workshops and sym-
posia, and translates the outcomes
of mental health and addiction
research into practical resources
and tools that help families, teach-
ers, workplaces and communities.
Its handbooks are used by companies and organizations across
Canada, including Canada Post,
Ontario Power Generation, government departments and school
boards.
Healthy Minds Canada is posting more of this material online
so that even more Canadians can
access it. It is also funding research
that incorporates this knowledge
into a game app for smartphones
where players are rewarded each
time they make the right choice to
help someone with a mental illness
or themselves.
“It helps with behavioural choices and improves their empathy
to better deal with these kinds of
situations,” says Katie Robinette,
Executive Director, Healthy Minds
Canada.
“ Developing a science-based evaluation
will enable Saskatoon Health Research
to implement more of these
animal therapy programs. ”
Dr. Colleen Dell
University of Saskatchewan
Canada Raises the Bar for Mental Health Research
Continued from page 8
