Publications

We examine structural brain characteristics across three diagnostic categories: at risk for serious mental illness; first-presenting …

The COVID-19 pandemic raised concerns regarding increased suicide-related behaviours. This study compared characteristics and counts of Emergency Department (ED) presentations for self-harm at three Toronto hospitals during vs. prior to the pandemic’s first year. While the number of self-harm presentations to these trauma centres did not increase during the early pandemic, their proportion of total presentations was increased. Intra-pandemic self-harm was associated with variables indicating medically severe injury, economic stressors, and being widowed, which may inform future suicide- and self-harm prevention strategies.

Background: Suicidal ideation is highly prevalent in Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). However, the factors determining who will …

Psychiatric symptoms following concussion are prevalent and associated with a plethora of negative consequences including elevated …

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to rapid shifts from in-person to remote mental health care, but little was known about how Canadians were experiencing this transition. This national online survey of 332 mental health care users and 107 mental health care providers through the CAN-BIND Program aimed to understand experiences of remote care during COVID-19, including what worked and what didn’t. Overall, the majority of users (59-63%) and providers (63%) were satisfied with remote care. Users reported greatest satisfaction with the convenience of remote care, while providers were most satisfied with speed of provision of care; all groups were least satisfied with therapeutic rapport. Use of a video-based platform was significantly associated with remote care satisfaction. Most users (55%) and providers (87%) said they would likely use remote care again after COVID-19. Recommendations for improving future use of remote care are discussed.

Gatekeeper training (GKT) programs are important suicide prevention strategies, but often neglect family and friends who play a vital role in support systems for people who experience suicidality. This review evaluated existing GKT programs and found significant gains on knowledge, self-efficacy, attitudes, and suicide prevention skills. However, few programs addressed the specific needs of family and friends and programs adapted specifically for them were scarce.

This report from the CAN-BIND-1 study found that clinical response to the SSRI escitalopram was associated with clinical and neuroimaging correlates of reward processing.

In this literature review, consistent evidence was found for an association between alexithymia and suicidal ideation, and between alexithymia and non-suicidal self-injury — but weaker evidence linking alexithymia & suicide attempts. Findings have implications for suicide prevention and risk prediction, but further study is needed.

This paper presents preliminary data from a retrospective chart review of suicide-related presentations to the St. Michael’s Hospital Emergency Department (ED) over a two-year period. We sought to compare the demographics, clinical presentation, and discharge plans of individuals experiencing homelessness relative to housed individuals.

Although the Emergency Department (ED) is a frequent point of contact for individuals experiencing suicidality, there is limited research examining these ED presentations. This review synthesizes the literature on these presentations, with a focus on high-risk groups, screening tools used, and difficulties in classifying ED presentations.

In this brief Perspective piece, we discuss the heterogeneity of depression, and the limited success of a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to treatment. We explore a personalized medicine approach to psychiatry, which integrates brain circuitry, genetic and molecular markers, and individual clinical symptoms through machine learning approaches to ultimately improve treatment selection.

This literature review sought to elucidate the clinical and neurobiological differences in anhedonia and reward processing between MDD and schizophrenia, and explore the challenges and benefits of assessing anhedonia as a transdiagnostic feature under the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) framework.

Fatigue is a frequently occurring symptom in Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), reported by over 90% of individuals with MDD. In this paper, we presented an overview of the epidemiology, burden, and functional impact of fatigue. We also reviewed the literature on pharmacological approaches to managing fatigue, finding that medications affecting dopamine and/or norepinephrine were most effective.

This analysis aimed to (a) explore whether baseline cognitive measures could predict response to Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) of the subcallosal cingulate gyrus for treatment-resistant depression (TRD), and (b) compare neurocognitive performance prior to and 12 months after DBS implantation. These preliminary results suggest that psychomotor speed may be a useful baseline predictor of SCG DBS treatment response, and support previous suggestions that SCG DBS has no deleterious effects on cognition.