The past six months have been busy at the Cundill Centre for Child and Youth Depression! I was honoured to meet with Prince Harry in September, alongside other CAMH representatives, to discuss how our work is helping children and youth with depression and other mental health issues. Read about Prince Harry's visit and keep reading below to learn more about an exciting new partnership with the international knowledge translation network, Frayme. I will also update you on our knowledge sharing initiatives and projects, as well as start introducing you to the members of our team. In case you missed it, read our previous issue.

Dr. Peter Szatmari
Acting Director

Dr. Peter Szatmari (left) speaks with Prince Harry and other CAMH representatives.

Dr. Joanna Henderson (Implementation Science Director, Cundill Centre, left) and Dr. Peter Szatmari (right).

On March 28, 2017, the Cundill Centre was invited to lead a workshop for mental health professionals in the United Kingdom. The Knowledge Sharing Workshop, which was organized by The Peter Cundill Foundation, included more than 50 people, representing 21 organizations from the U.K. and Canada. Participants met in Windsor for a day of information sharing, knowledge-building and networking. Read more.

Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG)

After a systematic review and quality appraisal to identify and evaluate all available clinical practice guidelines for youth depression, the CPG project determined that the best, most trustworthy, evidence-based guideline is Depression in children and young people: Identification and management, developed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in the United Kingdom. Our team created a two-page treatment flowchart (a decision aid) based on the guidelines, which can be found on Portico.

In February, we held a workshop with the Association of Professors of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry of Canada (APCAPC), where we discussed the value of CPGs, presented the treatment flowchart and discussed barriers and facilitators to implementing guidelines in practice. We held a similar workshop in September at the Canadian Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry’s 37th Annual Conference.

Dr. Joanna Henderson (far left), Dr. Peter Szatmari (centre) and Gloria Chaim (Head of Community Engagement & Partnerships, Cundill Centre, far right) with members of the APCAPC.

Workshop at the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry's 37th Annual Conference in Ottawa. Session O: Locating, Appraising and Implementing Clinical Practice Guidelines for Adolescent Depression.

Child and Youth Psychotherapy Experiences (CAYPE)

Phase 1 of the CAYPE project to increase understanding of psychosocial services in Ontario has wrapped up! We are now working on a manuscript and sharing what we’ve learned with stakeholders across the province. So far, we have presented our work at the Canadian Psychological Association’s 78th National Convention, the Society for Psychotherapy Research’s 48th International Annual Meeting and the Canadian Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry’s 37th Annual Conference. We are currently developing a community report and will make it available soon. Phase 2 of the project, which will survey and interview youth about their experiences with psychotherapy, is also in the works.

Each issue, we will profile a Cundill Scholar and a Cundill Mentor. Cundill Scholars lead projects as principal investigators, and Cundill Mentors provide guidance on projects as senior-level scientists or clinicians.

CUNDILL SCHOLAR: Dr. Joanna Henderson

Dr. Joanna Henderson is Director of the Margaret and Wallace McCain Centre for Child, Youth & Family Mental Health and Implementation Science Director of the Cundill Centre for Child and Youth Depression at CAMH. She is also Clinician Scientist in the Child, Youth and Emerging Adult Program at CAMH, and Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. Read more

CUNDILL MENTOR: Prof. Ian Hickie

Professor Ian Hickie is a psychiatrist and prominent mental health campaigner. He is a former NHMRC Australia Fellow heading the University of Sydney’s Brain and Mind Centre as a Co-Director for Health and Policy, and is one of Australia's first National Mental Health Commissioners. Read more