Early life and education
Kutcher is a first generation Canadian born to Ukrainian refugees;his parents survived World War II and made a new life for themselves and their families in Canada. [1] He credits his early life,particularly growing up in a household where community service to others was the norm,as full of the experiences that helped mould his values of civic engagement,that now inform his activities as a Senator. [5] As a young person,he worked with youth living in financially challenged circumstances in Hamilton,Ontario and with incarcerated young people in Ontario's juvenile justice system and as a labourer-teacher with Frontier College. [1]
Kutcher obtained his bachelor's degree in history and political science and his master's degree in history at McMaster University and his medical degree at McMaster University Medical School. [6] His postgraduate training in psychiatry was at the University of Toronto and he completed a McLaughlin Fellowship at the Medical Research Council Brain Metabolism Unit in Edinburgh. [7] He is internationally known for his clinical research,policy,and educational work in youth mental health.
He is married to Jan Sheppard Kutcher. [1] They have three adult children and seven grandchildren. [1]
He was a board member of the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. [1]
Academic career
Kutcher has made contributions to Canadian and international research regarding the causes and treatment of mental illness in young people,particularly Bipolar Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder. [1]
He developed youth mental health research,education,treatment and community intervention programs at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto. [8]
As a professor of psychiatry at Dalhousie University,he helped establish the Brain Repair Centre and the Life Sciences Development Association. [7] He was Director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre in Mental Health Policy and Training and participated in numerous mental health initiatives led by the Pan American Health Organization,including mental health training,policy development and post-disaster mental health interventions. [1] He co-chaired the Minister of Health's Advisory Panel on Innovation in Mental Health and Addictions in Nova Scotia. [4]
Much of his work has focused on improving mental health care in primary care in Canada and around the world. His work in Canada and globally has included mental health interventions such as the online mental health knowledge translation resource for educators,primary health care providers,youth and parents –TeenMentalHealth.org,as well as the program An Integrated Approach to Addressing the Issue of Youth Depression which combines youth focused radio programs with teacher and student mental health literacy and clinical mental health care capacity building in Malawi and Tanzania. [9] He led the development and deployment of novel mental health competency training programs in Canada,the Caribbean and Latin America. Some of his clinical tools,such as the Kutcher Adolescent Depression Scale have been validated and translated into numerous languages. [10] [6]
It was at Dalhousie University that he established the first International Health program in the Faculty of Medicine and the first Global Psychiatry training program in Canada. [7]
Kutcher has created and led numerous school-based mental health literacy programs helping young people and educators better understand mental health and mental illness. For example,the Curriculum Guide Resource,designed for application in grades 7–10,is now researched and used across Canada and globally. The Transitions post-secondary schooling resource is used in Canada and being researched and applied in many other countries. He led the development of Teachmentalhealth,a pre-service/in-service teacher curriculum,in collaboration with the Faculties of Education at University of British Columbia,Western University and St. Francis Xavier University.
As a member of the Child and Youth Mental Health Committee of the Mental Health Commission of Canada,Kutcher led the development of a national child and adolescent mental health policy framework known as Evergreen. [11] Kutcher's academic portfolio includes over 400 published papers and numerous books on topics ranging from psychopharmacology to suicide prevention,adolescent brain development and Global School Mental Health. [12] He has taught and mentored hundreds of medical students as well as individuals pursuing Masters and PhD degrees,in and outside of Canada. [6] He has served as a mental health advisor to organizations and governments in Canada and internationally. [6]
He has led and collaborated in scientific research in Canada,the United States,United Kingdom,European Union,the Caribbean,Latin America,Africa and China. [9] He has served as a founding board member of the Institute of Neuroscience,Mental Health and Addictions of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research,as well as on numerous other research boards and scientific advisory committees and consultancies in Canada and internationally. [6]
He has been a visiting scholar at 14 institutions in eight countries.
Controversies
Kutcher was one of the authors of the controversial Study 329 clinical trial which took place between 1994 and 1998 studying the efficacy of paroxetine,an SSRI anti-depressant,in treating 12 to 18-year-olds diagnosed with major depressive disorder. [13] Study 329 became controversial when it was discovered that the article had been ghostwritten by a PR firm hired by SmithKline Beecham,had made inappropriate claims about the drug's efficacy,and had downplayed safety concerns. [13] [14] [15]
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly mental issues. Sometimes a psychiatrist works within a multi-disciplinary team, which may comprise clinical psychologists, social workers, occupational therapists, and nursing staff. Psychiatrists have broad training in a biopsychosocial approach to the assessment and management of mental illness.
A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how individuals relate to each other and to their environments.
Paul Grof is a Czech-born psychiatrist in Canada who was a member of the World Health Organization committee that evaluated ecstasy. Rick Doblin notes:
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre (SHSC), commonly known as Sunnybrook Hospital or simply Sunnybrook, is an academic health science centre located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The hospital is the largest trauma centre in Canada. It is accredited as a Level I trauma centre by the Trauma Association of Canada and the American College of Surgeons, the first hospital outside of the United States to achieve ACS accreditation. Sunnybrook is a teaching hospital fully affiliated with the University of Toronto. The hospital is home to Canada's largest veterans centre, in the Kilgour Wing and the George Hees, which cares for World War II and Korean War veterans.
Psychiatric and mental health nurses in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps employing groundbreaking protocols and treatments in psychiatric issues to address the unique challenges that our service men and women face, more commonly post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries. Most people understand that trauma exposure is a popular occupational hazard for military members. Psychiatric screenings, before and during their enlistment, and treatments after being exposed to warfare, death, destruction, and torture have been extremely beneficial for military personnel and their dependents.
The National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences is a medical institution in Bengaluru, India. NIMHANS is the apex centre for mental health and neuroscience education in the country. It is an Institute of National Importance operating autonomously under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. NIMHANS is ranked 4th best medical institute in India, in the current National Institutional Ranking Framework.
Peter Szatmari is a Canadian researcher of autism and Asperger syndrome.
Patrick J. McGrath, OC, FRSC FCAHS is a Canadian psychologist noted for his contribution to research on childhood pain.
TM and Cult Mania is a non-fiction book that examines assertions made by the Transcendental Meditation movement (TM). The book is authored by Michael Persinger, Normand Carrey and Lynn Suess and published in 1980 by Christopher Publishing House. Persinger is a neurophysiologist and has worked out of Laurentian University. He trained as a psychologist and focused on the impacts of religious experience. Carrey is a medical doctor who specialized in psychiatry. He focused his studies into child psychiatry with research at Dalhousie University, and has taught physicians in a psychiatry residency program in the field of family therapy. Suess assisted Persinger in researching effects of geological phenomena on unidentified flying object sightings in Washington; the two conducted similar research in Toronto and Ottawa.
Alexander H. Leighton was a sociologist and psychiatrist of dual citizenship. He is best known for his work on the Stirling County (Canada) Study and his contributions to the field of psychiatric epidemiology. Leighton died at the age of 99 at his home in Digby, Nova Scotia.
Leon Eisenberg was an American child psychiatrist, social psychiatrist and medical educator who "transformed child psychiatry by advocating research into developmental problems".
Child and adolescent psychiatry is a branch of psychiatry that focuses on the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental disorders in children, adolescents, and their families. It investigates the biopsychosocial factors that influence the development and course of psychiatric disorders and treatment responses to various interventions. Child and adolescent psychiatrists primarily use psychotherapy and/or medication to treat mental disorders in the pediatric population.
Mental health literacy has been defined as "knowledge and beliefs about mental disorders which aid their recognition, management and prevention. Mental health literacy includes the ability to recognize specific disorders; knowing how to seek mental health information; knowledge of risk factors and causes, of self-treatments, and of professional help available; and attitudes that promote recognition and appropriate help-seeking". The concept of mental health literacy was derived from health literacy, which aims to increase patient knowledge about physical health, illnesses, and treatments.
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of deleterious mental conditions. These include various matters related to mood, behaviour, cognition, perceptions, and emotions.
Donald Jay Cohen was an American psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and director of the Yale Child Study Center and the Sterling Professor of Child Psychiatry, Pediatrics and Psychology at the Yale School of Medicine. According to the New York Times, he was "known for his scientific work, including fundamental contributions to the understanding of autism, Tourette's syndrome and other illnesses, and for his leadership in bringing together the biological and the psychological approaches to understanding psychiatric disorders in childhood"; his work "reshaped the field of child psychiatry". He was also known as an advocate for social policy, and for his work to promote the interests of children exposed to violence and trauma.
James Frederick Leckman is an American child psychiatrist and psychoanalyst and the Neison Harris Professor of Child Psychiatry, Psychiatry, Psychology and Pediatrics at the Yale School of Medicine, recognized for his research in Tourette syndrome (TS) and obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD).
The Kutcher Adolescent Depression Scale (KADS) is a psychological self-rating scale developed by Dalhousie University professor of psychiatry Stan Kutcher, to assess the level of depression in adolescents.
Jonathan S. Comer. is an American psychologist who is a Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at Florida International University. He is currently the director of an interdisciplinary clinical research program called the Mental health Interventions and Novel Therapeutics (MINT) Program. The MINT program focuses on improving the quality, scope, and accessibility of mental health care. Comer also serves as director of the Network for Enhancing Wellness in Disaster-Affected Youth, a SAMHSA-funded program in the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) that provides trauma-informed training and consultation to youth-serving professionals in disaster-prone and disaster-hit regions. Comer is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and a leader in the field of clinical child and adolescent psychology. The author of over 250 scientific papers and chapters, he has received early career awards from the American Psychological Association, the Association for Psychological Science, and the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies for his work. His research has been funded by federal agencies and by several private foundations and non-profit organizations. He has also received funding from the Andrew Kukes Foundation for Social Anxiety.
Jörg Michael Fegert is a German child and adolescent psychiatrist, psychotherapist and university professor.
Thomas A. Ban was a Hungarian-born Canadian psychiatrist, psychopharmacologist, academic, researcher and theorist.
