ALERT CONTENT PLACEHOLDER​

Location

Contact

Hours

Location

Contact

Hours

Location

Contact

Hours

Location

Contact

Hours

Referrals

 What We Do

The Poul Hansen Family Centre for Depression is UHN's clinic specializing in depression and mood disorders treatment. Our aim is for those with depression or mood disorders to be treated directly within the walls of the Centre, to ensure patients are not required to travel elsewhere in the hospital or to our other sites for their depression appointments or services. Our team will help guide you from the moment you step through our doors to ensure you receive the support you need throughout your journey.

The overall goal of our Centre is to provide you with care, as soon as you need it.​

PharmacologyPharmacology
rTMS  rTMS
PsychotherapyPsychotherapy​

 Materials and Resources to Help You

Resources from the Patient & Family Education Program PDF Icon

* These material(s) are also available in other languages.

Service Navigation

Crisis Resources

Interpretation and Multilingual Services

Free Walk-in Counselling

Self-Guided Mental Health Resources

  • BounceBack Ontario
    Receive free workbooks on specific mental health issues (e.g., anxiety, depression) and receive telephone coaching.
  • Togetherall
    Free guided skill-building courses and online anonymous peer support.
  • Mind Over Mood by Greenberger & Padesky
    CBT workbook.
  • Full Catastrophe Living by Kabat-Zinn & Nhat Hanh
    Mindfulness meditation.
  • Smartphone Applications (may have costs associated)
    Headspace; Simple Habit; Calm; What’s Up; Self-Help Anxiety Management; Mindshift; PTSD Coach Canada.

Ongoing OHIP-covered or Free Individual or Group Psychotherapy

Private Therapy

  • Have private insurance or workplace benefits? Check to see if you have coverage for psychotherapy (coverage to meet with a social worker, psychotherapist, psychologist, or mental health counsellor).
  • Check if your workplace has an Employment Assistance Program (EAP)
  • Some ways to find private practitioners:
    Greenspace
    Psychology Today
    Psychotherapy Matters​

 Meet Our Team
Charlene Reynolds 
Charlene Reynolds, Clinical Director
Charlene Reynolds is the Clinical Director for the Centre for Mental Health, Family and Community Medicine and Primary Care. She completed her Bachelors in Physical Therapy at University of Toronto (U of T) and has a Masters in Science through the Institute of Medical Sciences, with Collaboration in Neuroscience from U of T. Clinically, Charlene worked at Sick Kids for more than 18 years, both as a physical therapist and a PT Practitioner. At UHN, Charlene developed the role of Allied Health Educator in the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre at Toronto General Hospital, and was the Manager of Allied Health and Geriatrics at Toronto Western Hospital. She held Lecturer status in the Physical Therapy Department at U of T and was past Curriculum Coordinator for the Neurological Physical Therapy component of the program. As Clinical Director, Charlene focuses on supporting programs in their efforts to provide effective, patient-focused, quality care. Her leadership philosophy embraces teamwork, interprofessional collaboration with a positive leadership/appreciative inquiry influence.

Dr. Susan Abbey 
Dr. Susan Abbey, Psychiatrist-in-Chief
Dr. Susan Abbey is the Psychiatrist-in-Chief at UHN and a Professor at University of Toronto's Department of Psychiatry. A member of the Department of Psychiatry since 1991, she has received numerous academic awards and honours, including the Robin Hunter Award for Excellence in Postgraduate Psychiatric Education and the Prix d'Excellence from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. She has been the President of the Canadian Psychiatric Association.
Dr. Abbey's research and clinical interests relate to the psychiatric care of patients in medical and surgical settings, and the use of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) in the management of medical illness. She was an early adopter of Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Depression (IPT), and has taught IPT to international audiences. She has been teaching MSBR since 2000 and is part of a research group studying the role of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) in preventing depressive relapse following rTMS treatment.

Marla Kaye.jpg  
Marla Kaye, Manager
Marla Kaye is the Manager of Outpatient Mental Health, Portuguese Mental Health & Addictions, Mental Health in Medicine as well as the Poul Hansen Family Centre for Depression. She is a Registered Psychotherapist with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario and a member of the Ontario Association of Mental Health Professionals. She has 30 years of experience in the mental health field. Before joining UHN in 2018, Marla was a Program Manager of Counselling Services at Canadian Hearing Society and had a successful private practice in Toronto.
She has presented twice at the national conference for the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association on the topics of Making Your Services Accessible to Deaf and Hard of Hearing Clients and Burnout Prevention and Care: Increasing Clinical Resiliencies Through Mindfulness Compassion Practices. Marla is co-chair of the Acute Care Programs Leadership Forum at UHN. A champion of patient-centred care, she is committed to supporting staff in delivering accessible quality service and treatment.

Jenna McLeod
Jenna McLeod, Team Lead
Jenna McLeod holds a Master of Social Work degree from Wilfrid Laurier University. As the Team Lead for the Poul Hansen Family Centre for Depression, Jenna leads and supports a large team in providing a high quality of care for patients and families. She has primarily worked in acute care settings with individuals with severe mental illnesses and has also led program development initiatives and contributed to research endeavours focused on behavioural activation.
Jenna's interests in psychotherapy have led her to complete certificates in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy. Currently, Jenna is enrolled in the University of California Centre for Mindfulness Studies completing her certificate in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, which she is excited to implement within the Centre. Jenna's clinical work focuses on individual and group therapy, navigation and resources and family support. Jenna's approach to care is collaborative and embodies a commitment to holistic patient-centred care.

Administrative Assistants

 
Sunny Hong (Physician Admin)

Sarah Innes  
Sarah Innes

 
Laura Ramos

Staff Physicians

Dr. Venkat Bhat  
Dr. Venkat Bhat, MD, MSc, FRCPC, DABPN
Dr. Venkat Bhat is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto and Director of the Interventional Psychiatry Program at St. Michael's Hospital. At the University Health Network, he leads depression and mental health research initiatives within the Centre for Advancing Neurotechnological Innovation to Application (CRANIA) and holds research appointments within the KITE and Krembil Research Institutes to advance this work. At the Toronto Western Hospital and the Poul Hansen Family Centre for Depression, he has a focus on invasive neurostimulation and works with specific neurology/neurosurgery programs interfacing with neuropsychiatry: he oversees assessment, device programming and research initiatives for patients undergoing Deep Brain Stimulation for psychiatric indications, and the cohort undergoing invasive brain monitoring and neurosurgical intervention for Epilepsy. Dr. Bhat deeply believes that interdisciplinary approaches are needed to get deeper insights into the human mind, his research program is supported by the major funding bodies both in Canada and the US.
Dr. Bhat completed residency and graduate training in psychiatry at McGill University followed by fellowship training in various Interventional Psychiatry domains at the University of Toronto, Harvard and Duke Universities respectively.

Dr. Sidney Kennedy 
Dr. Sidney Kennedy, MD, FRCPC
Dr. Sidney H. Kennedy is Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto, Senior Scientist at the Krembil Research Institute and a Member of the Poul Hansen Family Centre for Depression.
He has published more than 500 peer-reviewed publications and 11 books on depression and related topics, including antidepressant drug mechanisms and clinical efficacy, neuroimaging as a tool to predict treatment response, and neurostimulation therapies.
Dr. Kennedy is the founding chair of the Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments and co-lead in Guidelines for Major Depressive Disorder. He is also the founding lead investigator of the Canadian biomarker Network in Depression (CAN-BIND) and a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Science and the Royal Society of Canada.

Dr. Rodrigo Mansur  
Dr. Rodrigo Mansur, MD, PhD
Dr. Mansur is a staff psychiatrist at the University Health Network (UHN) in Toronto and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. Dr. Mansur completed his medical degree at the Universidade Federal de São Paulo/Escola Paulista de Medicina (UNIFESP/EPM), Brazil. He received his Psychiatry residency training and PhD at UNIFESP/EPM; and Fellowship training in Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. Dr. Mansur's primary clinical and research efforts focus on the intersection between metabolic and mood disorders, specifically the epidemiological, phenomenological and mechanistic aspects of these frequently co-occurring conditions. His interests include identifying novel biological mechanisms and developing integrated, empirically supported preventive and therapeutic strategies. Dr. Mansur has authored multiple peer-reviewed scientific articles and in 2016 received the Gerald L. Klerman Young Investigator Award of the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA).

Dr. Roger McIntyre 
Dr. Roger McIntyre, MD, FRCPC
Dr. Roger McIntyre is a Professor of Psychiatry and Pharmacology at the University of Toronto and Head of the Mood Disorders Psychopharmacology Unit at the University Health Network.
He is also Executive Director of the Brain and Cognition Discovery Foundation in Toronto, Director and co-Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) in Chicago, Illinois, Professor and Nanshan Scholar at Guangzhou Medical University, Adjunct Professor College of Medicine at Korea University, Clinical Professor State University of New York (SUNY) Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York and Clinical Professor Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences University of California School of Medicine, Riverside, California. Dr. McIntyre is the founder of the Canadian Rapid Treatment Centre of Excellence (CRTCE) and the CEO of Braxia Scientific Corp.
Dr. McIntyre has annually been named by Clarivate Analytics/Thomson Reuters as one of "The World's Most Influential Scientific Minds" since 2014. This distinction is given by publishing the largest number of articles that rank among those most frequently cited by researchers globally in 21 broad fields of science and social science during the previous decade. Dr. McIntyre has published more than 750 articles/manuscripts and has edited and/or co-edited several textbooks on mood disorders.
Dr. McIntyre is involved in multiple research endeavours which primarily aim to characterize the phenomenology, neurobiology and novel therapeutics of mood disorders. He has been especially interested in identifying innovative, rapid-acting psychotropic treatments for mood disorders. Dr. McIntyre's research has also extended into public health and implementation research at the population-based level.
Dr. McIntyre is extensively involved in medical education. He is a highly sought-after speaker at both national and international meetings. He has received several teaching awards from the University of Toronto, Department of Psychiatry and has been a recipient of the joint Canadian Psychiatric Association (CPA) / Council of Psychiatric Continuing Education Award for the Most Outstanding Continuing Education Activity in Psychiatry in Canada.
Dr. McIntyre has also contributed extensively to clinical practice guidelines. For example, he is the lead author of the Florida Best Practice Psychotherapeutic Medication Guidelines for Adults with Major Depressive Disorder and Bipolar Disorder as well as the International Expert Opinion on the Available Evidence and Implementation of Ketamine and Esketamine in Mood Disorders. Dr. McIntyre is also a contributor to the CANMAT guidelines for the treatment of Depressive Disorders and Bipolar Disorders as well as the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists Clinical Practice Guidelines for Mood Disorders.
Dr. McIntyre completed his medical degree at Dalhousie University. He received his Psychiatry residency training and Fellowship in Psychiatric Pharmacology at the University of Toronto.

Dr. Joshua Rosenblat 
Dr. Joshua Rosenblat, MD, FRCPC
Dr. Joshua Rosenblat is a staff psychiatrist and clinician-researcher at the Mood Disorders Psychopharmacology Unit (MDPU) at Toronto Western Hospital. His clinical and research focus is treatment-resistant unipolar and bipolar depression. He has authored and co-authored over a hundred journal articles and textbook chapters and received numerous local, national and international grants and awards. Dr. Rosenblat studied medicine at the University of Western Ontario and then completed his residency training in Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. During his residency training, he served as the chief resident of the Clinician-Scientist Program.

 
Dr. Rickinder Sethi
Dr. Rickinder Sethi is a staff psychiatrist at UHN. He also provides psychiatric care in under-serviced clinics within Ontario. He completed his medical degree at the Medical University of the Americas in the West Indies and completed his residency training in the Department of Psychiatry at Western University. After residency, Dr. Sethi completed a fellowship in Psycho-Oncology and end-of-life care at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto. He has a clinical interest in novel approaches to treatment-resistant depression, including rTMS, ketamine and psilocybin.

Mental Health Clinicians

Hannah Albrechtsons
Hannah Albrechtsons
Hannah is a registered occupational therapist who received her Master of Occupational Therapy degree from the University of Toronto. Hannah is passionate about supporting patients who are experiencing mental illness to achieve their goals, learn coping skills and strengthen their resilience. She is skilled in using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Dialectical Behavioural Therapy and Mindfulness-based treatment interventions. Hannah provides support to patients through offering short-term individual counselling sessions and co-facilitating psychotherapy groups run through the Poul Hansen Family Centre for Depression.
Cristina Barrios
Cristina Barrios
Cristina is a bilingual registered social worker (English & Spanish) with experience working in mental health and addictions with individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds. She is passionate about providing patient-centred care and empowering patients in developing skills to cope with their mental health concerns and stressors.
Cristina's counselling approach draws from various therapeutic modalities that meet her patient's unique needs: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Dialectical Behavioural Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Compassion Focused Therapy, Narrative Therapy, and Solution-focused Therapy.

Sariné Willis O'Connor
Sariné Willis-O'Connor
Sariné Willis-O'Connor is a Registered Psychotherapist who champions accessibility and equity in patient care. She is proficient in American Sign Language, and has worked extensively with members of the Deaf community and with individuals with disabilities. She has published and presented on psychotherapy research in Canadian and international publications and conferences, primarily on topics related to multicultural counselling. Sariné co-develops and facilitates the psychotherapy groups and services offered at the Poul Hansen Family Centre for Depression using her knowledge and skills in Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I), Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT).

rTMS Technician

Sariné Willis O'Connor
Rafeya Shami​

 How We Can Help

Pharmacology

The Psychopharmacology Unit is a centre of excellence in the evaluation, diagnosis, treatment and management of adults with major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder. We provide diagnostic opinions and management recommendations for patients with mood disorders who are receiving treatment or who are chronically ill.

Our clinic has a particular interest in developing novel medication strategies for people who suffer from these conditions.

We continue to accept referrals for medication consultations which will be completed by virtual visit.

Please note that we do not provide prescriptions to cannabis.

Our research is recognized around the world for helping to improve the way mood disorders are diagnosed and treated.

rTMS

Please note: The rTMS program at Toronto Western Hospital is currently on hold as required by the safety measures currently needed for hospitals to respond to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. We hope to re-open the program for those awaiting scheduled treatment at a later date, when it is safe to do so, but cannot provide a firm date for re-opening at this time. The rTMS program is also currently unable to accept new referrals for treatment.

We continue to accept referrals for medication consultations which will be completed by virtual visit.

Our clinic offers treatment for major depressive disorder and several other psychiatric disorders where medications have been unsuccessful, using a non-invasive form of brain stimulation known as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS).

rTMS is a Health Canada-approved treatment for major depression and works by directly stimulating areas of the brain that are underactive or overactive, gradually returning them to healthy patterns of activity. To stimulate the brain, rTMS uses powerful, focused magnetic field pulses that are applied using a magnetic coil placed against the scalp, over the target brain region.

When applied repeatedly, these pulses can strengthen or weaken the connections between neurons, known as synapses. The long-lasting changes in neural connections can achieve lasting changes in brain activity, reversing the abnormal patterns associated with depression.

Psychotherapy

We provide short-term psychotherapy for individuals who are receiving treatment in our Centre. Psychotherapy is offered primarily in group setting. We will assess patients for individual therapy as needed.

Types of therapy offered:

We provide support with navigation of the health care system which includes helping you become connected with community resources and supports, or supports in our Centre.

Please note: We only accept internal referrals from physicians in the Poul Hansen Family Centre for Depression.​​​​

 Our Current Events

Friends and Family Day

Date: Saturday, March 26, 2022
Time: 10:00 am – 1:00 pm

To register for this virtual event, please visit the Friends and Family Day program page.​