Dr. Claire O’Donovan was presented the C.A. Roberts Award for Clinical Leadership for her significant contributions to improving the care of people with bipolar illness and mood disorders by linking her longitudinal research to the development of innovative treatment programs. The clinical, longitudinal database she developed, the Maritime Bipolar Disorder Registry, is a rich source of education for members with the illness and a valued clinical research database, nationally and internationally.

Dr. Paul Links from Hamilton, Ontario, was recognized with the C.A. Roberts Award for Clinical Leadership for his contributions to suicide prevention and the management of patients with borderline personality disorder. Throughout his career, Dr. Links has worked to prevent suicide and improve the quality of care for patients at risk for suicide through initiatives such as the Zero Suicide quality improvement approach, which has received national recognition as a leading practice, as well as for patient safety and patient engagement.

Dr. Suzanne Zinck for her significant contribution to patient care improvement for gender-diverse, non-binary and transgender youth across the Maritimes.

Dr. Valerie Taylor for her significant contribution to the improvement of patient care through health system change and research translation.

Throughout her career, Dr. Sabina Abidi has advocated for system change to improve mental health services for children and youth, especially for those living in underserviced areas. Early in her career, she initiated a shared mental health care program in the Halifax Region. A decade ago, she developed the IWK Youth Psychosis Program. This program was the first to formally link services to bridge the gap for youth transitioning to Nova Scotia’s adult mental health system. Drawing on her wealth of clinical and research knowledge, Dr. Abidi collaborates with colleagues across Canada to develop standards of care and to establish guidelines for the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of patients with schizophrenia spectrum.

Dr. Lisa Gagnon was recognized for transforming psychiatric care in Calgary on several fronts. She was recognized by her peers for consistently improving and providing superior quality care and introducing many innovative programs. She founded the Women’s Mental Health Clinic, which is in service to assess and treat mental health disorders in pregnancy and postpartum. She has also worked towards reducing aggression on psychiatry units by implementing intervention programs at the Foothills Medical Centre.

Dr. Bruce Ballon was recognized for the ensemble of his work which through innovative programs have helped psychiatric patients significantly and have paved the way for new psychiatric treatments. His work has not stopped with his own patients on this front, but his continual desire to share and increase the knowledge of his peers across the country was not overlooked.

Dr. Gary Chaimowitz from Hamilton, Ontario, was recognized for the significant improvements he has brought to patient care through a breadth of contributions to both forensic and general psychiatry. His accomplishments include the development of risk assessment tools now widely adopted and recognized as best practice, establishing the first same-day fitness to stand trial clinic in Hamilton’s detention centres and the development of position papers that use the evidence base to define best practice.

Dr. Ronald Fraser from Truro, Nova Scotia, has brought significant improvements to patient care by transforming the addictions and borderline personality disorder service at Halifax’s Capital District Health Authority. His accomplishments include the development of an integrated, evidence-based model of addictions and mental health care, and the successful implementation of a structured psychotherapy program to treat individuals with borderline personality disorders, a model he first developed at the McGill University Health Centre.

Dr. Theresa Isomura from New Westminister, British Columbia was awarded the CPA C.A. Roberts Award for Clinical Leadership for her transformation of the clinical psychiatric services and systems of care for the 1.7 million residents of the Fraser Region. Her accomplishments include the creation of a Regional Mental Health and Substance Use Program, the development of an award winning Regional Psychosis Treatment Optimization Program, and the implementation of collaborative care programs within the Region’s large community family practices

Dr. Ronald Remick received the award for his work as co-founder of the Urgent Psychiatric Assessment Program for the Mood Disorders Association of British Columbia. This innovative program offers follow-up care for all assessed patients using group medical visits (GMV) where six patients share hour-long follow-up medical appointments that include 10 minutes each for individual exchange. GMV is not group psychotherapy but instead allows patients to learn from each other and from the advice and psycho-education received by fellow group members.

In response to the crisis faced by primary care physicians in accessing consultations with psychiatrists, Dr. Keith Anderson championed the development of the Ottawa Academy of Medicine Psychiatry Referral Line. This is the equivalent of an out-patient service in a community hospital. It assists family physicians to access timely referrals to community-based psychiatrists for patients. In 2005, Dr. Anderson secured ongoing funding for the service from the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care.

Dr. Donald Addington received the award for impressive leadership in providing superior quality care to patients at risk of or suffering from schizophrenia. Dr. Addington is the driving force behind Calgary’s Early psychosis Treatment Service, which cares for patients with schizophrenia as well as those who are at high risk of developing this disease. The service is a combination of two innovative clinical programs, the First Episode Psychosis Service and PRIME.

Dr. Derek Puddester received this award for improving mental health services to physicians. Under his leadership as Director of the Faculty Wellness Program for the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa the centre has developed several collaborations to extend its reach and make its products available nationally and internationally. Dr. Puddester is a founding member of the Canadian Physician Health Network, the Centre for Physician Health and Well-being and the Academic Network of Physician Health Initiatives.

Dr. Hany Bissada established and developed the Ottawa Hospital’s Regional Centre for the Treatment of Eating Disorders. He established the Centre at a time when many eating disorders patients were being sent out of the country for treatment. Over the last 20 years he expanded the Centre to include an intensive day hospital program, a six-bed inpatient unit and an outpatient eating disorders program, integrating the three components so that patients can move seamlessly from one to the other based on their needs.

Dr. Trevor Hurwitz has improved the health care services patients with somatoform disorders and neurobehavioural conditions receive in British Columbia, the Yukon and the Northwest Territories by establishing and growing the British Columbia Provincial Neuropsychiatry Program. He has served as the Medical Director of the Neuropsychiatry Program since its inception in 2000.

Dr. Nady el-Guebaly developed the Calgary Health Region’s Addictions Program some 20 years ago at a time when many addictions patients were being sent out of province and to the U.S. for treatment. The Addictions Centre’s program of vertically integrated care has grown into a region-wide program. In addition, Dr. el-Guebaly has developed a population-based regional service model that integrates addictions with mental health and general health.

Dr. Pierre Gagné established the first Canadian forensic psychiatry service in a general hospital at Sherbrooke Hospital. He also introduced a specialized treatment for paraphilia based in anti-androgenous medication and CBT which is now the gold standard in Canada. He is also a founding member of the CPA Forensic Section and the Canadian Academy of Psychiatry and the Law.

Dr. Robert Swenson developed multidisciplinary urgent consultation clinics at the two Ottawa Hospital campuses, giving patients in the nation’s capital rapid access to outpatient mental health care. His innovative medical directive has given the hospital’s psychiatric nurses, social workers and psychologists an expanded scope of practice.

Dr. Richard Williams established British Columbia’s first Early Psychosis Program, a community-based early diagnosis and management service in Victoria for young patients with schizophrenia. He also developed the first BC group homes geared to youth with first-episode psychosis and forged links with community agencies to provide psycho-education and support to families of patients.

Dr. Bruce McCreary was recognized for his administrative innovations and for the superior quality of care he gave individuals with intellectual disabilities throughout his 40-year career. He was the driving force behind the establishment and maintenance of formal agreements with affiliated agencies in the field of developmental disabilities.

Dr. Keith Hildahl has upheld the principles of access, fairness and exemplary psychiatric service for children and their families for a decade by enhancing funding and staffing resources. This resulted in a large increase in the number of psychiatrists, a decrease in waiting lists and a substantial increase in overall service delivery.

Dr. Nicholas Kates was recognized for leadership and innovation in advancing collaborative mental health care and linking mental health care with primary care reforms.

Dr. Alistair Munro