Ottawa, June 14, 2024 – Today, Dr. Nick Kates received the Canadian Psychiatric Association (CPA) Special Recognition Award for his life-long contributions to advancing collaborative mental health care in Canada. Fittingly, the award was presented at the Canadian Collaborative Mental Health Care Conference, a conference he helped found 25 years ago as co-chair of the joint CPA-College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) Collaborative Shared Mental Health Care Working Group.

“Dr. Kates is a trailblazer and a pioneer. He has advanced collaborative mental health care for almost three decades, building bridges between psychiatry, family medicine and the many disciplines who are part of the mental health care team,” said Alison Freeland, CPA board chair. “He is richly deserving of the CPA Special Recognition Award.”

Under Dr. Kates’ steady leadership as co-chair since 1998, the working group initially fostered and supported collaboration between psychiatrists and family doctors—a concept now expanded to include the multiple disciplines who are part of the mental health care team. Team members work together, sharing resources and expertise to provide patients with timely, well-coordinated and evidence-based care to ensure patients receive the right care in the most convenient location.

As lead author on a series of papers, Dr. Kates helped make the case for collaborative mental health care as a means to improve patient outcomes and provided practical guidance to educators, clinicians, administrators, policymakers, and decision-makers on how to support and grow this model of care.

As chair of the Canadian Collaborative Mental Health Initiative (CCMHI) from 2003 to 2007, Dr. Kates led a consortium of 12 national organizations who worked together to support the delivery of mental health services in primary care through interdisciplinary collaboration. This initiative established collaborative mental health care as an integral component of provincial and regional planning. It helped found local, provincial and national networks of practitioners, many of which continue to this day.

Dr. Kates’ expertise is widely sought provincially, nationally and internationally. He has consulted to over 100 Canadian and international governments, organizations and programs—including in Holland, Denmark, the U.S., the U.K., Israel, Ethiopia, New Zealand and Australia.

At the local level, during his 12 years as director of the Hamilton Family Health Team’s mental health and nutrition program, Dr. Kates integrated mental health counsellors and dietitians into 170 family physician offices. As the psychiatry residency program director at McMaster University, and later as the longest serving psychiatry department chair, he inspired countless residents to follow in his footsteps and practice in, and advocate for, collaborative mental health care.

Dr. Nadiya Sunderji, president and CEO of the Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care and a psychiatrist member of the joint CPA-CFPC working group, counts Dr. Kates as her mentor. “His influence extends beyond mentorship. He actively promotes change across multiple levels, through education, research and advocacy related to health policy and funding, tirelessly advancing inclusive practices and evidence-based approaches.”

For media inquiries, please contact:

Hélène Côté, Manager Policy and Public Affairs
Canadian Psychiatric Association
hcote@cpa-apc.org