MD, FRCPC
About Us
Sunnybrook’s Department of Psychiatry is a part of the Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program. Our compassionate and highly skilled experts in mental health continuously strive to create new and unique approaches to patient care, innovative research and educational excellence.
We are home to Canada’s most comprehensive mood and anxiety disorders program, and we serve as the patient care, research and educational hub for centres across the Greater Toronto Area.
If you need help in an emergency, please call 9-1-1 or visit your local emergency department or call 9-8-8 for the National Suicide Crisis Helpline.
For non-urgent cases, please see your family doctor or health care clinic.
National crisis lines are available 24/7 for support:
- Suicide Crisis Helpline: 9-8-8
- Crisis Services Canada: 1-833-456-4566
- Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868
Toronto-area distress and crisis centres available 24/7 for support:
- Toronto Distress Centre: 416-408-4357
- Distress & Crisis Ontario
- Gerstein Centre: 416-929-5200
- Good2Talk Ontario: 1-866-925-5454
- Toronto Rape Crisis Centre: 416-597-8808
National resources:
Sunny.Set.Go provides educational resources for inpatients with depression at Sunnybrook, as well as their supportive family members and friends. It is available to enhance the experience of patients and their support system and help improve mental health and well-being, as inpatient care is provided in the Department of Psychiatry.
At Sunnybrook’s Department of Psychiatry, we are dedicated to excellence, and we strive to deliver compassionate and respectful care to individuals and their families.
About your care
- We are a part of your overall health care support.
- The clinics are structured to provide either one-time consultations or short-term follow up as determined by your Sunnybrook healthcare provider.
- Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre is a teaching hospital so your care team may include student learners.
- We use MyChart™, a website where you can create a profile and manage your personal health information. We encourage you to be involved in your care and treatment decisions.
What you can do
- Arrive 15 minutes before your scheduled appointment. Bring all important information about your care to the first appointment with your doctor (for example, your health card, your medications, past reports, etc.)
- You are the expert of your own needs. Please come with a list of your priorities.
- Involving your family in your treatment and recovery can be helpful.
Our clinics and services
Location and Contact
Bayview Campus
Our Team
Our department brings together compassionate and specialized expertise in understanding and treating severe mental disorders, starting in adolescence and up to old age. The mental health care team varies depending on the level and area of care required, but may include psychiatrists, nurses, social workers, navigators, research staff, and administration.
Our Physicians
Education and Training
Sunnybrook’s Department of Psychiatry is fully affiliated with the University of Toronto and is proud to offer medical students a rich six-week core rotation learning experience. The curriculum includes a wide variety of clinical and didactic experiences geared to enhancing the competency and knowledge of medical students in their clerkship year.
Learn more about education and training opportunities with the University of Toronto:
Patient and Family Advisors in the Department of Psychiatry
Help improve the patient and family experience. Patient & Family Advisors (PFAs) will help the Department of Psychiatry promote a culture of patient and family-centered care by working collaboratively with mental health providers at Sunnybrook. This will help to ensure that lived experiences are heard and integrated into quality improvements, community outreach and promoting department services.
Who can become a Patient & Family Advisor?
This role is open to all Sunnybrook Department of Psychiatry patients and their family members.
Why do we need Patient & Family Advisors?
Patient & Family Advisors (PFAs) will help the Department of Psychiatry promote a culture of patient and family-centered care by working collaboratively with mental health providers at Sunnybrook. This will help to ensure that lived experiences are heard and integrated into quality improvements, community outreach and promoting department services.
What is the role of a Patient & Family Advisor?
Patient & Family Advisors will have a consultative and advisory role, providing ideas and recommendations to help us ensure that the patient’s and family’s point of view are integrated into service and quality improvement projects throughout the Sunnybrook psychiatry program.
PFAs will be invited to become part of all aspects of planning, service delivery and policy development decisions that affect patients and families. Most importantly, the PFA will provide the healthcare and management teams in the Department of Psychiatry with a unique perspective that will help to further improve the patient and family experience.
Although this Advisory group will be an opportunity to add a valuable perspective to help improve our work, it will not be the place for individuals to advocate solely for personal grievances about clinic/hospital experiences – we are looking for collective, constructive feedback, and the willingness to work together with us to find solutions and to listen to the perspectives and experiences of others. However, all grievances are welcome to be given to the Office of Patient Experience or to the Chief of Psychiatry and they will be presented in an anonymous format to our Patient & Family Advisory Council where necessary.
Our vision is to gather a large group of Advisors, to be able to help with different projects and initiatives (for example, signage, helping to arrange a community meeting, sitting on our Quality Improvement Committee)
As a Patient & Family Advisor, you could also apply to join the formal Patient & Family Advisory Council (PFAC) through a further application process. The PFAC will meet 10 times per year, will include 13 patients/family members/caregivers, and 5 staff members – all with as wide representation among disease sites and care units as possible. This council is currently selected, but we will keep a list of those who are interested in sitting on the council as natural turnover occurs.
Patient & Family Advisory Council (PFAC)
The Sunnybrook Department of Psychiatry Patient & Family Advisory Council aims to ensure that the voice of patients and their families is at the heart of the provision of world class care, exceptional service and compassion in our Sunnybrook Department of Psychiatry.
PFAC’s objective is to engage patients and families in partnership with Sunnybrook to discuss lived experiences in order to develop recommendations to improve mental health services and support to patients and their families.
Become a Patient & Family Advisor and consider joining the Patient & Family Advisory Council if you have…
- The desire to participate and collaborate to bring meaningful change to mental health care by contributing to improving and promoting department initiatives acoss the whole department of psychiatry.
- The ability to work together with other families, patients and healthcare providers, to make recommendations and improvements, to be presented to our Medical Staffing Committee and other decision making committees.
Next steps:
- Express your interest in becoming a Patient & Family Advisor through your Sunnybrook Psychiatrist or the Department of Psychiatry.
- You will be provided with a short application form.
- Once reviewed for eligibility, we will call you for a brief phone interview.
- Please let us know if you would be interested in applying for the department’s Patient & Family Advisory Council.
Contact:
Hema Bhatt: hema.bhatt@sunnybrook.ca
Related Resources
MyChart: Your Patient Portal
Stay connected to your health information, including your clinical files, appointment scheduling, and record sharing
