What all physicians need to know about innovations in mental health care

Patients wait for care; quality is often uneven. Can we do better?In this episode, Dr. David Gratzer speaks with Dr. David Goldbloom, Senior Medical Advisor at CAMH and a professor at the University of Toronto. Dr. Goldbloom (a returning guest) has just written We Can Do Better: Urgent Innovations to Improve Mental Health Access and Care. They speak about the book – and Dr. Goldbloom’s optimism.Dr. Goldbloom discusses real-world examples of innovation: a publicly-funded psychotherapy program in the UK that treats 600,000 people a year; a Nova Scotia program that helps families of children with ADHD and has inspired similar work in Vietnam and Finland; and a major Canadian study that has changed the way we think about homelessness. We also discuss the implications for policy makers – and for clinicians. And, yes, we do talk about The Simpsons.With Dr. Goldbloom’s book We Can Do Better: Urgent Innovations to Improve Mental Health Access and Care as the basis of the conversation we learn:Clients, families, and physicians alike all agree that the current system in Canada just isn’t good enough.Programs exist in places such as the UK and Australia that are already doing things better.Canada has created its own internationally successful programs but has had difficulties expanding across our own country.Traditionally the number of years it takes for clinical and innovation to be translated into clinical practice has been exceedingly slow.The pandemic has sparked rapid change they hope will continue. Follow us on Twitter THANKS FOR LISTENING!Quick Takes is a production of the Center for Addiction and Mental Health. You can find links to the relevant content mentioned in the show and accessible transcripts of all the episodes we produce online at CAMH.ca and on the CAMH Global Learning Academy.Follow CAMH Education on X (formerly known as Twitter) @camhEduFollow and subscribe to Reading of the Week where, every week, Dr. David Gratzer reviews research papers from the world of psychiatry.