Lasting Scars: A Trauma-Focused Approach to Depression
Date: November 14 at 1:30 to 3:00 p.m.
Venue: Institute of Community and Family Psychiatry Lecture Hall, Jewish General Hospital, 4333 chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine
Understanding the Lasting Impact of Childhood Maltreatment on Depression: Social, Psychological, and Neurobiological Scars and the Case for Trauma-Informed Care
The 24th edition of the Utting Lecture Series, hosted by the Jewish General Hospital, will take place on November 14. This year’s conference will spotlight the profound and enduring effects of childhood maltreatment on depression, emphasizing the importance of trauma-informed care. Renowned speakers Dr. Kate Harkness and Alex Constant will share their insights on the origin of depression among young people, examining the diverse causes – whether social, cultural, psychological or neurological.
Organised by the JGH’s Department of Psychiatry, this academic event provides a valuable opportunity for researchers to engage with the latest findings in youth mental health and to explore innovative approaches within the field.
Special honours and awards:
Tim Utting, Donor at the Douglas Utting Foundation will present the Utting Medal 2024 to Dr. Kate Harkness, Professor at the Department of Psychology and Psychiatry and Chair of the Department of Psychology at Queen’s University. The prestigious award recognizes Dr. Harkness’s contributions to understanding and addressing the psychological effects of trauma. Additionally, the conference will announce this year’s Douglas Utting Fellowship recipient, awarded to Alex Constant, a postdoctoral researcher at the school of Engineering and Informatics at the University of Sussex, United Kingdom.
Distinguished guests:
Attendees will also have the chance to meet an esteemed panel of experts, including:
- Dr. Karl Looper, Head of the Department of Psychiatry at the Jewish General Hospital, and
- Dr. Vincent Laliberté, Principal Researcher at the Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research and Psychiatrist at the Department of Psychiatry of the Jewish General Hospital.
Dre Kate Harkness
Dr. Kate Harkness is Professor and Head of the Department of Psychology, and Senior Associate Researcher at Providence Care Hospital in the Department of Psychiatry, at Queen’s University. Dr. Harkness is the Past-President of the Society for Research in Psychopathology, serves on the Executive Board of the Canadian Biomarker Integration Network for Depression, and is a Fellow of the Canadian Psychological Association and the Association for Psychological Science. She completed her PhD in Clinical Psychology at the University of Oregon and completed a residency and post-doctoral fellowship at the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic in Pittsburgh.
Dr. Harkness’ research program is focused on understanding the biological, psychological, and social-contextual mechanisms that determine how stress and childhood trauma cause and maintain depression. Her and her students’ work has been funded by all three of the tri-councils and has resulted in over 100 peer-reviewed scientific articles. Dr. Harkness is also a registered clinical psychologist and Director of the Mood Research Laboratory and Assessment Service. In this role she provides consultation and supervision in the assessment of depression and anxiety in youth.
Axel Constant
Axel is a postdoctoral research fellow at the School of Engineering and Informatics of the University of Sussex, and was an Utting Fellow at the Lady Davis Institute of the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal. His research track record focuses on Bayesian approaches to human cognition as applied to the study of Psychiatry, Evolutionary Cognitive Anthropology, and Evolutionary Biology. His training includes studies in the Law, Philosophy, Cognitive Science, and in the Philosophy of Biomedicine. His current research centers on precision medicine and psychiatry, with a focus on how computational methods may be used to develop markers of mental disorders.
