Professor Donald Addington, MBBS(London), MRCPsych(UK), FRCP(Can.)
Chairman of the Board
Canadian Psychiatric Association (2009-2012)
A professor of psychiatry at the University of Calgary (FOOTHILLS HOSP) and a respected researcher, Dr. Donald Addington will be inaugurated as the Canadian Psychiatric Association’s (CPA) Chairman of the Board on August 29, 2009.He brings valuable leadership experience to the role. He recently completed an 11-year tenure as Head and Professor of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Calgary and Head of the Regional Clinical Department of Psychiatry at Calgary Health Region. He joins CPA rejuvenated from a one-year sabbatical at Yale’s department of psychiatry where he taught as a Visiting Professor and concentrated on his research.
Dr. Addington’s research interests range from depression in schizophrenia to early intervention to the psychopharmacological treatment of depression in schizophrenia, including the ethics of placebo use in such psychopharmacological research. Other areas of focus include health services research and the transfer of research knowledge into medical practice.
His achievements in clinical research are impressive. His research on depression in schizophrenia led to the development of the Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia. This scale has been translated into 30 languages and is extensively used in clinical trials and other research areas. More recently he has focused on health services research, particularly on how to apply research to early psychosis intervention.
Dr. Addington’s engagement in organized psychiatry dates back to the 1980s when he became involved with the Alberta Psychiatric Association, serving as President in 1990-1991. He got his start in the national arena as a member of the CPA Scientific and Research Council including six years as its chair during which time he became part of a broader cooperative movement to form what is now the Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addictions. As a member of the CPA Special Committee on Clinical Practice Guidelines he helped elaborate a process to develop and disseminate clinical practice guidelines (CPG) and chaired the CPA committee which developed the first of these CPG guidelines. The CPG for the Treatment of Schizophrenia was initially published in 1997 and revised under his direction in 2005.
As Chair of the Association of Chairs of Departments of Psychiatry of Canada, he was implicated in the CPA Working Group on a National Strategy for Postgraduate Education in Psychiatry which led to the recognition of three psychiatry subspecialties in the areas of child and adolescent, geriatric and forensic psychiatry. He was also a member of the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry Editorial Board from 1998 to 2007 and continues as a reviewer for the publication.
Dr. Addington’s place in Canadian psychiatry has been recognized by a variety of awards. Among others, he received the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health Leadership Award in 2000, the College of Neuropsychopharmacology Medal for 2004, the Foundation of the Canadian Psychiatric Association Leadership Award in 2005 and the Schizophrenia Society of Canada Michael Smith Award for Schizophrenia in 2006.
In 1972 Dr. Addington earned his medical degree from London University in London, England and after further training at this institution, received his UK psychiatry degree in 1976. He moved to Canada in 1981 and after two years of training in Calgary, Alberta was licensed as a Canadian psychiatrist in 1982.
