Douglas hospital



The Douglas Hospital is a Canadian psychiatric hospital located in the borough of Verdun in the city of Montreal, Quebec.

It is also a teaching hospital affiliated with McGill University.

History
Founded in 1881 by Alfred Perry and a group of Protestant clergy and Montréal citizens, the Douglas Institute was named the “Protestant Hospital for the Insane” and was intended to be the most progressive mental health institution in Quebec.

Since its debut, the Hospital has had to continually depend on the community’s support to secure its development. Because it was not administered by a religious organization, as was the case for most French hospitals, it had to depend even more on public generosity and on volunteers.

In 2006, on its 125th anniversary, the Douglas was designated a University Institute in Mental Health — a special designation awarded to health organizations that are recognized throughout Quebec as having expertise in a specific field, and a multifaceted mission: to provide care, conduct research, teach, and evaluate technology.

Mission
The Douglas provides specialized and superspecialized mental health care services for the very young to the elderly; contributes to destigmatizing mental illness, in keeping with prevention and recovery principles; contributes to the advancement of knowledge and best practices through state-of-the-art research and teaching.

Mandate
As a University Institute in Mental Health, the Douglas has a triple mandate to care, discover and teach within a knowledge exchange environment.

Awareness campaign
With the support of the Douglas Foundation, the Institute launches in 2007 a major awareness campaign on mental health. The campaign involves placing billboards around Montreal and inviting people to consult micro-sites on particular themes such as burn-out, depression and eating disorders. The campaign will also serve to encourage giving to increase funding for mental health research.
 * www.leburnoutsesoigne.com
 * www.lanorexiesesoigne.com

Expertises
Aging and Alzheimer - Disease, Anxiety Disorders, Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorders (ADHD), Bipolar Disorders, Circadian Rhythms, Depression, Eating Disorders (bulimia and anorexia), First Psychotic Episode, Obsessive Compulsive, Disorders, Personality Disorders, Phobias, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders (PTSD), Schizophrenia, Stress, Suicide


 * Information on mental health