Quick Takes: A podcast by physicians, for physicians

“You don't actually need billions of dollars to prevent suicide. You just need really good coordination.” Suicide prevention has come a long way since the SAD PERSONS acronym many of us learned in medical school. As research continues to evolve, how can we keep up—and thoughtfully incorporate newer considerations like media influence, pesticide availability, and even artificial intelligence? On th...

“Over time, my perspective on psychiatry has changed in the direction of greater skepticism." What happens to your perspective after five decades in psychiatry—treating tens of thousands of patients, leading major institutions, and authoring dozens of books and papers? On this episode of Quick Takes , I find out as I sit down with Dr. Joel Paris, former editor-in-chief of the Canadian Journal of P...

“Good systems just work. They don't need to be navigated.” On this episode of Quick Takes , I spoke with Dr. Paul Kurdyak about how mental health care differs from other areas of the health system—especially when it comes to access, quality of care, and the need for a more structured and accountable approach. Key takeaways from this episode: our mental health care system lacks coherence and access...

“The beating heart of the wellness industry is pseudoscience.” With a few clicks of the mouse, our patients can read what we read – including the latest journals. But they also can access a world of half-truths, misleading claims, and falsehoods. On this episode of  Quick Takes , I speak with Dr. Jonathan Stea, a University of Calgary psychologist and a bestselling author, about his research on th...

“Imagine a world where you have all the effects of antipsychotics, but none of the side effects.” Celebrities use them; politicians discuss them; our patients ask about them. Are semaglutide and sister drugs game changers for those with mental health problems who struggle with obesity? To explore the opportunities and challenges of these new medications, on this episode of Quick Takes , I speak wi...

“It’s one of the largest psychotherapy trials in the world.” When we hear “innovations in mental healthcare,” we tend to think about apps or wearables. In today’s episode of Quick Takes – part of our series on innovation – I speak with Daisy Singla, a senior scientist at CAMH and our first womenmind ™ scientist. Singla talks about her recent study that expanded access to psychotherapy for perinata...

“Does depression care include the downward dog?” Mindfulness, acupuncture, yoga. These were all once considered alternative treatments – favoured by some patients but lacking in evidence. Times have changed. Mindfulness, for instance, is a psychotherapy mentioned in the depression guidelines. What about yoga? In today’s Quick Takes episode, I speak with Dr. Vanika Chawla, a psychiatrist, a registe...

“We all need help sometimes.” As doctors, we often shy away from discussing our health, especially our mental health — even with our own physicians. That’s unfortunate as doctors have a higher suicide rate than the general population, yet fears of vulnerability, judgment, and stigma keep many of us silent. In this episode of Quick Takes, Dr. Gratzer sat down with Dr. Joss Reimer, president of the...

“It took a pandemic to get us to realise that we could do so much online.” When it comes to medical education, much has changed over the years—including its name. What was once known as Continuing Medical Education (CME) is now referred to as Continuing Professional Development (CPD). But the changes go far beyond a rebranding. After all, the sheer volume of journal articles available today is sta...

“What is a mentor? Four words. One big question.” What do you look for in a mentor? What qualities should you consider? And, more importantly, what exactly is a mentor? To help answer these questions and discuss the role mentors play in the careers of physicians Dr. David Gratzer is joined by Dr. Suzanne Koven, a Harvard-affiliated physician and Writer-in-Residence at Massachusetts General, whose...

Welcome to another episode of Quick Takes Essentials , our summer series.  This essential episode first aired in 2023 and is on the perpetually hot-topic of burnout.  Could the old concept of a doctor’s lounge be a new way of helping to address burnout? With 182 studies yielding 142 different definitions of burnout, is burnout, in fact, depression? Here I speak with Dr. Srijan Sen (of the Universi...

Welcome to another episode of Quick Takes Essentials , our summer series.  On this episode, released this past February, I sat down with Dr. Vicky Stergiopoulos (of the University of Toronto) and former Physician-in-Chief of CAMH to discuss why, across North America, there are more people who are chronically homeless than ever before.  Dr.  Stergiopoulos is an internationally recognized expert on...

Welcome back to Quick Takes Essentials our summer series. ChatGPT is the most downloaded app in history. What are the implications for mental health services? Will AI change our work? In this episode, released in 2023, I speak with Dr. John Torous (of Harvard University) who serves as the director of the Digital Psychiatry Division at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Please enjoy. THANKS FOR...

Welcome to another episode of Quick Takes Essentials , our summer series.  This essential episode was released just this past May and is on the newly released CANMAT Depression Guidelines update.  If you haven't had time to review the update, well, you can start by listening to this episode, which outlines all the major changes in that update in a quick, concise format.  The update draws on eight...

Welcome back to Quick Takes Essentials our summer series where we look back on recent clinical updates and big issues in psychiatry, which we focused on previously.  This is the sleep episode. For answers to questions on sleep disorders and the new medications available for physicians to prescribe, have a listen to this episode released in April of 2023 where I interviewed psychiatrist and sleep m...

Welcome to Quick Takes Essentials our summer series that introduces (or re-introduces) you to episodes from our archives that have focused on important clinical updates and recent big issues in psychiatry. Take a moment or two this summer to learn something new while enjoying your morning coffee, taking a hike, or relaxing by the campfire. This selection first aired back in May of 2022 and in it I...

“As far as medical treatments go, ECT is the safest medical procedure in all of medicine.” Will the stigma around ECT fade? Will ECT simply grow less relevant in the age of ketamine and MST? What’s the future of neuromodulation? Join Dr. David Gratzer as he speaks to Dr. Daniel Blumberger, scientific director of the Temerty Centre for Therapeutic Brain Intervention and professor at the University...

“They really are the most widely used guidelines in the world.” Much has changed over the past eight years. In 2016, singer Olivia Rodrigo was just starting high school; quarterback Tom Brady seemed ageless; none of us were talking about pandemics. Recently the Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments (CANMAT) released its first major depression update in eight years. How has depression ma...

“It's visible. It's in our streetcars and buses, our subways our streets, and it's hard to ignore.” Homelessness seems to be more prevalent now than ever before. But why? And is there a solution? Joining Dr. David Gratzer to explore the challenges and changes in the chronically homeless population over the years is Dr. Vicky Stergiopoulos, a former Physician-in-Chief of CAMH and an internationally...

Textbooks, highlighters, and classrooms? The world of medical education is changing. Today, we have AI, sim, and e-learning. To talk about MedEd, Dr. David Gratzer sat down with returning guest Dr. Ivan Silver, former vice president of education at CAMH and vice dean of the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Medicine. During their conversation we learn: MedEd evolved from being under-valued to hav...

“We want to really be cautious because these are complex pieces of software “ Should we be using an AI-based tool like ChatGPT in practice? Is it ready? Are we ? In this episode of Quick Takes , Dr. Gratzer speaks with returning guest Dr. John Torous about the impact tools like this could have on mental health care, both now and in the future. During their conversation we learn: ChatGPT is just on...

On this episode of Quick Take s, Dr. Gratzer explores the increasing interest in coercive interventions across various jurisdictions. Joining him is journalist Anna Mehler Paperny who shares her personal experiences with involuntary hospitalization, highlighting the complex balance between patient rights and intervention. During this candid conversation we learn: the possible reasons for the resur...

“I’ll never forget when it happened.” Up to 80% of psychiatrists experience a suicide loss in their careers and a recent survey found that the majority of them felt caught off guard by the emotional impact it had on their lives. On this episode of Quick Takes , Dr. David Gratzer and his guest, Dr. Juveria Zaheer discuss the impact on psychiatrists of losing a patient to suicide. Throughout this th...

“Burnout has become a loose term that means different things to different people.” Is burnout, in fact, depression? In this episode of Quick Takes , Dr. David Gratzer enjoys a lively conversation with Dr. Srijan Sen , Professor of Depression and Neurosciences at the University of Michigan, who argues that it is. They also discuss the confusion about its definition (182 studies had 142 different de...

“The lines between sleep, health and mental health in general are blurred.” Sleep is an important topic. It comes up on a regular basis when we meet with our patients. But what are the best treatments to prescribe? Is medication the way to go? What are our options? On this episode of Quick Takes , Dr. David Gratzer hosts CAMH psychiatrist and sleep medicine specialist, Dr. Michael Mak . They discu...