LECTURE: Raine Lecture: Direct to brain treatments for psychiatric illness: the new wave or a new fad?

After graduating from The University of Western Australia, Professor Anthony Levitt undertook his specialty training in Psychiatry at the University of Toronto, which he completed in 1989. From 1992-2002 he was Head of the Mood Disorders Programs, initially at the Centre for Addictions and Mental Health in Toronto, followed by McMaster University in Hamilton, and subsequently, the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto. In 2002 Professor Levitt was appointed Chief of the Department of Psychiatry at Sunnybrook and at the Women's College Hospital, and in 2014 became Chief of the Brain Sciences Program at Sunnybrook. He has published over 130 peer-reviewed manuscripts; served for 4 years as Chair of the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (formerly MRC) Randomized Controlled Trials Committee, and has participated in large-scale, multi-site clinical trials for the past 2 decades. Professor Levitt's clinical practice and research is focused on the treatment of patients with resistant mood and anxiety disorders. He also has expertise in the facilitation of patient and family access to care in complex mental health and addiction systems. As a result of his expertise in this area of clinical medicine, Professor Levitt was recently appointed Medical Director of the newly created Family Navigation Project - a non-profit program designed to provide expert navigation of the mental health and addictions service system for youth aged 13-26 with serious mental health and/or addiction problems.