Stan Kutcher

This article has an unclear citation style. The references used may be made clearer with a different or consistent style of citation and footnoting. (August 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Stan Kutcher is a Canadian Senator and Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at Dalhousie University. He was appointed to the Senate of Canada on December 12, 2018. Before his appointment, Dr. Kutcher was Department Head of Psychiatry at Dalhousie University, as well as Associate Dean of International Health, and where he most recently held the Sun Life Financial Chair in Adolescent Mental Health.[i] He is a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and a Distinguished Fellow of the Canadian Psychiatric Association.[i] He was awarded the Order of Nova Scotia in 2014.[ii]

Kutcher obtained his bachelor's degree in history and political science and his master's degree in history at McMaster University and his medical degree at McMaster University Medical School.[vi] His postgraduate training in psychiatry was at the University of Toronto and he completed a McLaughlin Fellowship at the Medical Research Council Brain Metabolism Unit in Edinburgh.[vii] He is internationally known for his clinical research, policy, and educational work in youth mental health.

Contributions to Youth Mental Health[]

Kutcher has made substantial contributions to Canadian and international research regarding the causes and treatment of mental illness in young people, particularly Bipolar Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder. [i]

He developed nationally and internationally leading innovative youth mental health research, education, treatment and community intervention programs at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto.[i]

As a professor of psychiatry at Dalhousie University, he helped establish the Brain Repair Centre and the Life Sciences Development Association.[vii] He was Director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre in Mental Health Policy and Training and participated in numerous mental health initiatives led by the Pan American Health Organization, including mental health training, policy development and post-disaster mental health interventions.[i] He most recently co-chaired the Minister of Health's Advisory Panel on Innovation in Mental Health and Addictions in Nova Scotia. [ii]

Much of his work has focused on improving mental health care in primary care in Canada and around the world.[iii] His work in Canada and globally has included numerous innovative mental health interventions such as the online mental health knowledge translation resource for educators, primary health care providers, youth and parents –TeenMentalHealth.org, as well as the program An Integrated Approach to Addressing the Issue of Youth Depression which combines youth focused radio programs with teacher and student mental health literacy and clinical mental health care capacity building in Malawi and Tanzania (see external links for videos).[iv] He led the development and deployment of novel mental health competency training programs in Canada, the Caribbean and Latin America and a number of his clinical tools (such as the Kutcher Adolescent Depression Scale) have been validated and translated into numerous languages and are used around the globe.[v][vi]

It was at Dalhousie University that he established the first International Health program in the Faculty of Medicine and the first Global Psychiatry training program in Canada.[vii]

Kutcher has created and led numerous school-based mental health literacy programs helping young people and educators better understand mental health and mental illness. For example, the Curriculum  Guide Resource, designed for application in grades 7-10,  is now researched and used across Canada and globally.  The Transitions post-secondary schooling resource is used in Canada and being researched and applied in many other countries.  He led the development of Teachmentalhealth, a pre-service/in-service teacher curriculum, in collaboration with the Faculties of Education at University of British Columbia, Western University and St. Francis Xavier University.

As a member of the Child and Youth Mental Health Committee of the Mental Health Commission of Canada, Kutcher led the development of a national child and adolescent mental health policy framework known as Evergreen.[viii] Kutcher's academic portfolio includes over 400 published papers and numerous books on topics ranging from psychopharmacology to suicide prevention, adolescent brain development and Global School Mental Health.[ix] He has taught and mentored hundreds of medical students as well as individuals pursuing Masters and PhD degrees, in and outside of Canada.[vi] He has served as a mental health advisor to organizations and governments in Canada and internationally.[vi]

Kutcher has made significant contributions to mental health related research in Canada and abroad. He has led and collaborated in scientific research in Canada, the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, the Caribbean, Latin America, Africa and China.[iv] He has served as a founding board member of the Institute of Neuroscience, Mental Health and Addictions of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, as well as on numerous other research boards and scientific advisory committees and consultancies in Canada and internationally.[vi]

Awards and Distinctions[]

Kutcher has received numerous awards and distinction (see table for selected). He has been a visiting scholar at 14 institutions in eight countries.

Controversies[]

Kutcher was one of the authors of the controversial Study 329 clinical trial which took place between 1994 to 1998 studying the efficacy of paroxetine, an SSRI anti-depressant, in treating 12 to 18-year-olds diagnosed with major depressive disorder.[xi] Study 329 became controversial when it was discovered that the article had been ghostwritten by a PR firm hired by SmithKline Beecham; had made inappropriate claims about the drug's efficacy; and had downplayed safety concerns.[xi][xii][xiii]

Personal life[]

Kutcher is a first generation Canadian born to Ukrainian refugees; his parents survived World War II and made a new life for themselves and their families in Canada.[i] He credits his early life, particularly growing up in a household where community service to others was the norm, as full of the experiences that helped mould his values of civic engagement, that now inform his activities as a Senator.[x] As a young person, he worked with youth living in financially challenged circumstances in Hamilton, Ontario and with incarcerated young people in Ontario's juvenile justice system and as a labourer-teacher with Frontier College.[i]

He has travelled extensively across Canada and globally.

He is married to Jan Sheppard Kutcher whose career has focused on helping women achieve success in trades and technical vocations and helping new immigrants settle into their professional lives in Canada.[i] They have three adult children and seven grandchildren. Kutcher alternates between living in Nova Scotia and fulfilling his parliamentary duties in Ottawa, Ontario.[i]

True to his Nova Scotian spirit, Kutcher enjoys hiking and trekking across Canada and internationally. His community involvement as a teacher of international medical graduates, a youth hockey and soccer coach, and his volunteer record with community organizations highlight Kutcher's belief in the value of community building and service.[x] He has a passion for visual arts and photography and was a board member of the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia prior to his appointment to the Senate.[i]

Electoral record[]

External links[]

• https://www.mhinnovation.net/organisations/teenmentalhealthorg
• http://teenmentalhealth.org/
• Healthy Minds, Resilient Communities Video
• Addressing Mental Health Over the Airwaves and in the Classroom Video
• The Challenges of Addressing Mental Health in Developing Countries Video
• https://www.teachmentalhealth.org/
• https://pdce.educ.ubc.ca/teach-mental-health-literacy/

Selected Books[]

• School Mental Health: Global Challenges and Opportunities. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, New York. (2015)
• Adolescent Brain Development. Colloquium Series on the Developing Brain. (2014)
• Suicide Risk Management: A Manual for Health Professionals. Second Edition. Wiley-Blackwell, UK. (2012)
• Practical Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Uk. (2002)
• Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology. W.B. Saunders. Philadelphia, USA. (1997)

Selected Recently Published Papers[]

• Kutcher, S., Perkins, K., Gilberds, H., Udedi, M., Ubuguyu, O. Njau, T., Chapota, R., Hashish, M. (2019). Creating Evidence-Based Youth Mental Health Policy in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Description of the Integrated Approach to Addressing the Issue of Youth Depression in Malawi and Tanzania. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 10. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00542
• Kutcher, S., Sasaki, T., & Wei, Y. (2018). Mental Health Literacy and Schools: Effectively applying a similar model to help build good youth mental health outcomes in Japan and Canada. Japan Journal of School Health, 60, 141–146.
• Lowe, G.A., Lipps, G.E., Gibson, R.C., Jules, M.A., & Kutcher, S. (2018). Validation of the Kutcher Adolescent Depression Scale in a Caribbean student sample. CMAJ Open 6(3), E248-E253. DOI: 10.9778/cmajo.20170035
• Ravindran, A.V., Herrera, A., da Silva, T.L., Henderson, J., Castrillo, M.E., & Kutcher, S. (2018). Evaluating the benefits of a youth mental health curriculum for students in Nicaragua: a parallel-group, controlled pilot investigation. Global Mental Health 5(4), 1-12. DOI: 10.1017/gmh.2017.27
• Kutcher, S., Wei, Y., Heisler, C., Gilberds, H., Udedi, M., Chapota, R., Brown, A., & Perkins, K. (accepted 2017). Evaluating Community Health Care Providers Capacity in the Identification, Diagnosis and Treatment of Adolescent Depression in Malawi. Arch Depress Anxiety 2(1): 026–00. DOI: 10.17352/2455-5460.000011
• Kutcher, S., Wei, Y., Gilberds, H., Brown, A., Ubuguyu, O., Njau, T., Sabuni, N., Magimba, A., & Perkins, K. (2017). Addressing Adolescent Depression in Tanzania: Positive primary care workforce outcomes using a training cascade model. Depression Research and Treatment, 2017, 1-9. DOI: 10.1155/2017/9109086
• Kutcher, S. (2017). Child and Youth Mental Health: Investing in the Front End. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry/La Revue canadienne de psychiatrie, 62(4). 232–234. DOI:10.1177/0706743717698670
• Kutcher, S., Wei, Y., & Behzadi, P. (2017). Suicide Prevention: Doing the right thing is not the same as doing something. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry/La Revue canadienne de psychiatrie, 62(4). 296–297. DOI:10.1177/0706743717695087
• Kutcher, S., Wei, Y., & Behzadi, P. (2016). School and Community Based Youth Suicide Prevention Interventions: Hot Idea, Hot Air or Sham? The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry/La Revue canadienne de psychiatrie. DOI: 10.1177/0706743716659245
• Kutcher, S., Wei, Y., Costa, S., Gusmão, R., Skokauskas, N., & Sourander, A. (2016). Enhancing Mental Health Literacy in Young People. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
• Kutcher, S., Wei, Y., & Coniglio, C. (2016). Mental Health Literacy: Past, Present and Future. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 61 (3), 154-158.
• Bruce, V.A. & Kutcher, S. (2016). Electronic Interventions for Depression in Adolescents: Hot Idea or Hot Air? South African Journal of Psychology, 46(3), 1-13.
• Kutcher, S., Wei, Y., & Morgan, C. (2015). Successful Application of a Canadian Mental Health Curriculum Resource by Usual Classroom Teachers in Significantly and Sustainably Improving Student Mental Health Literacy. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry/La Revue canadienne de psychiatrie, 60 (12) 580-586.
• Bennett, K., Rhodes, A.E., Duda, S., Cheung, A.H., Manassis, K., Links, P., Mushquash, C., Braunberger, P., Newton, A.S., Kutcher, S., Bridge, J.A., Santos, R.G., Manion, I.G., McLennan,
• J.D., Bagnell, A., Lipman, E., Rice, M., & Szatmari, P. (2015). A youth suicide prevention plan for Canada: A systematic review of reviews. The Canadian Journal Psychiatry, 60 (6), 245–257.
• Kutcher, S., Bagnell, A., & Wei, Y. (2015). Mental Health Literacy in Secondary Schools: A Canadian Approach. Child Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 24 (2), 233–244.
• Wei, Y., Kutcher, S., & LeBlanc, J. (2015) Hot Idea or Hot Air: A Systematic Review of Evidence for Two Widely Marketed Youth Suicide Prevention Programs and Recommendations for Implementation. Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 21 (1), 5-16.
• Zhou, H., Hoa, N., Du, Y., Liu, Y., Sui, Y., Wang, Y., Cui, Y., Zhong, Q., Jiao, X., Wei, Y., & Kutcher, S. (2015). Validity and reliability of the Chinese version of the Kutcher Adolescent Depression Scale. Chinese Mental Health Journal, 29 (6), 413–418.
• Carew, C., Kutcher, S., Wei, Y., & McLuckie, A. (2014) Using Digital and Social Media Metrics to Develop Mental Health Approaches for Youth. Adolescent Psychiatry, 4 (2), 116–121.
• McLuckie, A., Kutcher, S., Wei, Y., & Weaver, C. (2014). Sustained Improvements in Students’ and Teachers’ Mental Health Literacy with use of a Mental Health Curriculum in Canadian Schools. BMC Psychiatry, 14 (379).

Electoral record[]

References[]

[i] “The Honourable Stan Kutcher.” (Apr. 25, 2019). Making Waves. https://makingwaves.community/the-honourable-stan-kutcher/

[i] “The Naomi Rae Grant Award.” The Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Retrieved on January 10, 2019. https://www.cacap-acpea.org/explore/awards/

[i] “Identification, Diagnosis and Treatment of Adolescent Depression: A Package for First Contact Health Care Providers.” Pan American Health Organization. Retrieved on January 10, 2020. https://www.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7434:2007-identification-adolescent-depression-first-contact-health-care-providers&Itemid=40615&lang=en

[ii] “Government Responds to Mental Health Panel Recommendations.” https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20170320002

[iii] “About Dr. Stan Kutcher.” Mental Health Academy. Retrieved on January 10, 2020. https://www.mentalhealthacademy.ca/dr-stan-kutcher

[iv] “An Integrated Approach to Addressing the Issue of Youth Depression.” The Mental Health Innovation Network. Retrieved on January 10, 2020. https://www.mhinnovation.net/innovations/integrated-approach-addressing-issue-youth-depression

[v] Kutcher, S., Chehil, S., Cash, C., & Millar, J. (2005). A competencies-based mental health training model for health professionals in low and middle income countries. World Psychiatry Journal, 4, 177–180.

[vi] Kutcher, S., Chehil, S., & Roberts, T. (2005). Meeting post-disaster mental health needs through an integrated health care provider training program: A pilot project in Grenada post hurricane Ivan. Pan American Journal of Public Health, 18 (4-5), 338–345.

[vii] “Dr. Stanley P. Kutcher Curriculum Vitae.” Dalhousie University. Retrieved on January 10, 2020. https://cdn.dal.ca/content/dam/dalhousie/pdf/faculty/medicine/departments/department-sites/psychiatry/KutcherS-CV.pdf

[viii] “Evergreen: A Child and Youth Mental Health Framework for Canada.” Mental Health Commission of Canada. Retrieved on January 10, 2020. https://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/sites/default/files/C%252526Y_Evergreen_Framework_ENG_1.pdf

[ix] “Stan Kutcher”. Research Gate. Retrieved on January 10, 2020. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Stan_Kutcher

[i] “Biography: Senator Stan Kutcher.” Senate of Canada. Retrieved January 10, 2020. https://sencanada.ca/en/senators/kutcher-stan/ [x] Benjamin, Graeme. (2018). “N.S. adolescent mental-health expert Dr. Stan Kutcher appointed to Canadian Senate. Global News. www.globalnews.ca/news/4755050/dr-stan-kutcher-appointed-to-senate/ .

[xi] Doshi, Peter (16 September 2015). "No correction, no retraction, no apology, no comment: paroxetine trial reanalysis raises questions about institutional responsibility", BMJ, 351. doi:10.1136/bmj.h4629

[xii] McGoey, Linsey; Jackson, Emily (February 2009). "Seroxat and the suppression of clinical trial data: regulatory failure and the uses of legal ambiguity", Journal of Medical Ethics, 35(2), pp. 107–112. doi:10.1136/jme.2008.025361 PMID 19181884 JSTOR 27720271

[xiii] Godlee, Fiona (17 September 2015). "Study 329", BMJ, 351, 17 September 2015. doi:10.1136/bmj.h4973