Departmental News
COMMUNICATIONS BULLETIN
Capturing weekly announcements about our members, their latest research findings, upcoming events and other departmental news.
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Annual & Biannual Meetings
GFT Meetings
GFT Meetings for all academic faculty members are held on a biannual basis, on the first Thursday of April and the first Thursday of October.
Advisory Meetings
Advisory Meetings for members of the Advisory Committee are held on a biannual basis, on the first Thursday of May and the first Thursday of November.
Events
The UBC Department of Psychiatry organizes multiple educational events, including grand rounds, lectures, and the annual departmental research day. Other educational activities relevant to psychiatry are available through the Faculty of Medicine, the Office of Faculty Development, and the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health.
Frames of Mind: A Monthly Mental Health Film Series
A current focus of the Department’s Public Education program is a mental health film series called “Frames of Mind“. Its goal is to promote community education of issues pertaining to mental health and illness. This ongoing series consists of a once-a-month evening screening of a feature length dramatic film or documentary followed by an informal presentation related to the mental health issue depicted in the film. Speakers and panelists range from psychiatrists and other mental health professionals to representatives from mental health community-based and nonprofit organizations, cinema experts and mental health consumers and their family members. A moderated discussion concludes each evening, with full audience participation encouraged.
Other aspects of the series – now in its twenty-first year – include its rotating co-sponsorship by relevant community advocacy organizations and its ongoing evaluation by those who attend. To date, topics ranging from depression to schizophrenia to autism have now been successfully presented to over 20,000 attendees. Please see the website.
Screenings are generally held at 7:00pm on the third Wednesday evening of each month at the Pacific Cinematheque Theatre, 1131 Howe Street.
UBC Mood Disorder Rounds
Held the second Wednesday of the month. The next speaker for the Mood Disorder Rounds, Dr. Christian Hendershot, will present “Applications of GLP-1 Receptor Agonists in Psychiatry: A Focus on Substance Use Disorders”.
| Date(s:) | Wednesday, May 20 | |
| Time: | 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm | |
| Format: | On Zoom |
Dr. Hendershot is Professor in the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences; Department of Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences; and Department of Psychology at the University of Southern California. He serves as Director of Clinical Research at the USC Institute for Addiction Science, and is a licensed clinical psychologist. Prior to joining USC he held a Canada Research Chair at the University of Toronto and CAMH. Dr. Hendershot’s research applies clinical, cognitive, neuroscience, and psychopharmacology methods to study the etiology and treatment of substance use disorders. His recent NIH-funded projects have included some of the earliest randomized controlled trials to evaluate GLP-1 receptor agonists as a novel treatment class for substance use disorders—a topic now gaining increasing traction in the fields of psychiatry and addiction medicine.
Contact: To attend the rounds and receive the Zoom link, email kaitlin.vandewater@ubc.ca.
BC Psychosis and UBC Schizophrenia Program Educational Rounds
Held on the first Friday of each month, this CPD-accredited series focuses on clinical issues and research findings relevant to clinicians and researchers working with individuals with psychosis. On June 5, speaker Dr. Scott R. Beach, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, presents “Catatonia: Assessment and Management“.
| Date(s): | Friday, June 5, 2026, with Dr. Scott R. Beach | ||
| Time: | 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm | ||
| Format: | On Zoom |
To attend the rounds, register online. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Interventional Brain Medicine Program Educational Rounds
The Interventional Brain Medicine Program Educational Rounds are self-approved group learning activities (Section 1) as defined by the Maintenance of Certification Program of The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. The first session features Daniel M. Blumberger, Chief, General Adult Psychiatry and Health Systems Division and Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, who will present on “Clinical Outcomes Comparing MST and ECT in Patients with Depression“.
| Date(s): | Tuesday, June 30, 2026 | ||
| Time: | 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm | ||
| Format: | On Zoom |
To attend the rounds, register online. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Annual Department Research Day
This meeting highlights research achievements of the UBC community both in basic and clinical neuroscience. Emphasis is placed on findings with direct clinical relevance.
THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2026
The Annual Departmental Research Day will take place June 18 at the Life Sciences Centre
Grand Rounds
Grand Rounds and other continuing professional development (CPD) events occur regularly at all the teaching hospitals.