Treating people with mental illness
Interdisciplinary teams at the Douglas Institute provide clinical services to all age groups in both French and English. The different services provided correspond to different areas of expertise in mental health, such as:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia
- Schizophrenia and other forms of psychosis
- Eating disorders
- Bipolar disorders
- Behaviour disorders
- Attention deficit disorders in children
Specialized clinical services in mental health
The Douglas Institute offers a broad range of specialized and superspecialized, internal (inpatient), or external (outpatient) services, which are offered through different programs:
- Child Psychiatry Program
- Geriatric Psychiatry Program
- Mood, Anxiety and Impulsivity Disorders Program
- Psychotic Disorders Program
- Intellectual Handicap with Psychiatric Comorbidity Program
- Eating Disorders Program
- Psychosocial Recovery and Specialized Housing Program
As a general rule, patients need to have a doctor’s referral to access these services. You must consult the specific information for each program to find out how to access the service.
Care provided through the clinical programs at the Douglas Institute is covered by the Quebec health insurance plan.
Access to mental health services in Quebec
To improve access to mental health services, the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux (MSSS) created an action plan in 2005 to reorganize mental health services in Quebec.
Before coming to the Douglas Institute, people suffering from a mental health problem must first go to their general practicioner or to the "accueil psychosocial" of the CLSC of their CSSS.
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Individuals who go to the 1st line general practitioner may be treated by this general practitioner or be referred to the CSSS' CLSC.
- Individuals who are referred to –or go directly to– their CSSS' CLSCwill be assessed to determine the level of care they need: from general 1st-line services to the ones provided by the mental health "guichet d'accès".
The professionnals of the “guichet d’accès” will then determine if the person needs to receive more specialized (2nd or 3rd line) services such as the Douglas Institute's.
In case of an emergency
Indivuals may go to the emergency room of the nearest hospital, or to the Douglas Institute emergency or in a community crisis centre.
f you have any question, please consult the information page and Frequently Asked Questions page on the reform.
Integrating research into care
Clinical programs are supported by research projects that constantly assess and improve clinical practice and that help advance knowledge of mental illness.
Teaching and knowledge transfer
The Douglas Institute is a teaching organization that offers various training activities and opportunities for learning lien enseignement within its clinical programs.
Program teams provide training to health care staff and community partners. They participate in knowledge transfer activities through presentations, lectures and symposia. They also supervise trainees from various disciplines and work with residents in psychiatry.
Contact information
Douglas Institute
Reed Pavilion
6875 LaSalle Boulevard
Montreal, (Quebec) H4H 1R3
