Each year, the Douglas Institute receives approximately fifteen trainees in social services who come mainly –but not exclusively– from McGill University. Traineeships at the Douglas Institute have many advantages:

The development and mastery of concrete skills in the following areas (as indicated by students in their traineeship reports):

  • Individual therapy
  • Assessments
  • Writing reports and requests (public curatorship)
  • Interdisciplinary approach
  • Promoting patient rights
  • The teaching of daily life skills
  • Applying the recovery model

Participation in monthly multidisciplinary lectures on mental health topics:

  • Personality disorders
  • Mood disorders
  • Pharmacotherapy
  • Suicidal risk behaviour
  • Ethics and legal aspects

Testimonials of interns

"My supervisor provided much insight into conflict resolution strategies."
"The student conferences were especially appreciated and I enjoyed the variety of the topics examined."
"My supervisor was excellent at helping us recognize when things were getting to be too much (overexposure to particular clients) and helped set limits."
"My supervisor maintains a professional stance with everyone and for everything, so I learned from her example."

Information

Joan Simand, MSW
Director of Clinical Training–Social Work
Douglas Institute
6875 LaSalle Boulevard
Montreal, Quebec H4H 1R3

Tel.: 514-761-6131, ext. 2520
Fax: 514-888-4067
joan_dot_simand_At_douglas_dot_mcgill_dot_ca

Supervisors

Interns at the Douglas Institute are coached by experienced supervisors, who are involved in disciplines that correspond to student's interests:

Karine Bilodeau-Côté, SW
Recovery Program, Residential Follow-up Team		 Theodora Mikedis, SW
Mood, Anxiety and Impulsivity Disorders Program
Elizabeth Blackmore, SW Hélène Normand, SW, Child Psychiatry
Sheilagh Cahill, SW
Recovery Program, Residential Follow-up Team		 Marta Robertson, SW, Geriatric Psychiatry
Anton Chow, SW
Mood, Anxiety and Impulsivity Disorders Program		 Dorita Shemie, SW, Child Psychiatry
Eating Disorders Program, Out-Patient Clinic, Services for Adolescents
Eithne Coyle-Taylor, SW, Child Psychiatry
Parent-Infant Clinic		 Maureen Stafford, SW, Geriatric Psychiatry
Trudy Crook, SW
Recovery Program, Residential Follow-up Team		 Katherine Thibodeau, SW, Geriatric Psychiatry
Memory Clinic 
Danielle Gauthier, Human Relations Agent (HRA), Child Psychiatry Nelson Vachon, SW
Parvin Jinah, SW, Child Psychiatry
Severe Disruptive Disorders Program		 Elizabeth Wright, Human Relations Agent (HRA)
Recovery Program, Residential Follow-up Team
Jean Robert Lombardi, SW Miriam Yaffe, SW
Eating Disorders Program
Martine Mercier, SW, Child Psychiatry
Parent-Infant Clinic		  

Elizabeth Blackmore, SW

Evaluation-Liaison Module (MEL)
Tel.: 514-761-6131, ext. 2229
elizabeth_dot_blackmore_At_douglas_dot_mcgill_dot_ca

Clientele: Adults treated in the Emergency Department

Approaches: Care in crisis situations. Post-crisis follow-up of 1 to 6 sessions. Brief intervention approaches oriented towards motivational or even cognitive solutions. Any therapeutic approach used must adhere to the principle of "non-oppression." The MEL multidisciplinary team evaluates, diagnoses and proposes a treatment plan. After this meeting, 80% of patients return to the community with references for therapists and community organizations. Others are referred to different services at the Douglas Institute.

Danielle Gauthier, Human Relations Agent (HRA), Child Psychiatry

Severe Disruptive Disorders Program
Tel.: 514-761-6131, ext. 2126
danielle_dot_gauthier_At_douglas_dot_mcgill_dot_ca

Danielle Gauthier has a BA in social work and training in family therapy. She is very open to receiving students.

Clientele: Adolescents suffering from psychotic disorders and food disorders
Pre-adolescents suffering from behaviour disorders

Mandate: Short- and medium-term evaluation and treatment.

Approaches: Individual and family therapy. Work with the community and interdisciplinary work.

Trainee tasks:

  • Triage
  • Evaluation and progressive ownership of case management
  • Participating in interdisciplinary meetings
  • Work in the community
  • Possibility of joining other teams in child psychiatry

Requirements:

  • BA in social work (3rd year) or master's
  • Bilingual
  • Ability to organize time and adapt to the fast pace of an in-patient unit that receives emergency cases

Jean Robert Lombardi, SW

Assertive Community Treatment (ACT)
Tel.: 514 762-3026
jeanrobert_dot_lombardi_At_douglas_dot_mcgill_dot_ca

Clientele: Adult clientele with severe and persistent disorders that require intensive treatment in the community. Patients who do not respond to conventional methods and who have been hospitalized multiple times.

Approaches: Global and holistic approach. Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) therapeutic model. ACT is a social reintegration program for people with severe and persistent mental health problems. The goal is to avoid hospitalization and to maintain clients in the most suitable type of accommodation possible.

Trainee tasks:

  • Integration and initial orientation
  • Training for members of the multidisciplinary team (Human Relations Agent, nurses, psychologists)
  • Developing the treatment plan with personalized follow-up
  • Psychosocial assessment
  • Acts as primary therapist
Requirements:
  • BA (2nd and 3rd year) or master's
  • Have a car for travel in the community
  • Bilingual
  • Have an interest in developing a one-on-one therapeutic partnership
  • Creativity and flexibility
  • Ability to create relationships
  • Ability to express critical judgement
  • Ability to work on a team
  • Basic cognitive-behavioural knowledge

Hélène Normand, SW, Child Psychiatry

Attention Deficit, With or Without Hyperactivity, Disorders Clinic
Tel.: 514-761-6131, ext. 2068
helene_dot_normand_At_douglas_dot_mcgill_dot_ca

Hélène Normand has a master's degree in social work and has worked as a clinician in Child Psychiatry Program since 1981.

Clientele: Children 0 to 18 years and their families

Mandate: Assessment, hospitalization, out-patient treatment, consultation for 1st-line services.

Approaches: Psychodynamic, systemic, cognitive, pharmacological, DBT, family, individual, group, couple.

Trainee tasks:

  • Observation, pre-assessment and evaluation
  • Progressive ownership of case management
  • Participating in team meetings
  • Discussing care plans
  • Writing evaluation reports
  • Participating in the evaluations of other specialized teams in the program (autism, attention deficit disorder, research, early childhood)

Requirements:

  • BA in social work (2nd year) or master's
  • Rotation 3 days/week
  • French-speaking

Marta Robertson, SW, Geriatric Psychiatry

Psychosocial Rehabilitation Unit
Tel.: 514-761-6131, ext. 2152
marta_dot_robertson_At_douglas_dot_mcgill_dot_ca

Approaches: Therapeutic approach that aims to consolidate the skills of the elderly, to stimulate their ability and desire to act, and to help them regain a place in the community.

Trainee tasks:

  • Participating in team meetings
  • Individual and group therapy
  • Psychosocial assessment
  • Coordinating with the family and the community
  • Planning leaves and placements
Requirements:
  • BA in social work
  • English-speaking

Maureen Stafford, SW, Geriatric Psychiatry

Admitting and Medical Care Unit
Tel.: 514-761-6131, ext. 2154
maureen_dot_stafford_At_douglas_dot_mcgill_dot_ca

Clientele: People 65 years and older with severe psychiatric disorders

Approaches: Psychopharmacology and other methods from various disciplines that are applied using a biopsychosocial model. The purpose of the treatment is to effectively evaluate and stabilize the illness to reinforce the client's independence and improve his or her quality of life. The approach used is client-oriented.

Trainee tasks:
  • Daily recording of his or her observations
  • Participating in team meetings
  • Managing records for a number of clients
  • Psychosocial assessment
  • Individual and family therapy related to questions of loss, isolation, abuse, and physical and cognitive decline
  • Leaves and placements planning
  • Assessment of incapacity
  • Research and coordination with community resources
  • Writing reports
Requirements:
  • BA in social work (3rd year) or master's
  • Bilingual (the clientele is half French-speaking and half English-speaking)
  • Interest in working with the elderly
  • Strong ability to adapt, as situations change quickly and can involve death

Nelson Vachon, SW

Psychotic Disorders Program
Tel.: 514-761-6131, ext. 2904
nelson_dot_vachon_At_douglas_dot_mcgill_dot_ca
 Clientele: Adults suffering from psychotic disorders

Mandate: To teach autonomous life skills and problem solving in order to promote the reintegration into the community of those suffering from serious and persistent mental illnesses. Treatment and rehabilitation in a residential setting, i.e., the Levinschi House, which can admit 18 patients.

Trainee tasks:
  • Individual and group psychosocial follow-up for residents
  • Support for patients
  • Psychosocial assessment
  • Taking follow-up notes for therapy
  • Participating in clinical meetings
  • Preparing periods of supervision
  • Preparing forms
  • Working closely with a treatment coordinator and a multidisciplinary team (psychiatrist, nurse, psychologist, social worker, behaviour modification agent, rehabilitation assistant)
Requirements:
  • Regular or specialized program in social work
  • Bilingual