CAMH CEO Dr. Catherine Zahn: How leaders can be strong by asking for help

Watch the full recorded broadcast above.

We recently sat down for a video podcast with Ivey professor Gerard Seijts and Dr. Catherine Zahn, President and CEO of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.

Dr. Zahn was appointed President and CEO of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in 2009.

She received her MD (honours) from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto (U of T), where she completed her residency training in neurology. She holds an MSc in health administration from U of T and has completed the Directors Education Program at the U of T Rotman School of Management.

Dr. Zahn is a Professor in the U of T Faculty of Medicine and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. She is a Fellow and former board member of the American Academy of Neurology, and has made numerous contributions to health care in Ontario through her leadership in hospital integration, technology assessment, chronic disease management, stroke care coordination and mental health care system improvement.

She is a champion for the integration of psychiatry and neuroscience, working to steer mental illness into the mainstream of medicine and promoting equitable access to health care resources for people with mental illness. She is leading CAMH through a major expansion and renewal phase and has attracted Canada’s leading philanthropic support for research in mental illness and addiction.

Recent honours include membership in the Order of Canada, Doctor of Laws degrees (honoris causa) from Western University (London, Ontario) and Ryerson University (Toronto, Ontario), and the Bryden Award for Outstanding Achievement (York University). She has also been awarded the U of T Faculty of Health Policy Management and Evaluation Prize for Innovation, and has been named Communicator of the Year by the International Association of Business Communicators.

Dr. Zahn serves on the Board of Governors of Upper Canada College and has been Chair of the Health Care/Health Sciences Division of the United Way Campaign Cabinet. She has been appointed to the International Scientific Advisory Committee for the University of Calgary School of Medicine.

In this broadcast

Gerard and Catherine discuss how leaders can think about resiliency and strength - from within. During a crisis, we are all tested in our professional and personal relationships. Enormous strides have been made in mental health awareness. Dr. Zahn suggests ways that students and leaders can internalize that knowledge in their day-to-day thinking.

"When it comes to leader specifically, the starting point is we're expected to be strong - and in fact, by and large we got to where we are because we are strong. That physical, mental, and emotional strength is one characteristic, but it may not be the most important one."

Additional links

Centre for Addiction and Mental Health - CAMH.ca
Ivey Business School Ian O. Ihnatowycz Institute for Leadership

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