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 held the Sun Life Financial Chair in Adolescent Mental Health. He is a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and a Distinguished Fellow of the Canadian Psychiatric Association. He was awarded the

Order of Nova Scotia The Order of Nova Scotia (french: Ordre de la Nouvelle-Écosse) is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Instituted on August 2, 2001, when Lieutenant Governor Myra Freeman granted Royal Assent to the Order of Nova ...

in 2014.

Early life and education

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. 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. 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. Kutcher obtained his bachelor's degree in history and political science and his master's degree in history at

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Ga ...

and his medical degree at McMaster University Medical School. iHis postgraduate training in psychiatry was at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

and he completed a McLaughlin Fellowship at the Medical Research Council Brain Metabolism Unit in Edinburgh. iiHe is internationally known for his clinical research, policy, and educational work in youth mental health. He is married to Jan Sheppard Kutcher. They have three adult children and seven grandchildren. He was a board member of the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia.

Academic career

Kutcher has made contributions to Canadian and international research regarding the causes and treatment of mental illness in young people, particularly

Bipolar Disorder Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...

and Major Depressive Disorder. He developed youth mental health research, education, treatment and community intervention programs at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto. As a professor of psychiatry at Dalhousie University, he helped establish the Brain Repair Centre and the Life Sciences Development Association. He was Director of the

World Health Organization Collaborating Centre World Health Organization collaborating centres are institutions that work with the World Health Organization (WHO) in disciplines such as occupational health, food safety, and communicable disease prevention. There are over 700 such centres across ...

in Mental Health Policy and Training and participated in numerous mental health initiatives led by the

Pan American Health Organization The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is an international public health agency working to improve the health and living standards of the people of the Americas. It is part of the United Nations system, serving as the Regional Office for ...

, including mental health training, policy development and post-disaster mental health interventions. He co-chaired the Minister of Health's Advisory Panel on Innovation in Mental Health and Addictions in Nova Scotia. Much of his work has focused on improving mental health care in primary care in Canada and around the world. iiHis work in Canada and globally has included 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 Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeas ...

and

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

. v�He led the development and deployment of novel mental health competency training programs in Canada, the Caribbean and

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

. Some of his clinical tools, such as the

Kutcher Adolescent Depression Scale The Kutcher Adolescent Depression Scale (KADS) is a psychological self-rating scale developed by Dalhousie University professor of psychiatry Stan Kutcher, to assess the level of depression in adolescents. __TOC__ Background Because its prim ...

have been validated and translated into numerous languages. 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. ii 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 The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top thre ...

, Western University and

St. Francis Xavier University St. Francis Xavier University is a public undergraduate liberal arts university located in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a member of the Maple League, a group of primarily undergraduate universities in Eastern Canada. History St. Franc ...

. As a member of the Child and Youth Mental Health Committee of the

Mental Health Commission of Canada The Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) is a national non-profit organization created by the Canadian government in 2007 in response to a senate committee tasked to study mental health, mental illness, and addiction. The committee appointed ...

, Kutcher led the development of a national child and adolescent mental health policy framework known as ''Evergreen''. iiiKutcher's academic portfolio includes over 400 published papers and numerous books on topics ranging from

psychopharmacology Psychopharmacology (from Greek grc, ψῡχή, psȳkhē, breath, life, soul, label=none; grc, φάρμακον, pharmakon, drug, label=none; and grc, -λογία, -logia, label=none) is the scientific study of the effects drugs have on mo ...

to suicide prevention, adolescent brain development and Global School Mental Health. xHe has taught and mentored hundreds of medical students as well as individuals pursuing Masters and PhD degrees, in and outside of Canada. iHe has served as a mental health advisor to organizations and governments in Canada and internationally. i He has led and collaborated in scientific research in Canada, the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, the Caribbean, Latin America, Africa and China. vHe has served as a founding board member of the Institute of Neuroscience, Mental Health and Addictions of the

Canadian Institutes of Health Research The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR; french: Instituts de recherche en santé du Canada; IRSC) is a federal agency responsible for funding health and medical research in Canada. Comprising 13 institutes, it is the successor to the M ...

, as well as on numerous other research boards and scientific advisory committees and consultancies in Canada and internationally. i 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. iStudy 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. ixii] iii

Political career

During the

2011 Canadian federal election The 2011 Canadian federal election was held on May 2, 2011, to elect members to the House of Commons of Canada of the 41st Canadian Parliament. The writs of election for the 2011 election were issued by Governor General David Johnston on Marc ...

, Stan Kutcher was a candidate for the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

in the Halifax electoral district . Stan Kutcher was appointed to the Senate of Canada on December 12, 2018.

Awards and Distinctions

Electoral record

Notes and references

References to be reformatted

“The Honourable Stan Kutcher.” (Apr. 25, 2019). Making Waves. https://makingwaves.community/the-honourable-stan-kutcher/ “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/ “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 i“Government Responds to Mental Health Panel Recommendations.” https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20170320002 ii“About Dr. Stan Kutcher.” Mental Health Academy. Retrieved on January 10, 2020. https://www.mentalhealthacademy.ca/dr-stan-kutcher v“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 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. iKutcher, 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. ii“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 iii“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 x“Stan Kutcher”. Research Gate. Retrieved on January 10, 2020. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Stan_Kutcher “Biography: Senator Stan Kutcher.” Senate of Canada. Retrieved January 10, 2020. https://sencanada.ca/en/senators/kutcher-stan/ 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/ . iDoshi, 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 iiMcGoey, 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 JSTOR 27720271 iiiGodlee, Fiona (17 September 2015). "Study 329", BMJ, 351, 17 September 2015. doi:10.1136/bmj.h4973 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kutcher, Stanley Living people Canadian psychiatrists Canadian senators from Nova Scotia 21st-century Canadian politicians Independent Canadian senators Nova Scotia candidates for Member of Parliament Candidates in the 2011 Canadian federal election Liberal Party of Canada candidates for the Canadian House of Commons 1951 births