Simon Davidson
Dr. Simon Davidson is a psychiatrist with a special interest in working with children, youth, emerging adults and their families. He obtained his medical degree at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa and completed his residency in Psychiatry at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario.
Dr. Davidson is currently the Chief Strategic Planning Executive of the Ontario Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health, the Senior Advisor on Mental Health Policy and System Improvement at CHEO and Partners for Mental Health as well as a Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Paediatrics, Clinical Professor in the School of Psychology, University of Ottawa. He is the Co-Founder of Youth Net/Réseau Ado, a more than 20 year old innovative service delivery model empowering youth in regard to mental health promotion, mental illness prevention and early intervention.
He is a Past President of the Canadian Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (CACAP), was Chief of Staff at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario and past Chair of the Child and Youth Advisory Committee of the Mental Health Commission of Canada.
Integrating his understanding of system theory, analysis and change management, Dr. Davidson’s interventional and academic interests include:- development and implementation of integrated models of mental health service delivery; models of youth engagement in therapy and service delivery planning; mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention; transitioning youth and emerging adults into adult mental health services.