Simon Davidson
Dr. Davidson is a child, adolescent and family psychiatrist. He is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Paediatrics at the University of Ottawa. He is Chief Strategic Planning Executive of the Ontario Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health. He is (a) a Past President of the Canadian Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry; (b) former Chair of the Child and Youth Advisory Committee for the Mental Health Commission of Canada; (c) former Chief of Staff at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO); (d) past Chair of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Ottawa; and (e) recently ended 22 years as Chief of Psychiatry at CHEO and was the Regional Chief of the Specialized Psychiatric and Mental Health Services for Child and Youth (CHEO/Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre) for the past 5 years. He is the Co-Founder of Youth Net/Réseau Ado (1993), an ongoing innovative service delivery model empowering and engaging youth in regard to mental health promotion, mental illness prevention and early intervention.
Synthesizing his understanding of system theory, analysis and change management, his interventional and academic interests include development and implementation of integrated models of mental health service delivery; models of youth and family engagement in therapy and service delivery planning; wellness; mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention; and transitioning youth into adult mental health services. As well, he is a strong advocate for enhanced mental health services for children, youth and young adults.