ICFP’s 50th anniversary is a highlight of Psychiatry’s JGH timeline

Dr. Nathan Epstein, Chief of Psychiatry from 1959 to 1967.

1959: With Dr. Epstein’s appointment as Chief, the treatment area is expanded to include a 16-bed ward, plus clinics for child psychiatry, geriatrics, family welfare and drug use. This places the JGH among a growing number of hospitals that treat patients in psychiatric wards, instead of committing them to mental institutions. Dr. Epstein also pioneers the development of community psychiatric programs by enlisting various schools, plus institutions such as the YM‑YWHA, the Baron de Hirsch Institute, the Jewish Vocational Service, and the Maimonides Hospital and Home for the Aged (as it was then called). In addition, the department earns affiliation with McGill University.

1964-66: Major expansion of clinical activities, including a range of services for in‑patients and day patients, as well as additional teaching and research.

1967: Dr. Kravitz becomes Chief. As well, the Child Psychiatry Program, under its founding Director, Dr. Ronald Feldman, opens with a seven-bed in‑patient unit, a day hospital for 15 children and an out-patient clinic.

June 1969: Launch of the Institute of Community and Family Psychiatry (ICFP) in a newly constructed building on Côte-Sainte-Catherine Road at Légaré Street.

In 1995, Steven Cummings, President of the JGH Board of Directors cuts a ribbon to open newly expanded and renovated psychiatric facilities. He is joined by (from left) Dr. Khalil Geagea, psychiatrist; Executive Director Henri Elbaz; an unidentified member of staff; and Dr. Philip Beck, Chief of the Department of Psychiatry.

1969: In the main JGH building, treatment is delivered in a 33-bed in-patient unit, using Dr. Kravitz’s approach of seeing patients as whole people, beyond their symptoms and illnesses. The Child Psychiatry In-Patient Unit closes, and the Day Hospital expands to accommodate 40 to 50 children who are 2 to 12 years old, as well as a larger out-patient clinic for children.

1971: An addition to adult in-patient care, a Day Centre evolves at the ICFP to provide services to acutely disturbed out-patients for whom hospital beds are unavailable.

1973: Opening of the Department’s Sexual Dysfunction Treatment Centre, Adult External Services, and the Youth Service.

1977: AMI-Quebec, a non-profit organization that helps families manage the effects of mental illness, begins its multi-decade relationship with the ICFP by holding its first meeting in the ICFP auditorium.

1985: The Continuing Care Clinic opens to treat schizophrenia.

1988: Dr. Philip Beck is appointed Chief.

The JGH Centre for Child Development and Mental Health in the Ruth and Saul Kaplan Pavilion.

1991: The Couple and Family Therapy Training Program, under the direction of Dr. Feldman, is granted accreditation as a post-graduate training program by the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.

1995: In-patient psychiatry facilities are renovated and expanded.

1999: Dr. Michael Bond becomes Chief.

2010: Opening of the Ruth and Saul Kaplan Pavilion on Côte Sainte-Catherine Road, unifying all child psychiatry services under the umbrella of the JGH Centre for Child Development and Mental Health.

Exercise and meeting room in the newly renovated space of the Adult Psychiatry Day Treatment Program on the sixth floor of Pavilion B.

2013: The first fellowship in family therapy is created at the McGill Department of Psychiatry, under the direction of Dr. Sharon Bond, Dr. Feldman and Dr. Jaswant Guzder.

2014: Dr. Karl Looper is appointed Chief.

2018: Launch of the Resource and Information Centre in the ICFP’s lobby.

2019: As the ICFP celebrates its 50^th anniversary, the Adult Psychiatry Day Treatment Program is launched in a newly renovated space in Pavilion B.