News & Events

Martin Antony is a champion of mental health.

The new chair of Ryerson’s Department of Psychology is the first psychologist to win a Champion of Mental Health honour from the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health (CAMIMH), a network of mental health organizations. Antony won in the research category and will receive the award at a ceremony in Ottawa on Oct. 5.

"Receiving this award was a wonderful surprise and is a great honour. I am also especially happy to see that contributions from psychology, and especially the value of evidence-based psychological approaches to dealing with mental illness, receive national recognition," Antony said.

Mental health champions are recognized for their outstanding contributions to advance the mental health agenda in Canada. A letter from CAMIMH acknowledging Antony’s win notes his many excellent books written for the public on managing anxiety. It said, “this award recognizes you and your work researching anxiety and your work in knowledge transitions. Through your work, you continue to shine a light on one of the most important issues facing Canadians today.”

Previous champions include Prime Minister Stephen Harper; Tony Clement, former minister of health and long-term care; Romeo Dallaire, Canadian senator and retired general; and Margaret Trudeau, a mental health advocate.

“We are very proud of Martin Antony for winning the prestigious national champion of mental health award. Marty is a builder and innovator in clinical training, and this award clearly recognizes him as an unstinting advocate for advancing services for the mental health community,” said Jean-Paul Boudreau, dean, Faculty of Arts. “Moreover, this award puts the accent on Ryerson's national rise and is a great source of pride for our students and scholars in the Faculty of Arts.”

Antony is director of the Anxiety Research and Treatment Lab at Ryerson, and a past-president of the Canadian Psychological Association. His research interests include anxiety disorders, perfectionism and cognitive behaviour therapy. Antony is currently conducting a study funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research on motivational interviewing for severe generalized anxiety disorder. He continues to study social anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and perfectionism.

The Champions of Mental Health Awards are presented annually to distinguished leaders in the mental health field. This year’s winners have spoken openly about their own experiences, advocated for much-needed research and supported programs encouraging diagnosis, treatment and care for those affected by mental illness across Canada.

The awards are part of CAMIMH’s Mental Illness Awareness Week, beginning Oct. 2, dedicated to raising awareness of the level of mental illness in Canada, reducing the stigma associated with mental health issues and promoting the positive effects of best practice in prevention, diagnosis, treatment and support.