COVID-19 Update

Please plan to attend your appointment, procedure or surgery as scheduled unless you are otherwise notified. During the pandemic, the hospital may be required to prioritize emergency and urgent cases, which may result in a change to your appointment. If this is the case, you will be contacted by a member of your care team. As always, our goal is to continue serving our community by providing quality hospital services for as long as it is safe and appropriate to do so during the pandemic.

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What this program does...

A mood disorder refers to a very significant change in a person's emotional and physical state that occurs during an episode of illness marked by depression (sadness and loss of interest) or mania (increased energy), or both.

The components of the Mood Disorders program at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton (SJHH) include both inpatient and outpatient services as follows:

Inpatient Services

A 24-bed inpatient unit provides clinical care and treatment and prepares patients for their return to the community. The inpatient program optimizes a variety of proven treatment strategies with the aim of controlling the symptoms of a mood disorder, as well supporting recovery and rehabilitation. Along with pharmacotherapy, several group therapies are offered including stress management, cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) and activities of daily living (ADL). Extensive education and support is provided to patients and their families.

Outpatient & Outreach Services

We serve patients from the Southwest Region including Hamilton, Brant, Niagara, Haldimand, Halton. Our services also include outreach programs with our regional partners.

We offer both consultation and multi-disciplinary treatment to about 1,000 patients per year. We provide treatment that is uniquely tailored to meet the needs of each individual – we focus on all aspects of the disorder and work with individuals to achieve a full recovery.

How this program helps...

The objective of the Mood Disorders Program (MDP) is to offer the best possible treatments, proven by research, for individuals coping with mood disorders. We work closely with other mental health services at SJHH including the Anxiety Treatment and Research Centre and the Women's Health Concerns Clinic to best serve the individual needs of each patient.

We also aim to enhance the relationship between academic health care and clinical practice and advance improvements in the field by devoting significant efforts to research and education.

Your Care Team

Dr. Peter Bieling, Director

Dr. Maxine Lewis, Medical Head of Service

Your care team is also made up of a diverse group of mental health professionals, all with a unique and specific interest in the treatment and management of mood disorders.

As mood disorders is considered an illness, effective treatment requires an interdisciplinary team approach. Our dedicated team of health care professionals includes psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, nurses, occupational therapists, vocational counselors, recreational staff, and research staff.

Referral Process

Referrals to this program are processed by Connect, St. Joe’s centralized intake service for Mental Health and Addiction outpatient programs. Click here to access the Connect referral form.

Contact

Mood Disorders Program
St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton – West 5th Campus
100 West 5th St.
Hamilton, Ontario
905-522-1155 ext. 35419
Fax 905-381-5629

Please click here for directions to our West 5th Campus.

Research and Education

As a premier academic and research healthcare organization, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton is committed to making a difference in people’s lives and creating a lasting future for our community through integrated health services and internationally recognized programs. Our threefold mission is to provide dynamic research, revolutionary methods in health sciences education, and the highest standard of clinical care with an ethos of compassion.

The success of St. Joseph’s Hamilton Healthcare’s current clinical program is mirrored by our ongoing research activities that further our abilities to treat patients safely and effectively. The vision of St. Joseph’s has been firmly laid in innovation and cutting edge research. We see research into the causes and treatments of mood disorders as a central part of our program’s mission.

We continuously evaluate our programs for research purposes and to ensure the quality of the services we deliver are meeting patient needs. Various components of the program are evaluated in terms of satisfaction on a rotating basis.

The Mood Disorders Program also continues to reach out to community partners to offer educational opportunities in the form of workshops, courses, and rounds for both professionals and individuals affected by mood disorders. Our faculty members are active teachers in McMaster University’s Faculty of Health Sciences, teaching both medical students and residents.

For more information about studies that are currently recruiting participants, please click here.

Additional Resources

Please explore these useful links for more information about Mood Disorders:

National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression

Mood Disorders Association of Ontario

Organization for Bipolar Affective Disorders Society

Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments

National Institute of Mental Health- Depression

The National Mental Health Association's Depression Screening website

The resources list of the National Mental Health Association