Narcology and mental health became new branches of medicine at the end of the 20th century. Thus, Toronto authorities built a hospital, which provided the treatment and prevention of psychological diseases as well as rehabilitation courses. Soon, it merged with several other institutions and became the largest medical centre in the whole of Canada. Learn more at itoronto.info.

History of the first narcology and mental health facilities in Toronto

Treatment of psychological diseases started in the suburbs of Toronto. The first asylum for the mentally ill was opened in 1850. There, patients were undergoing rehabilitation courses under the doctor’s supervision. The high walls of the rectangular building separated them from society and were their temporary place of residence. Soon, that institution was called the Toronto Mental Help Centre.

Later, scientists started to study psychology and narcology, as new fields of medicine, in more detail. Therefore, there was a need to create an institute of psychiatry. It was opened by the Prime Minister of Ontario, John Robertson, in Toronto in 1966. The institute was named after Charles Kirk Clarke, a prominent psychologist in Canada at that time. Not only medical research was conducted there but also medical and educational activities. It was the main psychiatric teaching hospital of the University of Toronto. There, students had an opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge in practice and conduct medical experiments.

Also, in the second half of the 20th century, doctors began to study the causes of alcohol addiction. The employees of the Addiction Research Foundation were creating medical courses and medicines to cope with this disease. The related medical institution was opened in 1955. Its founder and director was David Archibald, who received an order from government officials to determine the extent of alcoholism among the Ontario population. At first, it was an outpatient clinic, but as it continued developing, new offices and premises for new patients were appearing too.

As more and more people needed psychological help, the Donwood Institute was opened in the city as well. There, specialists treated patients and studied the causes of alcohol addiction. Thus, a network of medical institutions specialising in mental health and addiction was created in Toronto.

Creation and development of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

In 1988, those 4 large medical institutions (the Mental Help Centre, the Institute of Psychiatry, the Donwood Institute and the Addiction Research Foundation) were merged. The aim was to unite the best doctors, continue to conduct research and provide better services in the field of psychological health. All of the institutions have become a single one, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. It was built at the beginning of the XXI century and continues to serve the residents of Toronto.

Canadian entrepreneurs invested $10 million in conducting new medical research and treatment of psychological diseases, supporting the effective work of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. Then an emergency department was also opened in the centre. In 2016, the facility acquired a room for the physical and psychological rehabilitation of patients and an outpatient clinic for young people. The final stage of the centre’s development was the construction of additional premises for crisis and intensive therapy as well as a psychiatric emergency department.