Addiction psychiatry program's team members

Dr. Dara Charney graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard University in 1987. She obtained her MD from McGill University in 1991 and remained at McGill during her psychiatry residency and addiction psychiatry fellowship. She joined the Department of Psychiatry in 1997 as an assistant professor and was promoted to associate professor in 2005. She was the program director for McGill Psychiatry Postgraduate Education from 2002 to 2010. She held the positions of director of the McGill RUIS Addiction Program from 2008 to 2015, and associate chair (Education) of the McGill Department of Psychiatry from 2009 to 2015. On a national level, she has served as an examiner for the Royal College Examination Board in Psychiatry, and as the chair of COPE (Coordinators of Postgraduate Education). Dr. Charney's clinical and research work is conducted at the MUHC Addiction Psychiatry Program. She has initiated a number of clinical trials and prospective treatment outcome studies with substance-use-disorder clients, with a particular emphasis on "dual disorder" clients. She has received research funding from the MUHC Research Institute, FRSQ and CIHR, as well as salary awards from both the MUHC Research Institute and FRSQ. Since 2020, she has been the director of the MUHC Addiction Psychiatry Program. 

Dr. Ronald Fraser graduated from Dalhousie Medical School as valedictorian in 1995. Following his residency training in psychiatry at McGill University, he completed a fellowship in addictions psychiatry in 2001, studying heroin dependence and detoxification techniques. After a period working in rural Nova Scotia, he returned to McGill in 2003 to head the inpatient detoxification service of the Addiction Unit at the McGill University Health Centre. In 2004, he was mandated to create a treatment program for clients with severe and persistent borderline personality disorder. In 2008, he accepted a part-time position at Dalhousie University in Halifax, (NS) to help develop an addictions training program for their post-graduate psychiatry program. From 2011 to2018 he served as clinical academic leader of the Addiction Prevention and Treatment Services for the Capital District Health Authority in Nova Scotia. He has won numerous awards for both his undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, including the McGill Award for Educational Excellence. He is currently associate professor at McGill University where he chairs the Competency Committee for Post-Graduate Psychiatry. 

Dr. Jorge Palacios-Boix is a senior psychiatrist and former director of the Addiction Psychiatry Program. A medical doctor trained in psychiatry at McGill University and Dalhousie University, he specialized in addictions psychiatry, mood disorders, and in group psychotherapy. He then had further training at the Canadian Institute of Psychoanalysis. He has worked at the McGill University Health Centre for the past three decades. Currently, he is associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at McGill University, training and supervising psychoanalyst at the Canadian Institute of Psychoanalysis, and past-president, Canadian Psychoanalytic Society. 

Dr. Eugenia Zikos graduated from Université de Montréal’s Faculty of Medicine  in 1998. She completed her psychiatry residency at McGill and pursued her training with a one-year fellowship in addiction psychiatry focused on personality disorders in individuals with alcohol use disorders. Dr Zikos has been an active staff psychiatrist at the MUHC since 2004, with experience in many clinical areas of general adult psychiatry which interface with addictions, such as crisis clinic, emergency psychiatry and providing consultations and collaborative care to first line mental health services. Dr Zikos has been very involved in resident training and supervision, having been the training director for senior residents and fellows at the MUHC from 2012 to 2016, examiner for the RCPSC Examination Board in Psychiatry from 2008 to 2017 as well as being a current member of the newly implemented CBME Committee for Postgraduate Psychiatry. She supervises over thirty trainees annually including psychiatry residents, family medicine residents, emergency medicine residents and nurse practitioner students. She joined the team at the MUHC Addictions Unit in July 2022. 

Antonis Paraherakis received his BA in psychology from Concordia University in 1995, an MSc in psychiatry in 1997 and an MBA from McGill University in 2005. He joined the MUHC Addiction Psychiatry Program as a graduate student in 1995 and as a staff member in 1997. Since then, he is involved in clinical assessments, short-term individual counselling, brief interventions, relapse prevention and family/significant other counselling sessions. He also contributed to the development of the Adolescent Substance Abuse Service at the Montreal Children’s Hospital where he worked as a clinician from 1999 to 2003. Antonis has also worked as a clinical research coordinator for various projects in addiction psychiatry; some of his research interests include brief interventions, knowledge transfer and assimilation in substance abuse treatment, and treatment outcomes. 

Ashley Reynolds is a PhD candidate in clinical psychology at Concordia University and a registered student member of the Ordre des Psychologues du Québec. She completed her clinical training in 2020, during which she acquired extensive clinical experience working with people who presented with various difficulties including addictions, chronic pain, trauma, emotion dysregulation, self-harm, depression, anxiety, family conflict, couple problems, and sexual difficulties. Ashley understands that there is no one-size fits all approach to human experience and complex problems. Accordingly, she has adopted an integrative approach, where the therapy is tailored to each individual. Her primary approach draws from Third-Wave Cognitive Behavioural Therapies including Mindfulness, Dialectical Behavioural Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Compassion Focused Therapy. 

Elizabeth Jacob-Goldman completed her MSc in occupational therapy at McGill University in 2018. She has worked as an occupational therapist in psychiatry at the McGill University Health Centre’s Mood Disorders Program, Early Psychosis and Schizophrenia Spectrum Program (EPSSP), and Prevention and Early Intervention Program for Psychosis (PEPP). Additionally, she has worked at the MUHC’s Geriatric Day Hospital. Elizabeth has been working as an occupational therapist at the McGill University Health Centre Addictions Unit since August of 2022. Elizabeth maintains professional status with the Ordre des Ergothérapeutes du Québec.

Fizza Jafry completed her MSc in occupational therapy at McGill University in 2016 and maintains her professional status with the Ordre des Ergothérapeutes du Québec. She has worked as an occupational therapist in psychiatry at the Allan Memorial Institute’s Assertive Community Treatment team and in the community within the domain of sexual health at AIDS Community Care Montreal (ACCM). She also currently supervises students from McGill University. 

Ihor Grechkovsky completed BSc in Nursing at McGill University in 2014 and is a registered professional member with the Ordre des infirmières et infirmiers du Québec. He has worked as a nurse at the McGill University Health Centre since 2014. He was a nurse on the inpatient psychiatry ward, where he cared for patients admitted for detoxification as well as other mental health issues. Since 2016, he has been based in the outpatient psychiatry clinics, where he divides his time between working as a nurse clinician in the Psychosis Program and the Addiction Psychiatry Program. He is the first contact most patients have with MUHC addiction services, as he conducts the initial intake interview and encourages patients to embark on the recovery journey.

Dr. Jonathan Keeley has a wealth of experience, skill, and compassion. His work has included neuropsychological and psychological evaluations for the Department of Rehabilitation, State of California (1997 to 1999); staff and supervising psychologist at the MUHC Immune Deficiency Treatment Centre (2002 to 2012); staff and supervising psychologist at McGill University Mental Health (2012 to 2019); and staff and supervising psychologist at the MUHC Addiction Psychiatry Program (2019 to present). He is certified in psychoanalytic psychotherapy and a faculty member of The International Masterson Institute (San Francisco, Sydney). 

Masoud Mehzrad completed his BSc in occupational therapy at the Iran University of Medical Sciences in 1989, and an MSc in health care administration at the University of Montreal in 2009. He maintains his professional status with the Ordre des Ergothérapeutes du Québec and the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists. He has supervised students from McGill University (and other Canadian and international universities) for many years. He joined the Department of Psychiatry at the MGH in 1997, and worked predominantly on the inpatient psychiatry ward, where he developed the daily community meetings, the reinsertion program and worked with patients in both individual and group settings to help them achieve their maximum functional level. Masoud joined the Addiction Psychiatry Program in 2022.

Sarah Schell is a Ph.D. candidate in Clinical Psychology at McGill University. She completed her clinical training in 2022 and is currently a registered student member of the Ordre des Psychologues du Québec. Sarah has trained in various settings, working with individuals experiencing a range of difficulties, including addictions, trauma, anxiety, mood disturbances, obsessive-compulsive disorder, disordered eating, emotion dysregulation, and critical/chronic medical conditions. Sarah’s approach to therapy is integrative and includes elements of contemporary/third-wave cognitive behavioural therapies (e.g., acceptance and commitment therapy, dialectical behaviour therapy), emotion-focused therapy, and mentalization-based treatment.

Stephanie Tremblay completed her MSc in occupational therapy at McGill University in 2013. She has worked as an occupational therapist in psychiatry at the Allan Memorial Institute’s Day Hospital program and Assertive community Treatment interdisciplinary team. She has been working as an occupational therapist at the McGill University Health  Centre Addictions Unit since 2014. She also supervises occupational therapy students from McGill University. Stephanie maintains professional status with both the Ordre des Ergothérapeutes du Québec and the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists.  

Vicki Tagalakis obtained her master’s degree in counselling psychology from McGill University.  She is a licensed psychologist with the Ordre des psychologues du Québec and a certified cognitive therapist with the American Academy of Cognitive Therapy.  She is also certified with the Canadian Association of Cognitive Behavior Therapy.  She has a private practice in Montreal.  Currently, she works at the Allan Memorial Institute, CBT Unit, where she assesses and treats patients, lectures in the Seminar series and provides clinical CBT supervision to psychiatry residents and Ph.D. psychology students. She is involved in the research activities of the unit. She joined the Addictions Unit in 2018 where she assesses patients with substance use disorders  and co-morbidities, provides individual counselling and group therapy.