Annual Report 2025 - 2026: Continuing Professional and Practice Development (CPPD) Program

Submitted by Dr. Raj Rasasingham, Director of Continuing Professional and Practice Development

It is my pleasure to present the Continuing Professional and Practice Development (CPPD) Annual Report for 2025–2026 on behalf of our dedicated CPPD team.

This has been another exceptional year for the CPPD portfolio, marked by continued growth, innovation, and collaboration. Together, we successfully delivered internationally recognized conferences, expanded high-quality educational programming, launched a highly successful Suicide Prevention Workshop focused on knowledge translation, strengthened our city-wide educational offerings through the Psychiatry Grand Rounds, and continued to oversee one of the largest accredited CPD portfolios in Canada. We also advanced national conversations on psychiatry workforce challenges through contributions to a pan-Canadian survey and collaborative solutions, while expanding our leadership at the university level through participation on the University of Toronto Central CPD Committee and appointment to the Central CPD Accreditation Committee in preparation for the University's next accreditation cycle. These accomplishments reflect the collective commitment of our faculty, staff, and collaborators to advancing excellence in continuing professional development and psychiatric education. None of these achievements would have been possible without the dedication of an exceptional team and many valued collaborators, and I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to everyone who contributed to another successful year.

I would like to begin by expressing my sincere gratitude to Anastasia Paramonova, who joined our portfolio this year as our new CPPD Coordinator. Anastasia has embraced this role with exceptional enthusiasm, professionalism, and dedication. Her outstanding organizational skills, collaborative approach, and commitment to excellence have already made a significant impact on our programs and initiatives.

My sincere thanks also go to Ben Gane and his team for their continued leadership in promoting our conferences and educational activities, helping us expand both our reach and visibility.

I am equally grateful to the outstanding audiovisual team at Discovery Commons for their exceptional technical expertise and unwavering support throughout the year. Their professionalism has been instrumental in ensuring the seamless delivery of our conferences, workshops, and educational events.

I would also like to recognize the members of the CPPD Committee for their ongoing dedication to advancing continuing professional development across the Department. In particular, I would like to acknowledge Dr. Anupam Thakur and Dr. Marlene Taube for their continued leadership and outstanding work on the CPPD Awards Committee. Their efforts have strengthened our recognition of educational excellence within the Department.

A special note of appreciation goes to Dr. Certina Ho, our Scholarship Director, whose mentorship, scholarly leadership, and unwavering support continue to foster a vibrant community of educational scholarship and innovation.

Our accreditation team continues to support one of the largest CPD portfolios in Canada, overseeing nearly 900 accredited educational activities across the Department of Psychiatry. This remarkable achievement reflects the dedication of our faculty and administrative teams in delivering high-quality continuing professional development.

I was also honoured to join the University of Toronto Central CPD Accreditation Committee, where I will contribute to supporting the University's upcoming accreditation cycle. This appointment provides an important opportunity to strengthen CPD quality and accreditation processes across the institution while ensuring that our Department continues to contribute to educational excellence at the university level.

Building on this momentum, our flagship conferences continue to flourish. The Psychopharmacology Conference and the Future of Psychotherapy Conference once again attracted outstanding national and international participation and received exceptional evaluations from attendees. These conferences continue to showcase the Department of Psychiatry as a leader in psychiatric continuing education while generating important support for future educational initiatives.

The continued success of these conferences is made possible through the dedication of exceptional interdisciplinary planning committees whose expertise, creativity, and commitment ensure the highest standards of academic excellence and participant engagement. I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to Dr. Mahavir Agarwal and Dr. Diana Klejnak for their thoughtful leadership and contributions to the Psychopharmacology Conference Planning Committee. I am equally grateful to Dr. Daisy Singla, Dr. David Kreindler, Dr. Stephanie Cassin, Dr. Hussein Hirjee, Dr. Paula Ravitz, and Dr. Shelley McMain for their exceptional work on the Future of Psychotherapy Planning Committee. Their leadership has been instrumental in maintaining the continued success and national reputation of these educational programs.

I would also like to express my sincere appreciation to Dr. Javed Alloo and Dr. Jonathan Bertram for their valued collaboration as our Family Medicine experts over the past several years. Their perspectives have enriched our conference programming, strengthened interdisciplinary learning, and ensured our educational offerings remain relevant across specialties. Their ongoing partnership has been greatly appreciated.

The Future of Psychotherapy Conference continues to evolve as a forum for exploring innovations in psychotherapy, implementation science, digital technologies, scalable models of care, and emerging approaches to knowledge translation. It remains an important platform for international collaboration and the dissemination of cutting-edge evidence that informs clinical practice.

This year also marked the successful delivery of our Suicide Prevention Workshop in collaboration with Dr. Sakina Rizvi. The workshop was exceptionally well received and exemplified effective knowledge translation by translating evidence into practical clinical application. We look forward to expanding this important initiative in the years ahead.

The City-Wide Psychiatry Grand Rounds continue to be a cornerstone of departmental education. Attendance and engagement remain strong, with programming that addresses timely clinical, educational, and system-level issues while fostering collaboration across our academic community.

I would also like to acknowledge Dr. Michael Mak, Dr. Jovana Martinovic, and Dr. Anupam Thakur for their outstanding contributions as moderators across many of our major educational programs. Their thoughtful leadership and facilitation have been instrumental in maintaining the high quality and professionalism of our educational events.

Scholarship and mentorship remain defining strengths of the CPPD portfolio. Through collaborative scholarship, educational innovation, and faculty mentorship, we continue to support academic advancement while contributing to the growing body of research in continuing professional development and medical education.

Over the past year, I have also continued to focus on building capacity in both continuing professional development and the psychiatry profession more broadly. This has included advancing national conversations around physician education, leadership development, and professional sustainability. In collaboration with colleagues across the country, we have undertaken a national survey examining psychiatry workforce shortages and are developing evidence-informed recommendations to strengthen recruitment, retention, and the long-term sustainability of psychiatric care across Canada.

I would also like to thank Anny Song, Manager of the Department of Psychiatry, for her invaluable support throughout the year. I remain deeply grateful to the Senior Advisory Committee (SAC), Program Directors, PICs, and the Department's Senior Leadership Team for their continued guidance, encouragement, and partnership.

Finally, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Simone Vigod and Dr. Sanjeev Sockalingam for their outstanding leadership, thoughtful guidance, and steadfast support in advancing the CPPD portfolio. Their vision, mentorship, and commitment to educational excellence have been invaluable in shaping the continued growth and strategic direction of this portfolio.

Looking Ahead

As we look toward the coming year, our focus will be on expanding the scope and impact of the CPPD portfolio. We will continue to broaden our CPD platform through innovative accredited educational initiatives while building institutional capacity by supporting and mentoring physicians interested in CPD leadership, educational scholarship, accreditation, and program development. Developing the next generation of CPD leaders remains a strategic priority, and we will continue to foster mentorship opportunities that strengthen educational leadership across the Department.

At the national level, we will build upon our psychiatry workforce survey by working collaboratively with partners across Canada to develop practical, evidence-informed solutions to support recruitment, retention, and long-term workforce sustainability. We also remain committed to advancing knowledge translation through innovative educational programming, with continued emphasis on suicide prevention, quality improvement, and emerging models of psychiatric care.

With an exceptional team, strong institutional partnerships, and a shared commitment to educational excellence, the CPPD portfolio is well positioned to continue advancing continuing professional development, educational scholarship, innovation, and leadership across the Department of Psychiatry, the University of Toronto, and the broader psychiatric community. I remain deeply grateful to our faculty, staff, collaborators, and learners, whose dedication and commitment continue to make this work possible.