Philip Gerretsen
Philip Gerretsen, M.S.W., M.D., Ph.D., FRCPC is a clinician-scientist with the Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), and the Centre for Mental Health at the University Health Network (UHN). He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto. Dr. Gerretsen has a Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada subspecialty designation as a Geriatric Psychiatrist. He has completed his PhD in the areas of neuroscience/neuroimaging/psychiatry through the Institute of Medical Science at the University of Toronto. He has also completed clinical fellowships in Psychosomatic Medicine through UHN and Geriatric Psychiatry through CAMH at the University of Toronto.
Research Interests
Impaired illness awareness is a well-recognized, but understudied phenomenon that contributes to minimization and denial of the need for treatment with devastating clinical and social consequences. Dr. Gerretsen’s research has focused on the identification of the brain correlates of impaired illness awareness in schizophrenia and other neuropsychiatric and medical conditions that can feature impaired illness awareness, including neurodegenerative disorders, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and addictions, primarily through structural and functional neuroimaging. The results have provided prospective biomarkers and regional brain targets for intervention psychotherapeutically and with noninvasive neurostimulation, such as transcranial direct current, magnetic, and vestibular stimulation. The relevance of this work lies in the potential to alter individuals’ attitude toward their illness and treatment. This would lead ultimately to an improvement in individuals’ capacity for illness recognition and engagement in treatment, which would, in turn, have a significant impact on disease management.
Links to measures of illness awareness for different conditions can be found at:
www.vagusonline.com (psychosis and schizophrenia spectrum disorders)
www.illnessawarenessscales.com (substance use and metabolic disorders, including obesity, diabetes, and hypertension)
Another aspect of Dr. Gerretsen’s clinical-research is the establishment of a clinically and cost-effective integrated complex care clinic for the treatment of patients with persistent physical symptoms, namely somatic symptom and related disorders (SSRD), including Functional Neurological Disorder (FND). SSRD/FND pose a significant burden on individuals and healthcare systems. However, treatment options for SSRD/FND remain limited, with only modest evidence supporting psychotherapy and physiotherapy.
Related to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Gerretsen had also conducted a large extensive international survey of Canadian and US participants at different timepoints over the course of the pandemic to determine the individual behavioral determinants of vaccine hesitancy and social distancing measure adherence. The results were used by the government to direct interventions to promote vaccine acceptance.
The database can be accessed at:
Google scholars: Link