GUELPH – Women are twice as likely as men in Canada to live with depression and a new research chair is going to look into gender-specific influences that could lead to new treatments.
The Homewood Research Institute appointed Dr. Benicio Frey as the inaugural Homewood Research Chair in Women’s Mental Health and Depression.
Dr. Frey is a professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster University
Dr. Frey says hormonal fluctuations do not exclusively drive women’s mental health issues. Still, in some sensitive individuals, mental health struggles can be made worse by changes to their cycles.
Dr. Frey says there is a lack of research into the role a woman’s biology affects mental health concerns like depression and the goal of his research is to improve and develop therapies specifically for women.
Dr. Frey says historically research into women’s health issues has been neglected but that is changing with agencies, stakeholders, and even governments acknowledging that gap and taking action to support women’s mental health.
The president and chief of staff at Homewood Health Centre, Dr. Carlos Lalonde says the collaboration “will create new pathways for learning and complement the Women’s Trauma and Concurrent Program” at the centre.
The Homewood Research Chair in Women’s Mental Health and Depression was established through a generous gift from the RBJ Schlegel Family Foundation to HRI.