Member of the Order of Canada
Awarded on: 2015-05-07
Invested on: 2016-02-12
For his contributions to psychiatry as an educator and clinician, and for his role in founding the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.
Vivian Rakoff is renowned for fusing art and science to improve patient care. A professor emeritus of psychiatry at the University of Toronto, he taught generations of students to complement scientific knowledge with humanism in clinical care, as exemplified by his pioneering work in adolescent and family psychiatry. He also acquired the first brain scanning machine used for mental health and addiction research and treatment, and co-founded the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Foundation to operate it. In addition, he continues to lecture publicly on such topics as culture, philosophy and the dramatic arts.