Women are nearly twice as likely as men to be diagnosed with depression.
On May 1, World Maternal Mental Health Day brings attention to essential mental health concerns for mothers and families.
As the inaugural Homewood Research Institute (HRI) research chair in Women’s Mental Health and Depression, Dr. Benicio Frey hopes to help close the gaps in this field.
“We know research in women’s mental health has been understudied and underfunded. This is an exciting opportunity to close some of the gaps and try to understand the mechanisms and the reasons behind women's mental health concerns,” Frey said.
According to Frey, the biological changes associated with women’s reproductive phases are an important but largely unexplored dimension of women’s mental health.
There is a critical lack of evidence on how the interplay between the individual’s own biology and environment affects the ways in which women experience mental health concerns and disorders, such as depression.
“We are seeing women and girls experience new or increased mental health issues during the periods of intense hormonal fluctuation in their reproductive life cycle,” Frey said.
“For many, their concerns have not been adequately addressed because many common mental health conditions are still neglected in the medical literature. Their concerns aren’t seen as ‘mainstream’, which leaves these issues perpetually under-researched.”
Frey, a professor in the psychiatry and behavioural neurosciences centre at McMaster University, will hold the position for an initial five-year term. Having published over 300 articles in peer-reviewed journals, Frey is the medical director of the Women’s Health Concerns Clinic at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton. He is also the director of the McMaster/St. Joseph’s Centre for Clinical Neuroscience.
“While women pass through the physiological dynamics and hormonal fluctuations during the menstrual cycle such as pregnancy and menopause, these are all normal physiological periods in a woman’s life. But a significant proportion of them face significant mental health challenges,” Frey said.
"This can include severe menstrual symptoms, pregnancy, post partem mental health issues and perimenopause. Trying to understand the mechanisms and reasons behind these, we believe is going to really help a lot of people,” Frey said.
According to Frey, rates of depression in boys and girls, before puberty, are about the same.
“Once puberty starts, the rates of depression increase in women relative to men. So there’s something about the start of the hormonal cycle that is likely associated with this risk. The greatest risk of depression, for women is in particular, is within the reproductive age,” Frey said.
The chair position was made possible through a gift from the RBJ Schlegel Family Foundation to HRI. McMaster University and HRI have entered into a partnership to establish this new chair.
Frey hopes to implement a new program that blends different psychotherapy focused domains including cognitive behavioural therapy and trauma.
“We want to blend these and create one program that can address emotional regulation, trauma and depression within the same program. These individuals have multiple needs that are not addressed in a health care setting,” Frey said.
“These individuals are often bounced around to places that just treat trauma or just treat depression. We want to create a program where they can address all their needs in a single place. I think that will be a major achievement."
In light of World Maternal Mental Health Day, Dr. Benicio Frey will be a panelist in Untold Stories: Shaping Research for Women’s Mental Health, a free public talk on May 1 from 7 to 8 p.m. on Zoom.
A moderated discussion will follow by a live Q&A with audience members. A recording will be available following the event.
To register, visit here.
Anyone is invited to explore the latest research findings in this field and examine how people with lived experience of mental health concerns contribute to the evolving landscape of women’s mental health research.
“We are very excited to promote awareness regarding various mental health issues for women,” Frey said.
“This webinar is an example of many things we can do to make sure people understand the importance of these issues and support women on their journey.”
Through through its primary practice partner, Homewood Health in Guelph, HRI conducts applied research in a range of treatment settings nationwide. HRI works with an expanding network of partners and collaborators to further test and validate findings in diverse contexts.
