Yves Lamontagne

A music lover who seemed destined for a brilliant career in music, Yves Lamontagne opted instead to study medicine at the Université de Montréal and work as a volunteer doctor caring for refugee Biafran children on the Ivory Coast in the early 1970s. His overseas experience, which he recounts so eloquently in his autobiography, Confidences d’un médecin (Québec Amérique 2003), led him to discover the richness of African medical wisdom and the strength of the human survival instinct when faced with extreme situations.

After Africa, Yves Lamontagne enrolled in the London Psychiatric Institute, where he completed his psychiatric training. He worked with Dr. Isaac Marks on exposure therapy for the treatment of phobias.

The first Quebec psychiatrist to specialize in behaviour therapy and to set up research programs in this field in Quebec, Yves Lamontagne has delivered more than 300 speeches at various regional, national and international scientific conferences, a rather impressive number for someone who claims to be timid and nervous before an audience. His published writings include 200 articles and over 30 abstracts in scientific journals and 26 chapters of books published in various North American and European countries. He has also made a significant contribution to simplifying science by narrating or hosting such TV series and shows as Visa Santé at Radio-Québec and À l’ombre du génie, which in 1985 earned the best documentary award from the Canadian Professional Television Association and the Robert L. Robinson Award in the U.S.

Founder and director of the Centre de recherche Fernand-Séguin at Hôpital Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, professor at the Université de Montréal’s faculty of medicine, founding president of the Fondation des maladies mentales and president of the Association des psychiatres du Québec and the Collège des médecins du Québec, Yves Lamontagne boasts an impressive list of achievements that have made him a leading figure in his field of expertise.

On both a professional and human level, Yves Lamontagne has helped improve the quality of care for the mentally ill and educate the public on the causes, nature and treatment of mental illness. Indeed, the many awards and honours he has received over the course of his career attest to his impressive scientific legacy: the Ordre national du Québec, the Order of Canada, the Clinical Research Award from the Association des médecins de langue française du Canada, the Clark Relatives and Friends of Schizophrenics (Ontario) award, the Warren Williams (U.S.) and the Heinz E. Lehmann (Quebec) awards in psychiatry, among others.

Dr. Yves Lamontagne was inducted into the Academy of Great Montrealers in the Scientific category in 2003 and was named a Commander of the Ordre de Montréal in 2016.