Addressing taboos with sensitivity and respect

Information has always held an important place in the life of Maryse Gagnon. Her childhood was filled with books, and her parents stimulated her inquisitive mind by encouraging her to dig deep to find quality information. As a Secondary V student, she benefited from a teacher exchange between France and her school in Lac-Saint-Jean. She particularly remembers a visiting professor who was impressed by the quality of her work and who encouraged her onto the path toward writing. “I was horrible in math but very good in French. Getting encouragement from a teacher from France motivated me to pursue my talents,” she stated.

In cegep, she began studying tourism and geography before heading to the University of Alberta where she did a Minor in Arts & Sciences. In 1990, she turned to journalism at Université de Montréal. She began her career as a journalist and reporter at Radio-Canada, where she worked on the TV news show and regional newscasts for Edmonton, Ottawa and Montreal. In 1999, she joined Groupe TVA, her current employer. She works in the news department for TVA's newscast as well as for LCN, the channel's 24-hour news channel, and for the Web. As a journalist, she covers the daily national and international news, is involved directly in almost every federal, provincial and municipal election night, and even serves as a special envoy for the war in Afghanistan.

Through her reports, Maryse Gagnon has developed a special interest in mental health topics. With a focus on human contact, she derives stimulation through encounters with patients, clinicians and researchers alike, and she looks to explore the disease while uncovering the suffering and distress of those who are too often forgotten. “Mental health is an extremely important topic and is just as important as any other issue. In my opinion, news shows should talk about mental health on a regular basis.” As a journalist, she feels useful when she communicates quality information about these often-taboo subjects. However, experience has taught her that what she does makes a difference. She is always pleasantly surprised by all of the e-mails she receives after her reports. People thank her for talking about their condition or about their difficulty as the loved one of someone who is mentally ill. “I get more e-mails for the stories I do on mental health issues, and I strive to answer each one personally,” she said.

Empathy is certainly one of her great qualities. She is moved by the everyday lives of the people she meets and is able to remain sensitive to their plight—a task that is not always easy in the fast pace of a TV newsroom. She also has great respect for her subjects, which is probably why she refuses to address certain complex and delicate issues in the limited time available. “My job is to report the news,” she explained. “I can’t cover subjects like schizophrenia in one minute and forty-five seconds!” The journalist also dislikes how mental illness is often addressed in the context of violence. For example, she does not like reporting on events like mass killings. Instead, her interest lies in the human and social dimensions of mental illness, which allow her to tell good stories.

Maryse Gagnon is a regular at the Douglas, where she has produced a number of reports. In fact, she does not hesitate to visit us to profile cases that put mental illness in a more human light. Over the years, she has become particularly interested in post-traumatic stress, prenatal stress, Alzheimer's disease, the Douglas Brain Bank and, more recently, cognitive remediation. Her latest report was screened on March 2 at the Open Minds Benefit Evening organized by the Douglas Foundation. During the event, Maryse Gagnon was honoured for her sensitivity and commitment to the cause of mental health and her loyalty to the Douglas. “I’m always amazed at the openness of your clinicians and researchers. To me, it seems like the Douglas Institute never hesitates to open its doors.” Let’s hope this successful partnership continues for a long time to come!

In a few words ...

How would you best describe mental illness? Two words: suffering and light

What film has most influenced your ideas about mental health? Rain Man

How do you keep a balanced lifestyle? To avoid self-doubt and insecurity, I like taking care of the people I love. I also volunteer and am a pianist and a singer for a show that I put on with another journalist.

In your opinion, who performs outstanding work to destigmatize mental illness? Guy Latraverse. It does so much good when people speak out publicly about their own mental illness.

One word to describe the Douglas? Openness.