Rob Whitley

Rob Whitley is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, and a Research Scientist at the Douglas Research Centre. He is currently a Fonds de recherche du Québec-Santé Senior Research Scholar, and an Honorary Principal Fellow at the University of Melbourne. Whitley is also a video-producer and script-writer, and has produced several documentaries and short fictional films related to mental health that have been featured in film festivals across North America. He is currently principal investigator on the following projects: (i) a comparative study examining mental health among religious immigrants including Jews, Christians and Muslims; (ii) a qualitative study investigating the psychosocial experience of people who have received ‘not parent expected’ news from a direct-to-consumer ancestry DNA test; (iii) a five-year longitudinal study assessing suicide coverage in the Canadian media; (iv) a participatory video project investigating the relationship between cannabis-use and mental health, with a focus on military Veterans; and (v) an action-research study examining the portrayal of military Veterans in the Canadian media, with a focus on PTSD and suicide.

In addition, Whitley has a particular interest in (i) gender issues, conducting considerable research on men’s mental health and women’s mental health; (ii) mental health in Spanish-speaking countries, with collaborations in Chile, Mexico and Spain; and (iii) positive engagement with the media to raise awareness about mental health issues.