Faculty Spotlight: Dr. John Villella, Psychiatry
By all reports, Bell Let’s Talk Day, held in January, was a huge success. In the days following the awareness campaign, the company proudly shared the results that included more than 100 million texts, tweets, calls and Facebook shares, and announced a donation totaling more than $6 million to mental health care projects and initiatives.
Dr. John Villella applauds the good news. A psychiatrist and Schulich Medicine faculty member, he thinks the initiative has done an excellent job in raising awareness and funds.
He’s seen first hand the difference the day has made. “During the past few years, I’ve seen that my own patients are more open about their mental health and I really believe this is due to the increased awareness.”
But while Dr. Villella believes that great strides have been made to normalize mental health illnesses through awareness initiatives, he sees the continued impact of fear and stigma.
“On the inpatient ward, you don’t see as many visitors, flowers and cards as you do on other wards of the hospital,” he said. “This may be that people aren’t telling their family and friends about their illness due to stigma. These are medical issues like cancer and heart disease,” he added. Hopefully more and more people will view it that way.”
A patient advocate at heart, Dr. Villella continues to be appreciative of what he learns from his patients. “In medical school, we learn through text books and lectures, so it’s easy to have a template in your mind about how a condition presents and the course of treatment that should be taken, But in psychiatry, there is so much variability from patient to patient” he said.
By keeping a sense of openness and humility and really listening to his patients’ individual stories, he’s better able to provide care. And this approach to patient care forms the foundation of the training he provides to students in the classroom and in the clinic.
Through his interaction with clerks on the ward, as a lecturer for the past 10 years, and as the coordinator of the second-year psychiatry and behaviour course at the Windsor Program, Dr. Villella has taught and guided a good number of students.
He finds the teaching experiencing very enriching, thanks to the students who he believes bring a fresh new perspective on content. “These are bright young kids, who are always thinking,” he said. “They definitely keep me on my toes.”
As young chemistry student at Western University, Dr. Villella hoped to find a career that incorporated his passion for science and desire to connect with people. While in medical school he realized that psychiatry would allow him to get to know his patients in much more depth than other specialties and allow him to follow them longitudinally. He hasn’t looked back since.
Today he feels privileged to be providing care in his hometown of Windsor, while serving as a patient advocate and teaching the next generation of health care leaders.
