Outside of one article published in 1937, research was not a priority at the Mental Health Centre Penetanguishene (MHCP). This changed in 1960, when the Superintendent and Psychiatrist-in-Chief, Dr. Barry A. Boyd, made the first steps toward establishing a research program at MHCP. He commissioned the Assistant Superintendent, Dr. C. Kenneth McKnight, and Dr. J. W. Hans Mohr from the Toronto Psychiatric Hospital to study the patient demographics at Oak Ridge and compare the results with those of similar Ontario hospitals. Several years later, they followed up on this report with two others examining the relationship between mental illness and homicide.

This period also saw the creation of the now-controversial Social Therapy Unit (STU) and the Total Encounter Capsule in 1965 under the direction of Dr. Elliott Barker and later Dr. Gary Maier. Following Maier’s departure from MHCP in 1976 and the official closing of the STU in 1978, a new era of research in Penetanguishene began. 

The Research Department at MHCP was officially founded in 1975, with Dr. Vernon L. Quinsey as its first Director. Under Quinsey’s guidance, the department continued the tradition of research in forensics, producing numerous studies focusing on the assessment and treatment of aggressive behaviour, psychopathy and sexual offending with forensic patients in Oak Ridge.

During this time, Quinsey and his team created the Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (VRAG) and the Sex Offender Risk Appraisal Guide (SORAG), performed longitudinal studies of patient outcomes, introduced a new crisis intervention program, and created a token-economy-driven behaviour therapy program on the Active Treatment Unit.

In 1988, Dr. Marnie E. Rice became the second Director of the Research Department. The department continued the vital research programs developed under her predecessor, explored issues of risk communication, and explored theoretical issues around psychopathy and sexual deviance.

In 1997, the members of the Research Department were presented with the Amethyst Award for Outstanding Achievement by Ontario Public Servants.

In 2002, Rice retired from her role, and a year later, she was honoured for her work by being inducted as a Fellow in the Royal Society of Canada.

Following Rice’s retirement, Dr. Grant T. Harris became the third Director of the Research Department. Under his leadership, the strong forensic-focused research program continued to develop, expanding to include the assessment of domestic violence risk, and the development of a concurrent disorders program for voluntary, general psychiatric inpatients. Harris’s tenure as Director of the Research Department saw many organizational shifts, not the least of which was the divestment of MHCP from the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.

Along with the divestment of the hospital and its rebranding as Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care, a new research strategic plan was developed. It called for creating a larger Research and Academics Division, and the Research Department would become part of that larger whole.

The Research and Academics Division was founded in 2010, with Dr. Howard E. Barbaree as the new Vice-President. The strategic plan stipulated that the division would consist of four research themes: Risk factors and assessment, treatment and transitions, knowledge translation, and policy.

In 2012, the Research Department was officially subsumed into the division, with Harris remaining as the Director of Research in Risk Factors and Assessment. Shortly thereafter, the Waypoint Research Institute was launched, providing an organization under which the new strategic directions for research would be realized. Establishing the four theme areas has ushered in a new era of expanded research focus at Waypoint.

Harris, G.T. & Rice, M.E. (2003). Actuarial assessment of risk among sex offenders. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 989, 198-210.

Hilton, N.Z., Harris, G.T., & Rice, M.E. (2010). Risk assessment for domestically violent men: Tools for criminal justice, offender intervention, and victim services. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Lynch, D.O. (1937). Some observations on the criminally insane with special reference to those charged with murder. Ontario Journal of Neuro-Psychiatry, 12, 39-52.

McKnight, C.K. & Mohr, J.W., Swadron, B.B. (1962). The mentally ill offender in the Oak Ridge hospital unit. Criminal Law Quarterly, 5, 248-258.

McKnight, C.K., Mohr, J.W., & Quinsey, R.E. (1966a). Mental illness and homicide. Canadian Psychiatric Association Journal, 11(2), 91-98.

McKnight, C.K., Mohr, J.W., Quinsey, R.E., & Erochko, J. (1966b). Matricide and mental illness. Canadian Psychiatric Association Journal, 11(2), 99-106.

Nielsen, R.F. (2006). Total encounters: The life and times of the Mental Health Centre Penetanguishene. Penetanguishene, ON: Mental Health Centre Volunteer Association.

Quinsey, V.L., Harris, G.T., Rice, M.E. & Cormier, C.A. (1998). Violent offenders: Appraising and managing risk. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.

Quinsey, V.L., Harris, G.T., Rice, M.E., & Cormier, C.A. (2006). Violent offenders: Appraising and managing risk (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Rice, M.E., & Harris, G.T. (1993). Ontario’s maximum security hospital at Penetanguishene: Past, present and future. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 16, 195-215.

Rice, M.E., Harris, G.T., Quinsey, V.L., & Varney, G.L. (1989). Violence in institutions: Understanding, prevention and control. Toronto, ON: Hans Huber.