Introducing the Division of Substance Use Health

The Department of Psychiatry at Queen’s University is proud to announce the launch of a new academic division: Substance Use Health.

Substance use is a major public health concern, impacting individuals, communities, and healthcare systems worldwide. Patients with substance use disorders often present with complex and evolving healthcare needs. The dynamic nature of substances available today requires a nimble, responsive healthcare system grounded in evidence-based clinical practice.

Psychiatry is the science of preventing, assessing, studying, and managing mental illness in all its aspects—including substance use disorders. The new Division of Substance Use Health will serve the scientific and clinical needs of these patients through a coordinated, interdisciplinary, and academically rigorous approach within the Department of Psychiatry.

As the primary provider of psychiatric services in the region, the Department of Psychiatry holds core responsibilities in clinical care, education, research, administration, and collaboration across academic, hospital, community, institutional, and interdisciplinary settings. The creation of this division enhances our existing services and supports a bold vision for inclusive, multi-divisional collaboration that is person-centered, pragmatic, and responsive to community and patient needs—not criteria-driven.

The Division of Substance Use Health will offer flexible, age-inclusive care and serve as a resource for both community and hospital partners seeking excellence in specialized substance use disorder treatment. The division will be a hub for innovation, collaboration, and academic leadership in addiction care.

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Taras Reshetukha will serve as the inaugural Chair of the Division of Substance Use Health.

About Dr. Taras Reshetukha:

Dr. Taras Reshetukha is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Co-Program Medical Director at Kingston Health Sciences Centre (KHSC), where he oversees ambulatory mental health and addiction care portfolios. He holds dual certification in Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine, with clinical and academic work focused on advancing access to evidence-based, trauma-informed care for individuals with substance use disorders.

Since completing his residency at Queen’s in 2016, Dr. Reshetukha has practiced general adult and addiction psychiatry across emergency, inpatient, outpatient, and community-based settings in Kingston. He is the co-founding physician and current lead of the Substance Treatment and Rehabilitation Team (START), KHSC’s interdepartmental addiction medicine consultation service. Under his leadership, START has evolved into a fully interdisciplinary program bridging psychiatry, emergency medicine, internal medicine, and family medicine, with integrated support from nursing, navigation, and management teams.

Dr. Reshetukha has spearheaded several system-level innovations, including:

A mobile concurrent disorders clinic at Kingston’s Consumption and Treatment Services site
A community-based Addiction Bridging Clinic
Expansion of medically supported detox services
Development of a KHSC-wide harm reduction policy

He is a member of the Provincial Substance Use Disorders Advisory Table for the Mental Health and Addictions Centre of Excellence at Ontario Health and has played a key role in redesigning addiction curricula at Queen’s for both undergraduate and postgraduate learners.

Dr. Reshetukha envisions the Division of Substance Use Health as a nationally recognized leader in addiction care. His long-term goal is to establish a Centre of Excellence in Addiction Care at Queen’s University, integrating clinical service, education, and research to train the next generation of clinicians and scholars in substance use health.

Introducing the Division of Substance Use Health

Introducing the Division of Substance Use Health

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