Supporting Your Recovery from Opioid and Drug Addictions

Originally from Montreal, Dr. Bienenstock completed Medical School at McGill University before relocating to Toronto for his Residency in Family Medicine at Toronto Western Hospital. He has since acquired additional training in Addictions Medicine, Psychotherapy, and Minor Surgery. Above all he is passionate about caring for those who suffer from addictions and mental illness. When enjoying downtime, Dr. Bienenstock enjoys playing squash, woodworking, chess, and playing bass guitar.

Dr. Kapil completed her Medical School and Family Medicine Residency through the University of Toronto. She has done research in improving opioid management and created EMR tools to help improve safety around opioid prescribing. She has completed training through CAMH (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health) in Opioid Dependence Treatment. Over time she has fostered interests in Quality Improvement Research, Addiction Medicine, and Motivational Interviewing. Outside of clinical and research work, she also enjoys teaching and mentoring medical students. In her spare time Dr Kapil enjoys spending time with her family, partaking in culinary arts, and swimming.

Dr. Merrifield completed Medical School at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine in his hometown of Sudbury before attending the University of Toronto for his Family Medicine Residency. By pursuing training opportunities in Addictions Medicine throughout his medical education he fostered a passion for practicing in this field. He has also done research on understanding patient perspectives regarding the link between chronic pain, high dose opioid prescriptions and addiction. Since entering practice he has completed training in Opioid Dependence Treatment with the Center for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). Dr. Merrifield also strives to integrate psychotherapy into his practice in order to provide his patients with comprehensive care. Outside of medicine he is a music aficionado, an outdoors enthusiast and an avid reader.

Kaustubh studied life sciences at Queen's University, and subsequently earned his medical degree at the University of Toronto. He completed his post-graduate training in family medicine at Dalhousie University. In his free time Dr Bal enjoys strategy based video games, World War II documentaries and gardening.

Born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Dr. Poon finished Medical School at the University of Alberta, later completing his residency in Family Medicine at the University of Toronto. He has a Master of Public Health from Columbia University from New York City. He is focused on normalising mental health screenings the same way we have normalised colonoscopies - difficult, but necessary. He is founder of Faces of Advocacy, a Canadian organisation dedicated to the safe reunification of multinational families.

Gabriella is a caring and compassionate Social Worker dedicated to helping her clients live their best possible lives. Gabriella has a Bachelor of Social Work from Ryerson University and a Master of Social Work from Wurzweiler School of Social Work. She has over 10 years of field experience and has spent most of her career working in the child welfare field. She has worked with families experiencing a wide range of challenges including: addiction, trauma, mental health and relationship issues. Gabriella is passionate about the work she does and is always trying to grow her knowledge base and learn new ways of supporting her clients. She has certificates in Family Counselling and Level One Trauma, and is completing a certificate in Couple and Family Therapy at the University of Guelph. During therapy sessions, Gabriella uses a variety of treatment models to help clients learn new coping strategies to improve their quality of life. She provides individual, couple and family therapy.

Amanda has been working in addictions clinics for 4 years and spent 4 years before that working in a pharmacy, allowing her to understand both ends of addiction recovery. She is committed to providing patients, old and new, with a positive experience in the clinic. She looks forward to greeting everyone with a smile and is always ready to provide a friendly listening ear. In her down time, Amanda enjoys spending time with her family and dying her hair an array of fun colours.

Emily has over 15 years of administrative experience in several different fields. She is an enthusiastic multitasker and brings a warm, friendly and compassionate presence to the team. Other things that keep her busy include baking, thrifting and going on adventures with her young children.

Jessica Zupan is a student Expressive Arts Therapist. She brings with her over ten years of trauma-informed counseling experience from her previous training as a Registered Dietitian. Jessica is passionate about using art and imagination to help people navigate life’s challenges and find their inner resources. Whether you identify as an artist or not, Jessica believes that everyone has the capacity to be creative and playful and engage with art. Jessica’s artistic practice includes visual arts, collage, movement and music. When she's not studying, Jessica enjoys being outdoors, traveling and playing with her kitty.

Dr Cheryl Leung completed her medical training at the University of Western Ontario, followed by family medicine residency at the University of Toronto. She has completed additional training in opioid use disorder treatment through CAMH. In addition to addiction medicine, her clinical work includes primary care and care for the elderly. She is passionate about caring for the whole person. When not working, she can be found walking or paddling in the outdoors, cooking, or spending time with her husband and three kids.

After earning his degree in Life Sciences from McMaster University, Dr. Akilan completed medical school at the University of Toronto. He further specialized in family medicine through post-graduate training at Western University. Dr. Akilan has also received additional training in the treatment of opioid use disorder from CAMH. Alongside his interests in addiction medicine, Dr. Akilan is actively involved in palliative medicine in his clinical practice. Beyond his medical career, he finds joy in traveling and cherishing moments with family and friends.

Born and raised in Toronto, Dr. Simonsky received his medical degree in Ireland and completed residency training on Canada’s East Coast at Dalhousie University. In his spare time he enjoys playing the drums, rock climbing, and hiking with his dog. Dr. Simonsky joins the CTC team as a general physician available for walk in visits and booked appointments on Mondays 12pm to 5pm and Tuesdays 9am to 5pm.

Gabriel’s mission is to help people improve their lives and experience greater self-fulfillment. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from McGill University and a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology from Yorkville University. As a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying), he effectively addresses issues related to addiction, trauma, self-regulation, self-esteem, stress, anger management, relational functioning, and perfectionism, among others. Outside counselling, Gabriel enjoys reading books, walking in nature, playing acoustic guitar, and practicing mindfulness meditation. Gabriel is part of St Michael's Homes and joins us at CTC on Fridays from 3-6pm - please contact us to make an appointment with Gabriel!