Who Are We?
About Kata Canada
The Ketamine Assisted Therapy Association of Canada (KATA) is an interdisciplinary, not-for-profit organization that advances ketamine clinical practice by providing high level practice standards through the development of resources, education and policy recommendations. KATA is a member-based organization that consists of Psychiatrists, Emergency Physicians, Family Medicine Physicians, Naturopathic Doctors, Psychologists, Registered Counselors, Registered Nurses, Social Workers, Researchers, Policy Makers and patient partners – it was established in 2019 in the province of B.C., Canada.
KATA protects the public interest by supporting practitioners and physicians to gain appropriate ketamine training and experience that is aligned with current best evidence of safety and ethical recommendations. We pursue ketamine research opportunities and develop practice standards and education materials to support ketamine providers to deliver ketamine assisted therapy in a safe and transparent manner that respects patient values.
Directors & Advisor Team Members
Our team comes from a wide array of backgrounds and specialisations who share the commitment to empower physicians and practitioners to confidently and safely provide high quality Ketamine Assisted Therapy in a safe, effective and evidence-based manner that is in line with current regulatory framework recommendations.
Madison Nobbs RN
Executive Director
Madison Nobbs is a Registered Nurse who graduated with a BScN from the University of Alberta in 2012. She has extensive experience in Emergency practice settings. She provides ketamine infusion therapy at one of the only accredited non-hospital medical and surgical facilities in BC for chronic pain and depression. She has been involved with KATA Canada since it was founded in 2019 and is highly invested in promoting the safe and accessible practice of ketamine assisted therapy. She believes that this can be achieved through the building of a community, wide interdisciplinary collaboration and engagement of all relevant stakeholders.
Dr. Anthony Barale, MD
Director
Anthony Barale completed medical training in South Africa where he started his career as an anaesthesiologist. He is currently a consulting psychiatrist for Vancouver Coastal Health on the Sunshine Coast where he helped facilitate the opening and operations of Sumac Place, a tertiary psychiatric residential facility in Gibsons. He was involved in establishing a new ECT program and administered ketamine in the Sechelt Hospital for patients with acute suicidality and treatment-resistant depression.
DR. NEIL HANON, MD
Director
Neil Hanon is a psychiatrist in Kelowna, British Columbia and is Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of British Columbia (UBC). He is the Year 3 Director (the clinical year) of the Southern Medical Program of UBC in Kelowna. In 2018 he was awarded the Clinical Faculty Award for excellence in clinical teaching by the Faculty of Medicine at UBC.
DR. IAN MITCHELL, MD
Director
Ian Mitchell is a Clinical Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of British Columbia. He practices at the Royal Inland Hospital in British Columbia. He has been using ketamine in clinical practice for 25 years and has lectured internationally on the use of ketamine and its complications.
DR. SUKHBINDER DHIMAN, MD
Director
Sukhbinder Dhiman is an Emergency Medicine physician based out of Surrey Memorial Hospital where he has been using ketamine in his practice since 2007. He is a clinical professor for the University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine. He is also co-founder and chief medical officer for PureLife Cannabis Corporation.
HELEN LOSHNY, MA RTC
Director
Helen Loshny is a Registered Therapeutic Counsellor based in New Westminster BC specializing in Transpersonal, Spiritual Emergence, Family Systems and Intergenerational Trauma Counselling since 2011. Helen is also the co-founder of Empower Health Clinic, a multidisciplinary integrated health clinic operating in Vancouver BC from 2014 to 2020, which was at the cutting edge of integrated clinic team development and programming. Helen has decades of management experience in multinational corporations and has co-founded non-profits in the spiritual and education fields. She is passionate about contributing to organizations and initiatives that are anchored in holistic values, community regeneration and progressive governance models.
KALIN HARVEY
Director
Kalin is an entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in technology across various disciplines. He has co-founded and held leadership positions at startups in the nutraceutical, green building and automotive industries, and built software projects for medical, solar energy, and civil rights organizations. He is co-founder and CTO at Quantified Citizen, a company focused on distributed health research.
DR. CROSBIE WATLER, MD
Advisor
Crosbie Watler acted as the Chief of Psychiatry at Lake of the Woods District Hospital in Kenora, Ontario. He served as the Medical Director and the Department Head for Psychiatry within Island Health after relocating to Duncan, BC. He has practiced in many different settings including tertiary, inpatient, outpatient and ACT. He is currently the lead psychiatrist with the Roots to Thrive program.
Rielle Capler, MHA, PhD
Research Advisor
Dr. Rielle Capler has over 20 years experience in the cannabis field, engaging in research, knowledge translation, service provision, and community organizing. She has consulted and advised on cannabis policy both nationally and internationally and worked extensively with both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. Rielle currently sits on the board of MAPS Canada. Her research and advocacy focus is on the instrumental uses of plant medicine, equitable access to medicine, and harm reduction which includes a collaborative research project on the use of ayahuasca for stress and addictions in a First Nations community. After the completion of doctoral work at University of British Columbia, she was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the British Columbia Center on Substance Use. Rielle has received the Governor General of Canada’s Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal acknowledging her contribution to Canadian society through her work with medical cannabis.
