Invited Presentations

The Invited Presentations feature distinguished experts and thought leaders who have been personally selected and invited by the conference planning committee to contribute to the CSAM-SMCA 2026 Scientific Conference. These sessions highlight influential research, innovative practices, and important discussions shaping the field of addiction medicine.

Invited Presentation

What Do We Mean by “Treatment”? A Fireside Conversation on Care in Substance Use Health

This fireside conversation invites a rigorous and respectful exploration of the idea of treatment in substance use health. Rather than defending a single model or perspective, the discussion creates space for honest inquiry across clinical, research, policy, and living experience viewpoints. Participants will consider how treatment has traditionally been defined, what outcomes it has been designed to pursue, and how language and expectations shape both practice and policy.

Participants:

Shawn Fisk

A nationally recognized leader and educator in Stigma-and Discrimination-Informed Practices (SDIP) and compassionate care, Shawn Fisk brings blended expertise from clinical service, peer leadership, and his own living experience to substance use health. In this panel, he presses the language of treatment and care, and what it costs the people it claims to serve. His mission is simple: to help build systems where dignity is not earned or conditional, but the starting point for everyone seeking care.

Kim Corace

Kim Corace is Chief Science and Innovation Officer at the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction and holds leadership and research roles with the University of Ottawa, The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, and Homewood Research Institute. A Clinical Health Psychologist, her work focuses on advancing collaborative mental health and substance use health care models, reducing stigma, improving access to care, and supporting system transformation through partnerships with providers, organizations, and people with lived and living expertise.

Caitlin Morrison

Caitlin Morrison is the Executive Director of the Matthew Perry House, a national initiative continuing her brother Matthew Perry’s legacy by advancing dignity-focused, stigma-reducing approaches to recovery. She leads the organization’s efforts to expand long-term, community-based support for individuals navigating life after treatment. Caitlin is recognized for her strategic vision, collaborative leadership, and commitment to building systems that honour the humanity of every individual in recovery.

Kate Colizza

Dr. Kate Colizza is an Addiction Medicine and Internal Medicine physician and healthcare leader who has worked in Calgary for nearly a decade, helping to build and improve hospital-based care for people who use substances. Dr. Colizza brings a practical, patient-centred medical perspective to addiction treatment. She views treatment as any step, support, or intervention that helps reduce suffering and enables people to build a better life according to their own values, goals, and definition of recovery. Her work emphasizes meeting people where they are and integrating evidence-based care with compassion, respect, and partnership.

Kirsty Muller

Kirsty Muller is an Indigenous Registered Nurse who resides and works in Treaty 1 territory in Manitoba. She is a nurse leader, educator, and advocate in addiction medicine, Indigenous health, and harm reduction, providing care in both urban and remote northern communities. Kirsty brings a frontline perspective on what “treatment” means for people navigating substance use, and specifically for Indigenous relatives and communities facing stigma, trauma, systemic barriers, and inequitable access to care. She is passionate about building compassionate, culturally safe, trauma informed systems that meet people where they are at and recognize dignity, relationship, and connection as essential parts of care.