Anthony Feinstein

Anthony Feinstein (born December 14, 1956) is a professor of psychiatry at the University of Toronto^[1] and a neuropsychiatrist. His research and clinical work focuses on people with multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury and Conversion Disorder. He has undertaken a number of studies investigating how front-line journalists are affected by their work covering war and man-made and natural disasters.

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Good evening to you all. Thank you so much for being here, it's a very special night, the screening of Under Fire: Journalists in Combat It's not everyday that a Sunnybrook physician is at the centre of a special movie screening, let alone one that was shortlisted for an Academy Award. But then, Dr. Anthony Feinstein is no ordinary doctor. Have you noticed there are any changes during the course of the day? No, not at all. A pioneer in his field, Dr. Feinstein was the first to study mental trauma in journalists who cover war. 29 percent suffer from post traumatic stress disorder. He's been at the forefront of this emerging area of medicine for more than a decade. Together with long time friend and veteran producer Martyn Burke, Dr. Feinstein produced the film, entitled "Under Fire: Journalists in Combat." It was recently featured at this special screening at the TIFF Bell Lighbox. When I started to researcht the profession, I was as guilty as anyone else. I did not realize how extraordinarily dangerous frontline journalism is. The 24/7 news cycle, all disposable, short attention spans. That's why journalists have to constantly keep going back and get closer into the more dangerous situations. The documentary features interviews with several war correspondents, who detail emotional and haunting experiences abroad, which still affect them today. Please understand why I have to do this. It seemed really stupid to die in that muddy field for nothing. Covering war has become an increasingly dangerous profession. Only 2 journalists were killed covering World War One. That number has skyrocketed to about 900 in the past two decades of convering conflict. Dr. Feinstein hopes his work, and this film, will continue to raise research funding and awareness about PTSD in journalists, a condition that can disrupt sleep and healthy relationships and can drive sufferers towards substance abuse and even suicide. So I hope it kind of spreads the word amongst the journalist community. I hope the general public becomes educated about the risks and the hazards and the costs a journalist might pay when they bring us news. With film screenings also in New York, Los Angeles and England, there's no doubt, Dr. Feinstein's work will continue to make headlines. With Sunnyview, I'm Monica Matys.

Education

Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Feinstein received his medical degree from the University of Witwatersrand. He completed his Psychiatry training at the Royal Free Hospital in London, England. His MPhil and PhD degrees were obtained through the University of London. After obtaining his PhD, he worked as a Senior Registrar at the Maudsley Hospital in London before taking up an appointment at the University of Toronto where he is currently a professor of psychiatry and a clinician scientist at the Sunnybrook Research Institute.^{[citation needed]}

Multiple sclerosis

Over a three decade period, Feinstein's work has focused on determining brain imaging correlates of depression and pseudobulbar affect in people with MS. He has also developed computerized methods of detecting cognitive dysfunction, with a particular emphasis on the use of distracters. A third strand to his MS work relates to defining the cognitive and functional neuroimaging changes associated with the use of cannabis (marijuana) in people with MS.^[2]^[3] His research has been funded by the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, the Canadian Institute of Health Research and the Progressive MS Alliance.^{[citation needed]}

Journalism work

In 2000 Feinstein obtained a grant from the Freedom Forum in Washington, D.C. to undertake the first study exploring how war can affect the psychological wellbeing of front-line journalists. The results were subsequently published in the American Journal of Psychiatry.^[4] Since then, he has completed studies investigating how journalists have been affected by the attacks of 9/11 in New York,^[5] the 2003 war in Iraq,^[6] the drug wars in Mexico,^[7] the 2007 election violence and Al-Shabab attack on the Westgate Mall in Kenya,^[8] the Civil War in Syria ^[6] and state-sponsored violence directed towards the media in Iran.

Awards

Feinstein was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2000 to study mental health problems in post-apartheid Namibia. A documentary, Journalists Under Fire,^[9] based on his work with war journalists, produced by him (and directed by Martyn Burke), was short-listed for an Academy Award and won a 2012 Peabody Award. His series of articles for the Globe & Mail on Conflict Photograph ^[10] was short-listed for a 2016 EPPY Award.^[11]

Publications

In Conflict, (New Namibia Books, 1998, ISBN 978-9991631691)
Michael Rabin, America's Virtuoso Violinist (Amadeus Press, 2005; second edition 2011, ISBN 978-1574671995)
Dangerous Lives: War and the Men and Women Who Report It (Thomas Allen Publishers, 2003, ISBN 978-0887621314)
Journalists Under Fire: the Psychological Hazards of Covering War (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006, ISBN 978-0801884412)
The Clinical Neuropsychiatry of Multiple Sclerosis (Cambridge University Press, 1999; second edition 2007, ISBN 978-0521880152)
Battle Scarred (Tafelberg Press, 2011, ISBN 978-0624053743)
Mind, Mood, and Memory: The Neurobehavioral Consequences of Multiple Sclerosis (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2022, ISBN 978-1421443249)