$10 million donation from former patient to hospital will expand obsessive-compulsive disorder research and treatment

A Toronto lawyer and private equity investor has donated $10 million to expand obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) research and treatment at Sunnybrook hospital after receiving care there himself.

It was 2019 when Brian Reeve spent four months in the Toronto hospital’s Frederick W. Thompson Anxiety Disorders Centre OCD program, which he said gave him a “life reset.”

Reeve is the Chair and Founder of Southampton Financial Inc., a Canadian P&C insurance broker and MGA platform focused on digital personal lines and SME commercial business.

He is also President of Eastbourne Capital Inc., a Canadian private equity firm that focuses on investments in the property and casualty insurance industry as well as real estate, a role he has held since 2007. Before launching his own ventures, Reeve spent more than 32 years as a Senior Partner at Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP, one of Canada’s leading law firms, where he chaired the Corporate and Regulatory Insurance Group.

He holds an MBA from York University’s Schulich School of Business, a law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School, and a BA in Economics from Western University. Over a career spanning more than three decades, Reeve has acted as Chief Agent in Canada for a number of foreign insurance companies — including Great American Insurance, Aspen Insurance U.K., and New York Life — and served as a director of multiple Canadian insurers and brokers such as Hartford, Everest Insurance, and Jevco.

“I will always be grateful for the treatment I received,” Reeve said in a news release announcing his donation. His OCD is currently in remission, allowing him to experience a life free from persistent intrusive thoughts, thanks to the intensive program at the Thompson Centre. Reeve has since become a passionate advocate, joining the center’s patient and family council and taking part in OCD fundraising walks.

Established in 2012 following a $10-million donation from the center’s late namesake, Sunnybrook says its facility is the only one in Canada that specializes in treating OCD, which it says affects an estimated 400,000 Canadians.

Since then, the center has treated nearly 400 patients through its “intensive” live-in and day program, which Sunnybrook says is the first and only one of its kind in Canada.

The hospital said Reeve’s donation will accelerate the expansion and relocation of the Thompson Centre’s 24/7 OCD treatment unit from a local community setting to a permanent home at Sunnybrook’s Bayview campus, which will be known as the Reeve OCD Centre. The gift will also create a lasting impact by funding Reeve OCD Fellowships and an endowed OCD Chair to train the next generation of clinicians and researchers.

“The Reeve OCD Centre will advance Sunnybrook’s leadership in specialized OCD care, drive innovative treatments, and transform care for OCD patients and their families when it matters most,” Andy Smith, president and CEO of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, said in a statement.

Sunnybrook defines OCD as a mental illness consisting of two components: obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions are the cognitive component, and typically present as repetitive and intrusive thoughts, images or impulses. Those thoughts then trigger an anxiety response through behaviors or compulsions to try and get rid of the anxiety. “For someone with severe OCD, compulsions can take up a considerable amount of time, having a significant impact on their ability to manage their daily lives,” according to the hospital.

Reeve said his donation is an expression of his gratitude to Sunnybrook, but also an investment in OCD treatment that he hopes will pay “large dividends in the future.” He noted that had he had access to the Thompson Centre when he was first diagnosed, his life “would have been quite different”.

“My intent is to carry forward Frederick Thompson’s vision — and hopefully inspire others to support this work for generations to come,” he said.