Formerly Professor of Psychiatry, McMaster University, and Psychiatrist-in-Chief at Hamilton Psychiatric Hospital,  Dr. Dawson now works part-time in clinical psychiatry, primarily with families, children, and adolescents. He devotes the rest of his time to teaching, writing, film making, and painting. He is the author of two academic books:

"Schizophrenia in Focus",

"Relationship Management of the Borderline Patient".

He has also written six novels and several screenplays. His film credits include "Manic", "My Name is Walter James Cross", and "Cutting for Stone".

His films and novels usually contain mental health themes, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, Alzheimer's, and addictions. And there is a relationship between his interest in Borderline Personality Disorder and his literary endeavours: There are many times, in our attempts to understand human behaviour, when we need to bypass medical and psychological models, and think instead in the manner of a novelist or playwright.

Novels

Don't Look Down,  Psychological thriller released Fall of 2009

Last Rights St. Martin’s Press, New York, N.Y., 1990. Macmillan of Canada, Toronto, 1990Also translated and published in Denmark, Iceland, Holland, Germany, England, Norway, Sweden, France, and reprinted in paperback, New York

Double Blind St. Martin’s Press, New York, N.Y., 1992Macmillan of Canada, Same European Publishers as above

Essondale Macmillan of Canada, Toronto, 1993. Same European Publishers as above

The Intern Macmillan of Canada, March, 1996, (ILLUSTRATED BY AUTHOR)

Slide in all Direction  Bridgeross Communications, October, 2008

Non Fiction Books

Schizophrenia in Focus Human Sciences Press, New York, 1984

Relationship Management Taylor & Francis, New York, 1993

Plays, Screenplays, Film, Video

Whose Mind Is This Anyway? 50 minute one act play, written, directed and produced by David Dawson, 1989

Who Cares David Dawson and Alex Chapple, 40 minute dramatic video, 1990

Manic Written by David Dawson, directed by Alex Chapple, one hour dramatic film, made for TV Ontario, 1993

The Waiting Room, one half hour 1 act play, written, directed, produced by David Laing Dawson for International Gerontology Conference, 1994

My Name is Walter James Cross, One hour drama, filmed in BetaCam, written and directed by David Dawson, First Window broadcast by TV Ontario, 2001, distributed by Films for the Humanities and Sciences.

The Three Harolds, Screenplay for theatre optioned by pat ferns productions

Works in Progress

The Brush, The Pen and Recovery, A documentary film on the Cottage Studio, an art program for people with schizoprhenia

Surviving Your Adolescent, Self-help book for parents of teenagers.

Tales From the Butterscotch Palace. Collection of Short Stories