Anne Hughes '13

Earlier this year, Anne Hughes landed her dream job. As a social worker and psychotherapist at SickKids Hospital, she works with children suffering from eating disorders and their families -- and having recovered from an eating disorder herself, she knows exactly how they are feeling. “I see the personal side of it, because I’ve been there,” she says. “My own experience allows me to have hope for my patients, and I can hold that hope when they feel like there is none.”

Anne initially studied Music Therapy at Acadia University following her graduation, but quickly realized that it didn’t focus nearly enough on the “therapy” piece, which is where her interest lay. She withdrew from the program and spent time determining what she really wanted for her future, ultimately enrolling in the Psychology program at Toronto Metropolitan University. “I realized I valued both the psychology aspect and connecting with people,” she says. 

After completing two years of the program, Anne took a year off to focus on her own mental health and seek treatment following the development of a severe eating disorder. Her recovery inspired more dedication than ever to finishing her degree -- now with a focus on eating disorders and their treatment.

Anne graduated at the top of her class from TMU and enrolled in the University of Toronto’s Master of Social Work (MSW) program. During her studies, she also volunteered in child life at SickKids Hospital, working with patients with eating disorders. “I saw a gap there between outpatient therapy and hospital treatment,” Anne says. She found a dietitian who shared her vision and worked with her to create an intensive outpatient program; she later came back to the program to complete work experience for her MSW program. In July 2022, she started her career on the psychiatry wing at SickKids.

Anne credits Greenwood with encouraging her to build a career out of something she found both interesting and challenging. “What really came through at Greenwood was the teachers’ passion and their own love of learning; they pushed me to continue to push myself.”

Greenwood was somewhere where I looked forward to going to school,” Anne says. “The energy in the building was so impactful. I value that learning and the ability to know that I can do whatever I want and know I’ll be successful at it.”