Beyond Barriers: CAMH’s Journey to Redefine Mental Health Care through Research
Toronto, June 17, 2024 – The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), located in downtown Toronto, is the country’s largest mental health and addictions research facility. As a leader with expertise in basic, clinical, and social science studies of mental illness, CAMH’s experts excel in translating knowledge into clinical and community practice as well as public policy. It has been ranked as Canada’s leading mental health hospital and one of the top three overall research hospitals in its category by Research Infosource. CAMH is fully affiliated with the University of Toronto and is Canada’s largest training facility for psychiatrists. It is also a Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization Collaborating Centre.
CAMH aims to inspire hope through groundbreaking discoveries and to revolutionize science’s understanding of the brain and the causes, biomarkers, and treatments for mental illness. It is also transforming the way research is conducted so that all CAMH patients and staff have a role in advancing discovery. CAMH’s new six-year strategic plan, launched in 2024, is built on three main pillars: advancing care with patients and families through learning and discovery, lifting societal health through action in mental health justice, and getting upstream to prevent and change the course of mental illness.
An important component of the hospital’s approach to early intervention involves several large-scale cohort research studies that bring together patients, researchers, clinicians, and families in powerful new ways to develop personalized treatments for the right people at the right time. One such study, the Toronto Adolescent and Youth Cohort Study (TAY), is following 3,000 youth over a five-year period. This study combines direct clinical observation of signs and symptoms with data from brain imaging, genetics, and cognitive function testing, enabling researchers to create multi-dimensional trajectories for each study participant and identify similarities and patterns in groups of individuals.
The CAMH Suicide Prevention Cohort Study (CAMH-SPCS) involves up to 500 patients who present to the CAMH Emergency Department experiencing suicidal ideation and follows them closely for a year afterwards. By collecting a range of clinical, qualitative, biological, and health service utilization data for each individual, the team will be able to develop and test future interventions for suicide prevention.
Another way CAMH is advancing care for patients living with mental illness is by training the next generation of researchers in mental health and substance use health through the Koerner Centre for Research Training. There are 500-700 registered research trainees in any given year across undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral levels. A team of experts registers and onboards trainees, cultivates a community of learning, and equips trainees with the knowledge and skills required to be global leaders in mental health and addictions research.
Contact Information:
Lauren Clegg,
Manager, Research and Centres of Innovation Communication
Lauren.Clegg@camh.ca
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Research Canada is a national alliance dedicated to advancing health research & innovation in Canada. Our goal is to ensure that health research funding and health innovation policy remain top national priorities.
FOR INQUIRIES:
Kevin Conquest
Senior Development Manager
kconquest@rc-rc.ca