Half of all mental illnesses begin by the age of 14, and three-quarters by the mid-20s. This is a vital time in development.
Thanks to a visionary $10-million gift, CAMH’s Slaight Family Centre for Youth in Transition is developing early interventions key to setting young people on the path to fuller recovery.
Inaugural director Dr. Aristotle Voineskos has a clear plan to develop the Slaight Centre into one of the world’s leading clinical research centres for youth with mental illness. Under his leadership, the Centre has already created a Cognitive Adaptive Training project that gives young people with schizophrenia the tools they need to succeed beyond CAMH. Projects also include a study aimed at reversing—and possibly even preventing—diabetes in youth with early on-set psychosis.
The Margaret and Wallace McCain Centre for Child, Youth and Family Mental Health is driving system-wide improvements for young people and their families. In early 2015, CAMH’s McCain Centre’s inaugural leaders were named, with Dr. Joanna Henderson taking the helm as Director and Gloria Chaim driving the community partnerships essential to the centre’s work.
As part of a collaboration with other Toronto centres, CAMH is embarking on the Optimizing Human Potential: Ontario Health Family Study. With generous support from Charles and Marilyn Baillie, the province-wide effort is aimed at giving children the best start in life.
And we are working closely with youth across Canada to develop care that truly meets their needs. Our National Youth Advisory Committee is collaborating closely with researchers, service providers and young people age 13 to 24 to develop the right care at the right time for children and youth with mental illness and addiction.
