Real change starts at CAMH.

Public Policy

CAMH is shaping public policy and changing how people understand mental illness in Canada and around the world. As a champion for health equity, we advocate for public policies that are responsive to the needs of people impacted by mental illness and substance use disorders. In recent years, we have put forth research-informed policy recommendations on suicide prevention and the mental health impacts of COVID-19. Through the Institute for Mental Health Policy Research, we provide evidence-based advice to stakeholders and policymakers on issues such as Canada’s opioid crisis and cannabis legalization.

In an effort to create a world where mental health is health for everyone, our research is informed by working closely with communities often overlooked by the mental health system. Pioneering research from CAMH has helped fill care and access gaps for young people seeking mental health care. This evidence led to funding from the Ontario government to create ten one-stop-shop mental health service hubs across Ontario for youth and their families experiencing mental illness and addiction. We are continuing to work toward removing barriers to access to high-quality health care. Within our hospital, we launched Dismantling Anti-Black Racism, a strategy developed in consultation with an external community advisory group that includes 22 actions to decrease anti-Black racism at CAMH by 2022.

Our scientists are at the forefront of researching and evaluating the use of non-invasive brain stimulation for treatment-resistant depression, which has led to its use around the world. CAMH’s leadership in pharmacogenetics is also helping Canadians find the right treatment based on their genetics, moving us closer to personalized medicine for mental illness.

Brain Science

CAMH scientists inspire hope for recovery for people living with mental illness around the world. Home to the Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, CAMH is focused on accelerating discovery and the development of new, personalized treatments for mental illness. Our expertise spans brain imaging, genetics and epigenetics, molecular biology and neurophysiology, artificial intelligence and brain modelling, and more.

CAMH has developed several imaging radiotracers used in PET brain research globally. These chemical imaging tools help clinicians deliver more accurate doses for treating mental illness, identify new targets for treatments, and advance more effective drug development. Our brain imaging researchers have also created a natural dietary supplement for postpartum depression, while other research pioneered at CAMH has led to the development of a molecule that shows promise in reversing memory loss linked to depression and aging. Another CAMH discovery led to the creation of a peptide that may treat or prevent posttraumatic stress disorder. Every one of these new discoveries gives new hope for people living with mental illness, especially those with illnesses once thought to be irreversible or untreatable.

Leveraging our global leadership in areas such as neuroinformatics and pharmacogenetics, we will continue develop novel precision medicine-based treatments for each patient. As we expand the scope and scale of our investigations, our goal will be to ensure every patient receives the right treatment for their mental illness. 

Personalized Care

Through our research, we are working toward a model of more personalized prevention, diagnosis and care for each individual. At CAMH, we engage people with lived experience, patients, family members, community partners, clinicians and scientists to participate in research and generate knowledge about how different factors affect the course of mental illness. Our goal is to help every person find the most effective and appropriate treatment for their mental illness.

Through Shkaabe Makwa, we are working with First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities to improve mental health equity and wellness in ways that respect and honour traditional knowledge and community expertise, with service providers across Ontario. We also are home to three centres of excellence in youth mental health, where young people play a central role in developing treatments and interventions that work for them, including a specialty care model for youth experiencing first episode psychosis. Additionally, our leadership in telemental health ensures that we are able to provide high-quality virtual mental health services to those in need, no matter where they live. 

CAMH scientists are using the latest tools and technologies to improve care. We are collecting and studying the full spectrum of data—from sleep and physical activity records to blood samples and brain images—to help us better understand and diagnose mental illness, and find new treatments and prevention strategies. Convergence—bringing together all the available information about individuals and their mental health journeys, and engaging them in research—is the key to igniting discovery and answering our most difficult questions about mental illness.

Your impact on research

Your generous support fuels the leading-edge CAMH research that is saving lives today. Our donor community has helped CAMH become a global leading research centres and a source of help and hope for people in Canada and around the world.

With 1 in 5 Canadians experiencing a mental illness every year and 450 million people living with mental illness worldwide, the need to invest in mental health research has never been greater. Donations from our generous donors accelerate discovery at CAMH, increasing the scope and scale of our investigations and shortening the path from breakthroughs to care. Philanthropy enables the recruitment of world-leading scientists, funds innovative research projects and enhances our research infrastructure. In recent years, donations from people like you have made a real impact on people's lives, and led to some of the most exciting mental health discoveries in CAMH's history.