McGill researchers lead project to reform youth mental health care in Canada
Posted May 14, 2025 1:02 pm.
Last Updated May 15, 2025 4:25 pm.
Redesigning youth mental health services can significantly cut wait times and connect more young people to care.
This is what new data is showing from a national project known as ACCESS Open Minds, led by McGill University researchers in Montreal.
“We focused on transforming existing programs in clinics, schools and youth centres to make them more accessible, youth-friendly and culturally appropriate,” said lead author Srividya Iyer, Professor in McGill’s Department of Psychiatry and Researcher at the Douglas Research Centre.
Launched in 2014, the project addresses gaps in access to quality mental health care, especially for Indigenous, remote and underserved communities.
“People who typically are the ones who are left out of systems. So Indigenous young people, not just Indigenous communities, but also in urban centers, young people who are ethnic minority, immigrant, those who are homeless, LGBTQ young people,” she said. “These were the people who actually access services in higher proportions than their proportion in the population.”
Of the 16 communities served across Canada, five were in Quebec.
Measurable impact
“Access to mental health care typically requires a professional referral, a step the authors say can be slow and discouraging for youth,” the University wrote in a press release on Wednesday.
ACCESS Open Minds removed that barrier, they explained by “letting youth reach out for help on their own.”
“There definitely is a growing concern about the mental health and wellbeing of young people,” Iyer said. “we really needed a new way to offer services, to design services for young people. And that was kind of the origins of the project.”
The project also involved adjusting workflows, training staff, and improving co-ordination among service providers.
Service targets:
- An evaluation within three days
- Treatment within 30 days
“At our downtown Montreal site for homeless youth, we saw a dramatic increase in the number of young people accessing services,” said Iyer, who is also Canada Research Chair in Youth, Mental Health and Learning Health Systems.
“Even with this increased demand, with just two additional staff, we were still able to see the majority of young people within 72 hours.”
Over four years, nearly 8,000 youth ages 11 to 25 were referred across 11 study sites, they said in the press release.
“Most were seen within three days, far faster than the typical wait of between 45 days and more than a year,” say the authors.
“Referrals rose by 10 per cent every six months.”
Iyer says 70% of mental health problems start between the ages of 12-25.
The program was developed, implemented and evaluated by McGill researchers, in collaboration with colleagues at universities across Canada, as well as youth, families, community organizations and policymakers.
They are now exploring ways to address the broader factors affecting mental health.
“From climate anxiety and unaffordable housing to precarious jobs and the impact of AI,” Iyer said. “The root causes of these challenges must be addressed in our systems.”
“We also need upstream policy responses to make sure that young people have societies that really care about them and their well-being.”
