About
The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) is Canada’s largest mental health teaching hospital and one of the world’s leading research centres. CAMH has a foundation of world-class talent and innovation in brain science to build upon across the spectrum of mental health research. CAMH elevates mental health care by sharing knowledge with the world and training the next generation of mental health experts, and sets itself apart from other mental health organizations by shaping mental health strategy and policy at every level of government.
CAMH’s No One Left Behind campaign is the world’s largest fundraising campaign to support hospital-based mental health research. With a goal to raise $500-million, the campaign will support life-saving mental health research programs at CAMH and complete our 25-year vision and build the new CAMH Research & Discovery Centre. The Research & Discovery Centre will allow us to fuel more change, faster than ever before. It will be a place that drives breakthroughs and transforms patient care. Where CAMH researchers can search for answers that don’t yet exist.
We are on the cusp of even more scientific discoveries and innovations that will lead to better care and outcomes for people living with mental illness. But there is more work to do and more people to help, and world-class research— research with impact—requires world-class infrastructure to continue driving discovery forward. The kind of seismic change and progress we need in mental health requires significant investment—in world-class people with world-class ideas working in world-class facilities where they will discover new ways to help people recover from mental illness. CAMH is the place to make these investments to advance earlier diagnosis, prevention and treatment. We can help ensure that all Canadians have access to high-quality, evidence-based mental health care, to ensure that no one is left behind.
Our Impact
CAMH cares for more than 37,000 patients a year across the lifespan, while setting new standards for mental health treatment worldwide. With a strong foundation of innovation and discovery, CAMH accelerates research and amplifies impact in priority areas like Brain Science, Health Equity, Late-Life Mental Health, Precision Medicine and Youth Mental Health through initiatives and breakthroughs like these:
- The CAMH-wide BrainHealth Databank aims to accelerate research and improve care by collecting and studying voluntary data. This first-of-its-kind initiative is helping mental health professionals find cures in the data by enhancing the understanding and diagnosis of mental illness, improving new treatments and creating prevention strategies.
- CAMH is leading the Toronto Adolescent & Youth (TAY) Cohort study, following 3,000 youth over five years. Researchers will look at all the personalized data for each participant to understand who may be at risk of developing certain mental health challenges and how to better support young people.
- In a major breakthrough, CAMH researchers developed new molecules that reverse memory loss and repair underlying brain impairments and are moving toward developing a new drug that could improve brain health for people as they age.
