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Research at The Garry Hurvitz Centre for Community Mental Health at SickKids (GH-CCMH) provides exciting opportunities for clients, caregivers, and staff to engage in the scientific process, directly impact current and future programming, and see themselves represented in how we understand child and youth mental health care. The Centre holds an important place in the health-care community, not only in the GTA, but across Canada. We ensure that research reflects the diversity of identities of those engaged with the Centre. When you see yourself represented and reflected in research, you can be more confident that policies, initiatives, and overall understanding of mental health and wellness will benefit you and your community in the future!
Below, find some of our current research studies.
CARIBOU-2
CARIBOU-2 (Care for Adolescents who Receive Information ‘Bout Outcomes) explores a flexible treatment approach for youth experiencing depression. The CARIBOU protocol recognizes that treatment is not “one size fits all” and combines evidence-based guidelines with individual assessment so that treatment can be tailored to the individual. CARIBOU-2 tests this pathway in six community mental health clinics in Ontario. CARIBOU was originally developed by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).
This research is run by CAMH and both GH-CCMH locations are participating.
Benefit to GH-CCMH clients
This research study gives youth access to a cutting-edge treatment approach to depression that can combine two types of evidence-based psychotherapy, medication, group therapy, and caregiver supports. Youth are also paid for their time completing outcome assessments.
To learn more about the CARIBOU-2 initiative, visit their official website.
Evaluation of pathways to community-based care
At GH-CCMH, we are committed to bridging the gap for children, youth, caregivers and families to receive community-based care that ensures continuity of care, promotes long-term recovery and helps clients integrate back into their daily lives. There was a surge in youth presenting with mental health concerns at the emergency department at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) during the COVID-19 pandemic. This provided an impetus to develop a pathway of care from the hospital to GH-CCMH. The resulting pathway facilitated the transfer of clients from the Urgent Care Clinic at SickKids to brief psychotherapy at GH-CCMH.
Benefit to GH-CCMH clients
We evaluated the effectiveness of the service provided through the COVID-surge pathway based on clinician and caregiver assessments. The results showed that following the brief intervention:
Youth experienced significant improvement in behavioural challenges according to both caregiver and clinician assessments.
Caregivers reported lower levels of internalized strain (worry, sadness, guilt, fatigue), and making some progress towards treatment goals.
Following the COVID-surge pathway, further care pathways were established to support referrals between the SickKids Mental Health Access Program and the GH-CCMH Mental Health Access Program (intake and referral program for psychotherapy services), the Psychiatry Assessment Pathway as well as referrals from other outpatient programs at SickKids where transition to community-based mental health services was appropriate. Between September 2022 and December 2023, there were more than 100 referrals from SickKids programs to GH-CCMH outpatient services with the goal of connecting children, youth and families to the right place.
This work contributed directly to the model of care design for two new pathways in 2023, the Arrell Family Mental Health Bridging Service and the Emergency Department Transition Service. We continue to evaluate the impact of this work from the perspectives of youth, caregivers, and clinicians to understand whether the services are effective and how they can be improved.