YouthCan 2020: A new vision for youth mental health in Canada

The majority of serious mental illnesses and addictions begin during adolescence. It is clear that the effectiveness of early intervention is limited by the barriers that youth face in accessing mental health/addiction services and by the often ineffective delivery of services. This has led to a crisis of access for youth who require levels of mental health service that are developmentally sensitive and youth-friendly. The irony is that the population most "at risk" for serious mental disorder is the least well served by our mental health services. Our overall strategy is to develop a network that leads to transformational systems change in youth mental health and addiction services for youth aged 11 to 25. We believe change can be achieved if we have a network that engages all relevant stakeholders, especially youth and families. We are proposing an easily accessible, continuous, comprehensive, youth/family centred, coordinated, compassionate and culturally sensitive evidence-based mental health care model. A school-based targeted prevention program will be provided to students with early signs of mental health/addiction problems identified through screening or self-referral. It will be linked to an "Integrated Collaborative Care Team" that consists of aggressive out-reach services to places where youth in need find themselves. Each youth will have a case navigator and receive peer support, and based on a comprehensive, standardized assessment, will receive either a low intensity intervention for youth with mild to moderate problems or a high intensity intervention for youth with more severe problems. It is our ethical and professional responsibility to implement and evaluate models of care that are evidence based and responsive to youth and their families. We are confident that the models that we are proposing will transform the mental health system for youth in Canada and will reduce the burden of suffering associated with mental health disorders in this country.