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As demand for youth mental health support rises, a new Canadian initiative is rethinking the way research is done, clinicians are trained, and digital tools are developed. To learn more, we spoke to the team behind DIVERT Mental Health.
Dr. Kaitlin Di Pierdomenico Postdoctoral Visitor Dept of Psychology, York University
M eeting the growing demand for mental more than expanding existing services. It means rethinking how we train the next generation of clinician-scientists, how we design digital tools, and who we include in the process. health support requires About DIVERT The Digital, Inclusive, Virtual, and Equitable Research Training in Mental Health Platform (DIVERT Mental Health) is a pan-Canadian initiative dedicated to disrupting how we create research, and deliver mental health care for children, youth, and families. Funded through a multi-million- dollar investment from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and supported by IBM Canada, DIVERT is a bold response to an outdated system. Our goal? To divert from the current path toward a future grounded in equity, diversity, digital innovation, and inclusion. DIVERT is unique in its national reach and its commitment to inclusive digital transformation. We unite trainees, academic
faculty, community clinicians, NGO and industry partners from diverse fields – including psychology, social work, pediatrics, psychiatry, nursing, computer science – to explore different ways of addressing mental health. We are supporting the evolution of both researchers and community-based mental health care professionals to adopt, co-create, and integrate digital tools that are inclusive, evidence- informed, and responsive to diverse needs. Anyone and everyone can become an Associate Fellow. National collaboration DIVERT’s training model includes virtual learning communities, national mentorship grounded in lived experience, cross-sector research collaborations, and annual in-person gatherings. These opportunities foster both skill-building and relationship- building, essential for sustainable systems change. Our goal will be to co-create with marginalized communities the development of training that establishes a new standard for an inclusive, diverse, technologically aware curriculum in child and youth mental health.
katiemdp@yorku.ca
kaitlin-di-pierdomenico
Anne Lovegrove President & Executive Director Strong Minds Strong Kids Psychology Canada anne.lovegrove@ strongmindsstrongkids.org anne-lovegrove
Dr. Rebecca Pillai Riddell CPsych FCAHS Professor & Director OUCH Lab, Dept of Psychology York University
rpr@yorku.ca
rebeccapillairiddell
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