Youth Mental Health Strategy
Advancing research and support for the mental health needs of children and youth
Children and youth living with juvenile arthritis and other rheumatic diseases often face challenges that go beyond physical symptoms. Pain, fatigue, medical appointments, uncertainty, school pressures, and social isolation can all affect mental health and well-being.
Cassie + Friends’ Youth Mental Health Strategy supports research, peer connection, and collaborative action to improve care and outcomes for youth and families across Canada.
Why This Matters
Living with rheumatic disease can impact a child or teen’s emotional, social, and mental well-being. Anxiety, depression, stress, isolation, and uncertainty can become part of the care journey — especially when symptoms are ongoing or difficult to manage.
Mental health support is an essential part of helping youth live well with chronic illness. By addressing mental health alongside physical care, families and healthcare teams can better support the whole child.
“Research provides hope that maybe tomorrow will be a little bit easier and better than today. It allows me to find comfort in knowing that there are dedicated researchers working to generate new understandings, treatments and therapies.” — Teen living with JIA
About the Strategy
A national approach to improving support and care.
Cassie + Friends’ Youth Mental Health Strategy was created to help address gaps in mental health care, research, and support for children and youth living with rheumatic disease.
The strategy brings together families, youth, researchers, clinicians, donors, and partners to advance practical solutions — from peer mentorship to research funding and national collaboration.
Three Key Initiatives
Research, support, and collaboration working together.
The Youth Mental Health Strategy focuses on three connected initiatives designed to improve support, strengthen research, and help close gaps in care.
Initiative 1: Youth Mentorship Program
Peer support for children, youth, and young adults living with rheumatic disease, helping them connect with trained mentors who understand the experience of chronic illness.
Initiative 2: Brain Canada Research Partnership
An unprecedented national research partnership dedicated exclusively to mental health in pediatric rheumatic disease.
Through a combined funding investment of $480,000, Cassie + Friends and Brain Canada awarded two Canadian research teams $240,000 each over two years to advance the prevention, early identification and treatment of mental health challenges affecting children and youth with rheumatic diseases.
Initiative 3: Pediatric Rheumatology Mental Health Workgroup
A national workgroup bringing together clinical, research, youth, caregiver, and community perspectives to identify priorities and improve mental health care and outcomes.
Unprecedented Investment
In 2024, Cassie + Friends and Brain Canada announced the recipients of the Addressing Mental Health in Paediatric Rheumatic Diseases Team Grants.
The partnership awarded a combined $480,000 to two Canadian research teams—$240,000 each over two years—to improve understanding, early identification and treatment of mental health challenges in children and youth living with rheumatic diseases such as juvenile idiopathic arthritis and lupus.
These grants represent a significant step forward in a field where mental health needs have historically received limited dedicated research and support.
“When mental health suffers, overall health also suffers.”
— Dr. Andrea Knight, Canada Research Chair in Mental Health and Chronic Disease of Childhood; SickKids clinician-researcher
A National Partnership
Advancing research with the potential to transform young lives.
“Together with Cassie + Friends, we are proud to fund these important research initiatives. Our partnership reaffirms our dedication to supporting groundbreaking research that has the capacity to profoundly improve the lives of Canadian youth navigating mental health challenges.”
— Dr. Viviane Poupon, President and CEO, Brain Canada
Research Project 1: Making Mindfulness Matter
Supporting children with JIA and their caregivers together.
Led by Dr. Roberta Berard of London Health Sciences Centre, this project studies the connection between mental health and juvenile idiopathic arthritis in children and their primary caregivers.
The team is evaluating Making Mindfulness Matter, an intervention designed to help parents manage stress while helping children regulate emotions and build positive relationships.
The research will explore whether the program can improve mental health symptoms and quality of life for children with JIA and their caregivers.
“Arthritis is so much more than the physical pain or symptoms. There was a direct correlation between my physical symptoms increasing and my mental health deteriorating.”
— Alison Legge, Cassie + Friends Youth Leader
Research Project 2: Identifying Mental Health Needs
Building better tools for earlier recognition and treatment.
Led by Dr. Mark Ferro of the University of Waterloo, this study follows the mental health experiences of children living with juvenile idiopathic arthritis over time.
The research includes the perspectives of both children and caregivers and evaluates the accuracy of the Emotional Behavioural Scales in measuring mental health in childhood JIA.
The findings may help healthcare teams identify mental health concerns earlier and improve access to appropriate treatment and support.
“I think with every diagnosis should come an automatic appointment with a mental health specialist to help and support caregivers and patients.”
— Jennifer Faber, Parent, Amherstburg, Ontario
Mental Health Workgroup
Bringing experts and lived experience together.
The Pediatric Rheumatology Mental Health Workgroup brings together diverse perspectives to help improve mental health research, care, and outcomes for children and youth with rheumatic disease.
The workgroup helps identify needs, set priorities, and support strategies that reflect both clinical expertise and the real experiences of youth and families.
Support for Youth + Families
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Research Resources
Explore and participate in ongoing research.
Moving Mental Health Forward
Cassie + Friends will continue working with youth, families, researchers, clinicians, and partners to improve mental health support in pediatric rheumatology.
By combining lived experience, research, and collaboration, this strategy helps move care toward a more complete understanding of what children and families need to live well.
