The MINDS Story
Picture this: A social innovation lab in Ontario, Canada, where youth aren’t just participants in research – they’re the driving force behind it. That’s MINDS (Mental Health INcubator for Disruptive Solutions), our initiative focused on addressing mental health and addiction challenges faced by youth aged 16-25 in the London-Middlesex community.
Our mission wasn’t just about conducting research; it was about reimagining how mental health research and solutions are developed. We wanted to create a space where young people’s experiences, insights, and ideas would shape every aspect of our work. In a community of over 118,000 young people between ages 10-29, we recognized the urgent need for innovative approaches to mental health support.
What makes our approach special? It’s the combination of two powerful frameworks that create a unique environment for genuine youth engagement and innovative solution development: Youth-Participatory Action Research (Y-PAR): This isn’t your traditional research method. Y-PAR puts youth in the driver’s seat, making them active co-researchers.
You can read the whole research publication from Action Research here: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/14767503231205238
Breaking New Ground: Our Unique Approach
What makes our approach special? It’s the combination of two powerful frameworks that create a unique environment for genuine youth engagement and innovative solution development:
- Youth-Participatory Action Research (Y-PAR): This isn’t your traditional research method. Y-PAR puts youth in the driver’s seat, making them active co-researchers rather than passive subjects. It’s rooted in critical and liberation theory, emphasizing the democratization of knowledge and the importance of lived experience.
- Social Innovation: We operate as a Social Innovation Lab (SIL), which means we’re all about finding new, creative solutions to complex problems. This framework allows us to be agile, experimental, and responsive to emerging needs and ideas.
The Heart of Our Work: Youth as Co-Researchers
One of our proudest achievements has been employing youth with lived experience as researchers and co-facilitators. Over 90% of our youth team members have personal experience with mental health challenges, bringing invaluable perspective to our work. To date, 20 people have participated as core staff, advisory, and research partners, including 8 academic researchers, 9 staff roles, and 5 rotating community-engagement placements.
Here’s what one of our youth researchers shared: “I was drawn to MINDS because they purposefully include youth in all areas, showing respect for everyone’s opinions regardless of their role on the team.”
Our Challenge Statement: A Vision for Change
Our work is guided by a powerful challenge statement that envisions a community where youth experience optimal mental and emotional wellbeing because they:
- Are intrinsically valued
- Have hope for a better future and are actively building it
- Develop and maintain positive relationships
- Are engaged in meaningful activities
- Can cope with life’s challenges
Our Impact: Real Solutions by Youth, for Youth
Through this collaborative approach, we’ve developed several innovative solutions that demonstrate the power of youth-led innovation:
- Safe Storytelling Toolkit: Created by youth, this toolkit helps young people share their mental health experiences safely and meaningfully. It focuses on creating awareness, normalizing mental health struggles, promoting personal growth, and building inclusive communities – all while ensuring storytellers maintain control of their narrative.
- Youth Mental Health and Addictions Council (YMHAC): A platform where youth directly influence hospital and community programs through their lived experience. This council represents a significant shift in how healthcare institutions engage with young people, moving from consultation to genuine collaboration.
- Repairing Damaged Relationships Workbook: A collaborative tool focused on rebuilding trust and connections, developed jointly by youth and adult allies. This resource addresses the critical need for supporting relationship repair in mental health recovery.
Challenges and Learnings: Keeping it Real
Let’s be honest – this journey hasn’t been without its challenges. Operating within a large hospital institution means navigating bureaucratic processes while trying to maintain the agility needed for innovation. We’ve learned to move at what we call “the speed of trust” – sometimes slower than ideal, but necessary for meaningful youth engagement.
Our institutional setting has presented both opportunities and obstacles. While we benefit from consistent operational and reputational support, we sometimes face tensions between institutional expectations and the organic nature of youth-led work. We’ve learned to navigate these challenges by:
- Maintaining flexibility in engagement levels
- Providing comprehensive training and support
- Offering fair compensation for youth contributions
- Creating multiple pathways for participation
- Constantly adapting our approaches based on feedback
The Power of Reflection and Growth
One particularly enlightening moment came during our work on the Repairing Damaged Relationships prototype. When youth participants felt their voices were being overshadowed, we immediately halted work, held youth-only meetings, and made substantial changes to ensure true youth leadership. This experience reinforced our commitment to authentic youth engagement and demonstrated the importance of being willing to pause, reflect, and redirect when necessary.
Innovation in Practice
Our approach to innovation goes beyond traditional research methods. We regularly host “convenings” – day-long sessions where stakeholders, including youth, adult allies, service providers, and policy makers, come together to shape our direction and evaluate our impact. These sessions ensure our work remains grounded in community needs while pushing boundaries in mental health support approaches.
Looking Forward: The Future of Youth-Led Research
As we continue this work, we’re seeing exciting developments:
- Youth becoming stronger advocates in mental health spaces
- Increased confidence among young people in voicing their views
- Deeper collaboration between youth and mental health professionals
- Institutional culture shifts toward more youth-centered approaches
- Growing recognition of the value of lived experience in research
Join Our Journey
As we continue this work, we remain committed to our core belief: youth aren’t just the future – they’re the present. Their experiences, insights, and leadership are essential to creating meaningful solutions in mental health care.
Our experience at MINDS demonstrates that when we truly empower youth voices and leadership, we don’t just get better research – we get better solutions that actually work for the young people they’re meant to serve. We’re committed to sharing our learning and supporting others who want to embrace youth-led approaches to mental health research and innovation.
Want to learn more about MINDS and our work? Visit mindslondon.ca to discover how you can be part of this transformative approach to youth mental health research and innovation.
Acknowledgement
Dr. Eugenia Canas, our founding Director of Research, whose vision helped shape MINDS’ innovative approach, sadly passed away in June 2021. This work continues in honor of her dedication to youth-centered research and mental health system transformation.
