Emerging Adult Mental Health

As Calgarians rallied to create a new Centre for Child & Adolescent Mental Health, the need to support an equally vulnerable Emerging Adult population became evident and urgent.

Today, serious challenges faced by young people, heightened by the fallout of Covid-19, have prompted the development of an integrated clinical and research mental health initiative focused on helping 16- to 24-year-olds.

Jointly led by Alberta Health Services and the University of Calgary, this new venture is bringing together clinicians and researchers with expertise in child, adolescent and adult psychiatry, psychology, social work and adolescent medicine to address significant global gaps in knowledge and services. With input from young people and their families themselves, this initiative will research, re-examine and redesign services and treatments to meet the needs of a population at a pivotal juncture in their psychological, neurobiological and social-emotional development.

With your help, AHS and UCalgary will transform the existing health care model to better support young people who are falling between the cracks of the pediatric and adult mental health care systems.

Ultimately, this will include the creation of a new purpose-driven centre – a blend of virtual and physical space – that will provide nation-leading research-intensive care tailored for emerging adults and their families.

Meet the Kids

Focused on a Brighter Future

Ashley’s teenage years left her feeling lost and uncertain. Until age 15, she was an honour roll student, an enthusiastic artist, writer and classically trained pianist.

Meet Ashley