+Fort
+FORT is a mobile application that offers support to young victims of bullying. The app helps them to better understand what they’re going through and offers them strategies to help diminish bullying. Initial studies indicate an average reduction of nearly 50% in reported bullying after 4–6 weeks of use.
Responsible researcher Isabelle Ouellet-Morin
Available on the App Store and Google Play
Why use +FORT: Stronger than Bullying?
It’s a unique tool that gives young people empirically-based and useful information about bullying. The app also helps them better understand what they’re going through, and discover and test strategies that can help diminish the amount of bullying they experience. Young people often say it’s hard to talk to adults about what happens when they are being bullied. +FORT was created to guide them through these difficult times. The app is easy to use, completely confidential, and prompts the user to confide in an adult when they feel ready.
+FORT: Stronger than Bullying is a tool that is intended to complement the work being done in schools and by helping professionals and parents.
A troubling situation
1/5 Children in Canada are victims of bullying. It is most frequent among 11 to 14 year-olds
50%
The reduction in the level of bullying after just four to six weeks of using +FORT
3000
People downloaded the first version of + FORT, which was originally only available for iOS and in French.
Responsible researcher
Isabelle Ouellet-Morin
FounderIsabelle Ouellet-Morin is a regular researcher at the Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Montréal (IUSMM) and holds the Canada Research Chair in the Developmental Origins of Vulnerability and Resilience. She is a full professor at the School of Criminology at the Université de Montréal and the founder of the +Fort mobile app. Her research focuses on the physiological, emotional, and social mechanisms that make young people exposed to adverse experiences more likely to develop mental health and behavioral problems. She also investigates whether new technologies can help support their resilience in the face of adversity. She co-founded the Axel Centre in 2018 and co-directed it until 2023. She is currently co-director of the Centre of Expertise in Information Technology – Mental Health, Addiction, and Homelessness (CETI-SMDI).
L'équipe
Stéphane Guay
Co-researcherA regular researcher at the IUSMM Research Centre, specializing in the assessment and treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder, Stéphane Guay is a full professor at the School of Criminology and the Department of Psychiatry and Addictology at the Université de Montréal. Former scientific director of the CR-IUSMM and co-director of theCentre d’études sur le trauma, he co-founded the Axel Centre in 2018 and co-directed it until 2025.
Marie-Pier Robitaille
CoordinatorMarie-Pier Robitaille is the holder of a PhD in criminology and has carried out postdoctoral work in psychiatry. She is a lecturer in criminology at Université de Montréal and in paralegal education at Collège Ahuntsic. Ms. Robitaille has been involved in the project since its inception; she coordinates the research team’s activities and the development and validation of +FORT.
Marie-Claude St-Laurent
SpokespersonMarie-Claude St-Laurent is an actress, author, feminist activist, literary co-director of La Nef at Éditions du remue-ménage, and artistic co-director of Théâtre de l’Affamée. On television, she gained recognition through the popular youth show Vrak la vie and more recently appeared in Sioui-Bacon V and L’Écrivain public III. On stage, she has performed in productions such as Guérilla de l’ordinaire, Chienne(s), Toc Toc, Grease, and Aller chercher demain. She co-wrote eight plays with Marie-Ève Milot, including Débranchée (Unplugged), a finalist for the 2017 Louise-LaHaye Award, and Guérilla de l’ordinaire, a finalist for the 2019 Michel-Tremblay Award. Their essay La Coalition de la Robe, co-written with Marie-Claude Garneau, was published by Éditions du remue-ménage in 2017. A committed artist with a strong dedication to youth, Marie-Claude has been involved as a spokesperson for +Fort since the early stages of the project.