About the AXEL Center
A pioneer in digital mental health research
The AXEL Center Today
The AXEL Center is a facilitator of digital innovation in mental health.
Based at the Research Center of the Montreal University Institute of Mental Health (CR-IUSMM), it supports research and clinical teams in the development, integration, and promotion of innovative digital solutions.
AXEL acts as a springboard: a space for support, networking, and guidance, dedicated to promising projects in digital mental health.
Our mission
Facilitating digital innovation for mental health research and care
The AXEL Center’s mission is to facilitate digital innovation in mental health by supporting teams throughout their projects.
Specifically, AXEL works to:
- create and support the development of digital solutions tailored to the needs of research and clinical settings;
- support research and clinical teams by providing methodological, strategic, and technical support;
- integrating digital technologies and artificial intelligence in a thoughtful, ethical, and relevant manner;
- driving innovative research and projects, from the initial idea through to implementation and impact.
Through these missions, the AXEL Center acts as a facilitator and a springboard (an AXELerator), serving promising projects in digital mental health.
Image credit: © Centre AXEL 2025
12+
projects and researchers supported
6 421 938 $
in funding secured by our researchers for digital mental health projects
Our technologies
Mobile apps, web tools, virtual reality, artificial intelligence...
Our vision
One area of research, one healthcare family
The AXEL Center envisions a structured research field and a true healthcare community, where digital mental health unfolds as a coherent, human-centered, and interconnected ecosystem.
This vision can be represented by the image of a butterfly.
- At the center, artificial intelligence forms the body of the butterfly: it connects, structures, and supports the entire ecosystem.
- On one side, the wings of digital tools include virtual reality, mobile apps, digital games, and online platforms and environments.
- On the other, the wings of healthcare approaches reflect the various ways to support mental health: virtual health, mobile health, gamified health, conversational health, and emerging digital approaches.
Together, these wings enable the butterfly to take flight.
AXEL thus aspires to integrated, accessible, and scalable digital innovation in the service of mental well-being.
Image credit: conceptualization of digital health © Monthuy-Blanc, J. 2025
A New Phase Since 2025
Since the summer of 2025, the AXEL Center has entered a new phase of its development, driven by a new team and the emergence of new formats for action and exchange.
This evolution is embodied in particular through:
- AXEL Days, by-appointment meetings to exchange ideas, ask questions, and structure projects in digital mental health;
- Constellation Tables, spaces for collaborative reflection bringing together experts to discuss major issues in digital mental health;
- the Midis-Alliés, informal gatherings organized jointly with the Signature Biobank, fostering exchanges between research, data, and digital innovation.
These initiatives reflect AXEL’s commitment to strengthening connections, collaboration, and the collective emergence of innovative projects.
See our actionsOur History: An Initiative Born from Research
Founded in 2018 by researchers Stéphane Guay and Isabelle Ouellet-Morin, the AXEL Center was established within the CR-IUSMM with a clear objective: to harness expertise in digital technologies and mental health to better support clinicians, those affected, the general public, and research teams.
From the very beginning, AXEL has leveraged the potential of digital technology to:
- provide scientifically validated clinical and diagnostic tools;
- promote self-reliance and prevention among the general public;
- support research teams through agile partnerships and cutting-edge technologies.
Several innovations have thus emerged or gained momentum, including the +Fort app, designed by researcher Isabelle Ouellet-Morin, and Avatar therapy, developed by researchers Alexandre Dumais and Stéphane Potvin.
In 2020, AXEL helped promote a strategic vision for digital mental health to government bodies, leading notably to the creation of the Centre of Expertise in Information Technology – Mental Health, Addiction, and Homelessness (CETI-SMDI) and the integration of a digital mental health strategy into the 2022–2026 Interministerial Action Plan. The CETI-SMDI now plays a major role in deploying validated digital mental health solutions across the healthcare network.
Since 2022, and even more so since 2025, the AXEL Center has firmly established itself as a facilitator of digital innovation, serving the CR-IUSMM and the Quebec Mental Health Alliance, with a focus on the future and collective action.
