Help us build a world where mental health and physical health are treated equally.

Every day, we devote our energy to accelerating the development, validation and integration of technology and adopting innovative, non-pharmacological approaches to prevent and treat mental health disorders.

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A reality that affects us all

Mental health disorders impact the entire population:

We believe that traditional approaches to mental health can be revolutionized.

 

Our Project Support Services

The purpose of our project support services is to accelerate the development of digital technologies in the mental health field and to facilitate the scientific validation process. Our researchers benefit from personalized support, methodological tools and reference materials that are designed and chosen to meet their specific needs. Support is available for a single component of a project or throughout the entire journey, from refining your ideas at the outset to the launching and updating of the developed technology to ensure its longevity.

DEFINING A PROJECT

It is essential to clearly define any project. Using our project specifications sheet, the researcher works to clarify the overarching vision, the key objectives and critical parameters. This is also a time to assess context, ensuing tasks, strategies, resource requirements, priorities and desired features.

PLANNING

Planning a project means, among other things, taking a close look at the related scientific, ethical, legal, procurement and intellectual property issues. It is also the time to pinpoint potential partners and sources of funding.

TECHNOLOGICAL DESIGN

Using a variety of tools and by involving partners, we can support researchers in handling the various facets of the digital technology design process. We can also accompany researchers during the consulting or co-construction process with user-groups.

VALIDATION PROCESS

The Centre Axel aids in validating the scientific components associated with digital technologies in the mental health field. We can support you by providing methodological tools, training or access to a potential user-base. We can also assess your existing technology or provide an evaluation for a tool that is currently in development.

PROMOTION AND LONGEVITY

Promotion and branding strategies are essential to deliver your digital technology to a relevant user-base. We can also support you in assessing various longevity and management strategies (increasing awareness, digital platform marketing, patents, licensing, etc.).
 

Our work has already made big impacts

The projects we’ve developed generate concrete results that encourage us every day to further our research.

... Telepsychotherapy

Telepsychotherapy allows patients to receive effective psychotherapeutic treatments when they don’t have access to specialized professionals.

... STRONGER THAN BULLYING

This mobile application provides support to youth who’ve been affected by bullying, giving them information and strategies to deal with the situation.

... Avatars and virtual reality

This treatment method is promising to mitigate the impact of auditory hallucinations on schizophrenic patients who are resistant to the usual therapies.

... iSMART

The app was developed by mental health researchers to aid people in managing chronic stress.

... Getting Better My Way

This self-management support tool can help people living with anxiety, depression or bipolar disorder.

... SecurApp

SecurApp was created for persons of the age of majority in Quebec and Canada who want to have access to a support when experiencing difficult situations.

 

Our team

The Axel Center consists of a co-management and an advisory committee.

The Chairs

The Centre Axel is run jointly by Stéphane Guay, Research Director of CR-IUSMM, and Stéphane Vial, Researcher at CR-IUSMM.

Stéphane Guay Co-director, Centre Axel

Stéphane Vial Co-director, Centre Axel

 

Make a real difference

We believe that technology can play a major role in helping people accept mental health issues and making treatment more accessible and effective. Many challenges lay ahead still and we need your help to go further. To learn more about fund governance, visit the Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Montréal Foundation website.