CENTRE FOR ADDICTION AND MENTAL HEALTH
CENTRE FOR PREVENTION SCIENCE

 

The CAMH Centre for Prevention Science (CAMH-CPS) is part of the Child, Youth and Family program within the Department of Psychiatry at CAMH / University of Toronto. CAMH-CPS subscribes to a population health approach to promoting health and reducing risk, and it is committed to research on the prevention of risk-related behaviours among children and youth. The Centre collaborates closely with the Centre for Research on Violence Against Women and Children at the University of Western Ontario. We also have partnerships with school boards, community agencies, and the Alliance of Five Research Centres on Violence.

CAMH-CPS houses the “Fourth R” project for schools, a comprehensive violence prevention and healthy relationship program that is currently implemented in over 350 schools across Canada after completion of a rigorous evaluation in London, Ontario.  The original “Fourth R” grade 9/10 curriculum was developed to help adolescents form healthy relationships and make better choices while they navigate critical developmental minefields such as substance use, sexual relationships, bullying and violence. Through open dialogue and role-playing, the curriculum engages teachers and students in enthusiastic discussion about peer pressure, media literacy, emotional and psychological abuse and healthy communication. Since the development of this program, the Centre has developed and implemented Grades 9-12 English Fourth R Programs, a Grade 8 Fourth R program, a version for use with Alternative Education, Suspensions, and Expulsion programs, and an Aboriginal Perspective Fourth R curriculum. The Centre also creates resources for parents in the form of newsletters, books, and how-to-manuals and provides in service training to educators, administrators and community professionals.

With partners across the province and country, the CAMH –CPS is uniquely involved in health promotion and prevention research for youth in schools and the broader community. In addition to the Fourth R program, the Centre is involved in a provincial-wide project addressing media literacy in schools, a province-wide Trillium funded project examining sustainable strategies for violence prevention in schools, and a national project looking at best practice violence prevention programs and initiatives for Aboriginal youth.

The CAMH -CPS is staffed by people with a wide range of talent and expertise, including research design, working with community partners, educators, and clinicians working with children and youth from diverse backgrounds. This is the first centre of its kind in Canada in which academic researchers and educators work closely with community partners to implement effective, sustainable prevention initiatives for children and youth. Through careful evaluation and dissemination, the centre advances the study of prevention to that of a science and a fundamental part of our services to children, youth, and families