Centre for translational student mental health research
Mental health solutions in partnership with students
The U-Flourish Centre is a collaborative network of multidisciplinary applied researchers working together with students, university leaders, and stakeholders to realize the shared aim of addressing knowledge gaps and translating findings into engaging and effective support to benefit university student well-being across the spectrum of need.
Mental health is crucial to university student well-being and academic success
The transition to university marks a critical period in psychological, social, and biological development. The brain is undergoing accelerated growth and exquisitely poised to learn new information but also sensitive to exposures, such as alcohol, recreational drugs and poor quality of sleep. At the same time, many students are leaving home and established supports, taking on more responsibility and making new friends, whilst adjusting to higher education. Increasingly, student demand for mental health support has outpaced enrolment and is straining university resources.
Connecting the dots.
There is limited reliable data to inform universities as to the burden and scope of student mental health need and what support works, for whom and how do they work. There is also a need to develop evidence-informed care pathways to campus resources and facilitate connecting to specialized community services when needed. The U-Flourish Centre brings together researchers, providers, faculty and students to bridge the knowledge gap and translate findings into student-friendly and student-tailored solutions.
Empowering students
Central to our mission is the empowering students to advocate for and promote their mental health and well-being. We actively partner with students in all stages of the research - from priority setting, designing, collecting and analyzing study data to disseminating and translating research findings. We ensure that students from all backgrounds and under-represented minorities are involved in our work. By ensuring that student perspectives and voices are heard, we strive to create research outcomes that resonate and are impactful. We aim to develop digital tools, educational offerings, and self-guided resources supporting students to gain knowledge, build resilience, and engage in self-care practices that promote their own mental health and well-being.
Acknowledging our funders
The U-Flourish Centre is a network of national and international university-affiliated researchers, clinicians and community stakeholders. The Centre was established with a philanthropic gift from the Rossy Family Foundation. In addition, partner funding has been provided by the Mach-Gaensslen Foundation and the McCall MacBain Foundation. We are very grateful to these committed philanthropic foundations for their support and collaboration. Furthermore, we have been funded through competitive operating grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Medical Research Council (MRC) in the UK (UK adaptation of U-Flourish into the Nurture-U UK project).
