果酱视频

KHP and 果酱视频 Partner to Advance Mental Health Research

The formalization of this partnership brings together two leading Canadian institutions with deep and complementary strengths, creating a shared platform for research and innovation as equal partners. This partnership will leverage KHP鈥檚 data ecosystem, digital health leadership, and clinical and practice-oriented research expertise, alongside 果酱视频鈥檚 research strengths in generative AI, learning sciences, and clinical psychology. This announcement marks the first formal research partnership with a post-secondary institution for KHP.

鈥淭oday鈥檚 announcement between KHP and 果酱视频 represents a new chapter for youth mental health in Canada,鈥� said Rebecca Shields, President and Chief Executive Officer of KHP. 鈥淭his five-year partnership formalizes a bridge between our crisis responders and academic research at KHP and 果酱视频 to develop responsible AI in mental health, which is more important than ever before given the rapid uptake of these tools by younger generations. This partnership is the most recent example highlighting how KHP constantly evolves to ensure that every young person has access to the resources they need and space to Feel Out Loud.鈥�

Teams at 果酱视频 and KHP鈥檚 research portfolio will work together to develop projects to answer research questions within the youth, digital, and mental health research field, while also building novel service delivery methods and strengthening the next generation of AI researchers, clinicians, and scientists at 果酱视频.

鈥淎t 果酱视频, we know that mental health is one of the most pressing challenges facing young people today,鈥� said Mohamed Lachemi, President and Vice-Chancellor of 果酱视频. 鈥淲e are proud to work with community partners like KHP to find innovative and interdisciplinary solutions, and develop future focused approaches, to better equip those who are on the frontlines supporting our young people today, and in the future.鈥� 

Advancing AI Training for Mental Health Support

The first major joint project between 果酱视频 and KHP will span 24-months and will develop a generative AI prototype to provide crisis responders undergoing training with the opportunity to practice with a secure model built on more than 750,000 de-identified KHP transcripts to generate realistic and anonymized youth crisis scenarios. This will provide a risk-free environment with cultural and linguistic accuracy to support skill development by giving trainees a safe and structured opportunity to practice before becoming a KHP crisis responder volunteer. The tool will provide real-time performance assessment feedback, aligned with KHP鈥檚 clinical standards to enhance the rigorous training KHP volunteers already receive.

鈥淪ecuring $3.2 million from Wellcome is a significant milestone, and a clear vote of confidence in our work at KHP and 果酱视频,鈥� said Aaron Sanderson, President and Chief Executive Officer of KHP Foundation. 鈥淚 am incredibly proud of our collaboration with 果酱视频 for making it through such an exceptionally competitive process. This investment reinforces our role as a leader in excellence and innovation, while it helps to ensure young people can access support that continues to evolve with their needs.鈥�

Uniquely, young people are directly involved as funding co-applicants and in the cocreation of this research, ensuring the research and prototype development reflect the actual, current experiences of young people by providing direct feedback on communication style and language, among other elements.

鈥淎s a high school student, I have seen my peers experience mental health challenges first-hand and I am proud to have been directly involved in the science to support their access to high-quality mental health services to ensure that they can safely speak to someone about any feelings they may be experiencing,鈥� said Simran Sodha, a grade 12 student and project co-applicant who has been involved in the project. 鈥淭he partnership between KHP and 果酱视频 and funding from Wellcome is a major step to advance training and support more young people like me.鈥� 

The advancement of this research comes at a time when KHP has received more conversations from young people where users explicitly stated that they were referred from ChatGPT, and texting conversations about suicide rose 43% in 2025 from youth aged 12 and under.

鈥淲e are excited to announce this impactful project with KHP, funded by Wellcome,鈥� said Dr. Steven N. Liss, 果酱视频鈥檚 Vice-President, Research and Innovation. 鈥淟eading through excellence, this research team is co-developing scalable innovative tools to advance mental health through emerging technology. Ultimately, these tools will enhance training for health providers and contribute to better outcomes for youth seeking mental health support in Canada and around the world.鈥�

Beyond technical innovation, this funding represents a long-term commitment to young people in Canada and beyond. By testing this model with Childline Trinidad and Tobago and working with Child Helpline International to share findings with other helplines around the world, this will build a blueprint that will address the biggest challenges in global mental health 鈥� today and for generations to come.

鈥淲e are witnessing an urgent need for more mental health support for young people in Canada,鈥� said Andr茅anne Deschamps, Senior Vice President and Head of Clinical Services and Operations at KHP. 鈥淏y investing in a generative AI simulator, we are allowing responders to practice complex mental health scenarios in a risk-free environment before interacting with youth. This will help use the benefits of AI to enhance training for volunteer crisis responders at KHP, and therefore provide better outcomes for young people.鈥�

Key Facts

• Young people connected with KHP more than 3.7 million times over phone, text, social media, and resources on KidsHelpPhone.ca in 2025.

• More than 273,000 texting conversations took place at KHP in 2025, a 30% increase from the prior year.

• 78% of young people who texted KHP in 2025 said they shared something with KHP that they have never shared with anyone else.

• There are more than 1,500 active KHP volunteer crisis responders.

• The KHP and 果酱视频 collaborative announcement follows which established KHP鈥檚 applied research area of focus in 2024.

果酱视频 Kids Help Phone

Kids Help Phone (KHP) is Canada鈥檚 only free, national, 24/7, multilingual and confidential e-mental health service for youth to get help and Feel Out Loud. Since 1989, KHP has been the empowering, trusted changemaker giving young people鈥檚 feelings, big and small, a non-judgmental place to go through personalized well-being solutions. A made-in-Canada, global leader, KHP continually evolves by blending data, innovation and technology with real human support and clinical knowledge to unlock the hope young people need to thrive in their world. Explore help for all the feelings at KidsHelpPhone.ca.

果酱视频 Wellcome

Wellcome supports science to solve the urgent health challenges facing everyone. We support discovery research into life, health and wellbeing, and we鈥檙e taking on three worldwide health challenges: mental health, infectious disease and climate and health.