Anxiety and depression - the most common mental health problems in Canada today - frequently develop during adolescence and early adulthood. As a result, young adults who suffer from these problems face complex decisions about their care and often lack the tools and information to pursue the right treatment. And the right treatment, based on sound evidence, can have a critical impact on a young adult's health - especially when begun early.

Mobilizing Minds: Pathways to Young Adult Mental Health is a team of mental health professionals, young adults, community organizations, researchers and experts in knowledge translation (KT). Our team will identify the information needs of young adults who suffer from anxiety and depression, as well as those who may be in a position to help them. Interviews and focus groups will be conducted with young adults ages 18-25 (and those who support them) to find out:

• what information they want about mental health
• when they might consider seeking information and assistance
• where they would like to access mental health information from
• what format the information should be in (e.g., web-based, brochures, media, etc.)
• whom they might contact for this information
• when it would be best to receive this information; and
• potential barriers that might prevent them from getting the information they need in an optimal format.

Then, backed by scientific research, we will develop and evaluate young adult mental health resources in real-world settings. The end product will be evidence-based mental health information, resources and decision-making aids for young adults that will assist them in making informed decisions about their mental health and mental health treatment options. Mobilzing Minds will work with partner organizations to transfer the project's findings and disseminate the final products nationally.

Mobilizing Minds also includes a team of young adults (mental health consumers and non-consumers) who guide and inform the project. These young adults will be developing their own mental health KT projects and advocate for young adult involvement in all mental health decision-making, programming and services that target young adults.

This project is funded by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research and the Mental Health Commission of Canada.

For more information on this project, please contact Jennifer McPhee, Project Coordinator (mcpheej@yorku.ca).