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Research

About

The CLC research portfolio includes people with lived expertise related to navigating mental health and/or substance use challenges, people with professional expertise, and people with both perspectives who are committed to co-producing equitable and inclusive research.

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Historically, research in mental health and addiction has relegated people with lived expertise to the position of research subjects rather than recognizing them as leaders and partners in research. However, the field is shifting to engage people with lived experience as active and equal collaborators in research. Our work supports this shift by drawing researchers’ attention to the ongoing challenges related to engagement, representation, tokenism, and power in research. We promote equitable and collaborative research methodologies that support self-determination, epistemic justice, and lived experience leadership.

There are two teams that comprise this research portfolio.


Our Recovery, Our Outcomes Team

In 2020, we received funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to conduct research on Recovery Colleges (RCs). The project, called “Our Recovery, Our Outcomes: Co-Producing an Evaluation of Recovery Colleges,” brought together researchers and people with lived experience to study evaluation strategies for RCs. This project had two phases: Phase one involved a literature review on RC evaluation (Lin et al., 2023). Phase two included interviews with 29 people who access, volunteer, or work with RCs in Canada. The interviews explored what people thought was important about RCs and their views on how best to evaluate them (Harris et al., 2023; Soklaridis et al., 2023). This research provided a foundation for RC research at CAMH.


CLC Research Subcommittee

The CLC Research Subcommittee facilitates and drives the strategic directions for RC research at CAMH by engaging the CLC community, exploring the mental health literature and leveraging members’ diverse areas of expertise. The subcommittee has several aims:

  • To guide research activities related to the CLC by engaging with the CLC community, the mental health literature, members’ lived/living expertise and their unique location within the mental health system
  • To create a space where people with learned and lived expertise can guide RC and CLC research in a collaborative way
  • To advise other groups in the mental health community on matters relating to RC, and CLC research and on cross-cutting issues of interest to the subcommittee

Please see the CLC Research Subcommittee’s terms of reference at the following link: Terms of Reference

To learn more about the members of our teams please see the following link: Meet Our Members!


What We've Been Up To

Author: George James, Research Subcommittee Member

Date: October 2025

What’s New

  • We successfully completed our co-produced photovoice project which focussed on examining the impact of co-production in Recovery Colleges.

  • We continue to work on our co-produced research agenda with three areas of focus: co-production, stigma, and measurement science.
  • This involves our team continuing to work on developing a psychometric tool to more broadly measure the impact of co-production on those involved in mental health settings. This involves our team continuing to work on developing a psychometric tool to more broadly measure the impact of co-production on those involved in mental health settings.Additionally, we will soon begin to conduct a Principles-Focused Evaluation to reflect on our team’s adherence to co-production principles and the impact of such. This will serve as a form of reflexive practice and enable us to disseminate our learnings from co-producing a strategic research agenda.
  • Two of our members attended a story telling workshop for researchers and are exploring opportunities to integrate the learnings in our work.
  • In addition, two of our members were featured in a panel discussion on co-production during CAMH’s Education Achieve event.

Knowledge Translation

Collaborations

  • We were fortunate to have a visit and discussion with Jeanette Allan, from North Ayrshire Recovery College in Scotland.
  • We continue to meet with our colleagues at CAMH's Courses and Programming Subcommittee, Evaluation Subcommittee, and Lived Experience Research Committee to discuss opportunities for collaboration and research related to Recovery Colleges or the CLC.

Conferences

  • Since April, we have presented at Refocus on Recovery and PiPER Research Day.
  • We have received an acceptance for a presentation at TEAM Scholarship Day.

Outputs

What's Next?

We are in the process of promoting the results of the photovoice study, conducting a Principles- Focused Evaluation, while also fulfilling current grant projects and planning new ones.

Grants

We are proud to announce that in January 2025, we received a Canadian Institutes of Health Research grant as part of their Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research. This $400,000 grant will fund a two-year research project to develop a psychometric tool to measure the impact of co-production on those involved in the process across health contexts.



Our Selected Works

Soklaridis, S., Harris, H., Shier, R., Rovet, J., Black, G., Bellissimo, G., Gruszecki, S., Lin, E., & Di Giandomenico, A. (2024). A balancing act: navigating the nuances of co-production in mental health research. Research Involvement and Engagement, 10(1), 30. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40900-024-00561-7 

Harris, H., Shier, R., Black, G., Di Giandomenico, A., Lin, E., Bellissimo, G., Rovet, J., Gruszecki, S. & Soklaridis, S. (2023). Finding connection “while everything is going to crap”: Experiences in Recovery Colleges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Research Involvement and Engagement, 9(1), 77. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40900-023-00489-4

Lin. E., Harris, H., Black, G., Bellissimo, G., Di Giandomenico, A., Rodak, T., Costa-Dookhan K.A., Shier, R., Rovet, J., Gruszecki, S. & Soklaridis, S (2022). Evaluating Recovery Colleges: A co -created scoping review. Journal of Mental Health. 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638237.2022.2140788

Lin, E., Harris, H., Gruszecki, S., Costa-Dookhan, K. A., Rodak, T., Sockalingam, S. & Soklaridis, S. (2022). Developing an evaluation framework for assessing the impact of recovery colleges: Protocol for a participatory stakeholder engagement process and cocreated scoping review. BMJ Open, 12(3), 1–6. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-055289

Soklaridis, S., Harris, H., Gruszecki, S., Bellissimo, G., Shier, R., Di Giandomenico, A., Rovet, J., Black, G. & Lin, E. (2023). Fidelity and adaptation: Reflections on recovery colleges globally. Lancet Psychiatry, 10(10), 736–737. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(23)00290-0

Soklaridis, S., Shier, R., Black, G., Bellissimo, G., Di Giandomenico, A., Gruszecki, S., Lin, E., Rovet, J. & Harris, H. (2023). “My words matter”: Perspectives on evaluation from people who access and work in recovery colleges. Mental Health and Social Inclusion. https://doi.org/10.1108/MHSI-01-2023-0002

Hawke, L. D., McKee, S., Harris, H., Hsieh, A., Svoboda, J., Sahaguian, M., Bellissimo, G., Hiebert, M., Lawless, K., James, G., Patenaude, S., Rovet, J., & Soklaridis, S. (2025). “every voice matters”: A photovoice study on the personal impacts of co-production in recovery Colleges. Health Expectations: An International Journal of Public Participation in Health Care and Health Policy, 28(5), e70441. https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.70441

Hawke, L.D., Harris, H., Hsieh, A. , Sahaguian, M. , Bellissimo, G. , Lawless, K. , Svoboda, J., Sendanyoye, C., Hauer, S. , Munro, C. , McKee, S., Hiebert, M., Donner, K., Rovet, J., Soklaridis, S. (2025). The rigorous evaluation of engagement in mental health and substance use contexts: A mixed-methods platform of co-designed research in development. In Casebook of Patient and Public Engagement Evaluation in Health Research, Health Systems and Policy. Public and Patient Engagement Collaborative, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada. P. 7-11. https://ppe.mcmaster.ca/casebook-public-and-patient-engagement-evaluation/

CAMH Collaborative Learning College Research Subcommittee. (2025, August 29). Photovoice Project: Impact of Coproduction in Recovery Colleges Across Canada [Video]. YouTube.



Research Opportunity Spotlight

Cognitive Dysfunction in the Addictions (CDiA) Study

The Cognitive Dysfunction in the Addictions (CDiA) study is a multidisciplinary study that looks at thinking and memory processes in substance use disorders. Participants are involved in the study for a year, and participate in interviews and computer tasks to learn more about their mental health, substance use, and thinking processes. Some participants go on to do a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain scan, blood tests, or activity trackers as part of the study. The goals and procedures of the CDiA study have been shaped by a team of adults with lived experience of substance use concerns from the beginning. This committee meets regularly to guide CDiA activity and inform future research; several of its members have joined study papers as investigators, and grant applications as authors, with team research staff and scientists.

If you would like to learn more about CDiA, you can contact the research team at CDiA@camh.ca

Poster

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About the Research Spotlight:

The Research Opportunity Spotlight presents studies that are in the recruitment or planning phase and that are consistent with the values of our CLC community and the RC philosophy. These studies are led by or engage people with lived experience. They are RC-focused, personal recovery–oriented and rooted in the needs of the populations being researched. The Research Opportunity Spotlight showcases opportunities to join research teams or participate in studies. The CLC Research Subcommittee has conscientiously developed this process to establish connections between research initiatives and the CLC, ensuring that it serves as a platform for those interested without turning the CLC into a recruitment pool.

To apply to have your study featured on the Research Opportunity Spotlight, please complete the following form: https://edc.camhx.ca/redcap/surveys/?s=FKYTYDM7P8LH8XE3

The CLC has no formal affiliation to these studies unless stated otherwise. Participation is voluntary—there is no expectation that people who access the CLC get involved in research. Your participation will not influence your engagement or participation with the CLC.

If you are interested in other opportunities to participate in research at CAMH, please visit Research Connect. If you would like to join a research team as a Lived Experience Advisor at CAMH, please contact Melissa Hiebert, the CAMH Patient Engagement in Research Coordinator, at Melissa.hiebert@camh.ca.

Learn more about the research opportunity spotlight process.



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