VALIDITY Project

Local project for Program Consultant - Cheryl Vrkljan, Hamilton Office, CAMH

Cheryl is a member of the VALIDITY♀ (Vibrant Action Looking Into Depression In Today’s Young Women) provincial project team at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.  This participatory action research project is aimed at gaining a better understanding of factors that lead to depression in young women, with the goal of ultimately developing strategies, materials, and interventions to address these factors.  Since 1999, the VALIDITY Team has worked with hundreds of young women to develop new resources for professionals, workshops for International Women’s Day and girl-specific programs.  

In 2004, the “Girls Talk” Program was created as a result of feedback from focus groups with young women.  Girls Talk is an depression education and awareness program for young women ages 13-16 yrs, and was recently revised in 2009. The new Girls Talk program facilitator manual was launched in 2009 and is available for free at www.camh.net/validity.

In partnership with clinicians and the CAMH VALIDITY Team, young women developed a guide called “Hear Me, Understand Me, Support Me” in 2006.  This guide contains information about what young women want service providers to know about helping young women with depression.  This free resource is available at www.camh.net/validity.

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