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Strongest Families Institute/L’Institut Des Familles Solides

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Key Details

Organisation Name

Strongest Families Institute/L’Institut Des Familles Solides

Location

2 Dartmouth Road 3rd Floor, Bedford, NS B4A 1E7
Canada

Website

Social

eMHIC Member Status

Strategic Partner

At a Glance

Description

Delivers evidence-based, stepped-care mental health services through coach-guided CBT and digital tools, supporting ages 0 to seniors. Programs address parenting, anxiety, depression, stress, nighttime bedwetting, and mental health literacy, serving over 10,000 Canadians annually with proven clinical outcomes.

Implementation Status

Routine service delivery

SFI uses digital tools to deliver accessible, evidence-based stepped-care coaching for children, youth, families, and adults. Visit www.strongestfamilies.com to see where services are available.

Target Population

Individuals

children, youth, adults and families

Communities

SFI and IRIS are co-designed with diverse voices, delivering equitable outcomes across populations since 2000.

Teachers

Classroom Calm and Care provides Indigenous-informed virtual classroom coaching and private mental health support for teachers.

Organizations

Impact & Outcomes

Strongest Families Institute improves parental depression, family/peer relationships, risky behaviors, substance use, academics, bullying, sleep, and suicide prevention.
Its co-designed, scalable model reduces waitlists, enhances early intervention, and ensures continuous, responsive program delivery.
100,000
individuals served
<10%
attrition
>90%
overall client satisfaction
>90%
overall improvement life quality
50%
reduction in substance use
>85%
outcome success in reducing symptoms and improved daily functioning
100,000
individuals served
<10%
attrition
>90%
overall client satisfaction
>90%
overall improvement life quality
50%
reduction in substance use
>85%
outcome success in reducing symptoms and improved daily functioning
The simplicity really made it easy to retain the information and all of the different techniques worked well in tandem with one another.

Parent, Parents Empowering Kids (PEK)

After completing the program, I feel better equipped to help [my daughter] become consistently more emotionally regulated and as a result display more positive behaviour than negative.

Parent, Parents Empowering Kids (PEK)

[Our Coach] was kind, respectful, non-judgmental, knowledgeable, creative, understanding, patient. She took the time to explain certain parts clearly and simplifying it.

Parent, Parents Empowering Neurodiverse Kids (PEKNDD)

I found it most helpful that both parent and child learn their own techniques to deal with anxiety and separation and supporting our child.

Parent, Chase Worries Away

Now, I’m able to speak confidently, enjoy my favourite sport—curling—and focus on the things that matter, like being present in the moment.

Youth, Defeat Anxiety

Our whole family has benefitted from the program; we learned lifelong skills to manage anxiety. We still use the belly breathing and muscle relaxation today.

Parent

Related Articles
Knowledge Bank images-2025 (74)
From Innovation to Impact: The Recent Evolution of Strongest Families Institute
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Interconnected Magazine

Now accepting submissions of interest for the upcoming issue.

Interconnected is the world’s only digital mental health magazine.

Want to be featured?

Email [email protected]

Read the 2025 edition here

Initiative Overview

The Current Gap

Global mental health systems face rising demand that exceeds workforce capacity, leading to long waitlists, fragmented services, and inequitable access—especially for youth and families in crisis. Delayed care worsens outcomes and increases suicide risk. The Strongest Families Institute’s (SFI) Universal Stepped-Care System (USCS) addresses these gaps by delivering scalable, accessible care that matches support intensity to individual need. Evidence shows paraprofessional telephone coaching achieves strong outcomes. SFI’s cost-effective model strengthens early intervention, bridges prevention and treatment, and provides continuous care. Bilingual delivery, interoperable technology, and outcome monitoring enhance reach and integration, offering a practical, scalable solution to improve system resilience and population outcomes.

The Strongest Families Institute’s (SFI) Universal Stepped-Care System (USCS) is grounded in more than 25 years of social science research. It is proven to overcome diagnosable pediatric mental health disorders and is a well-established, coach-supported mental health model combining scientific rigor, digital interoperability, and human-centred design to deliver sustained outcomes for individuals with significant impairment.

Ongoing research expands programming to include perinatal mental health supports and Indigenous classroom initiatives co-designed with communities. Responsible integration of artificial intelligence enhances system navigation, care quality, and monitoring. International studies, including those in Finland, demonstrate generalizability. With proven scalability, adaptability, and consistent outcomes, SFI’s USCS is positioned to strengthen mental health systems globally, advance early intervention, and improve population well-being through accessible, effective care.

Awards to date:

– 2026, 2025, 2024, 2018 Atlantic Business Magazine Top 50 CEO Award
– 2023 Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Award
– 2022 Council of Federation Innovation in Mental Health & Addictions Care Award
– 2022 Leadership Excellence Award (for Canada), Emental Heath International Collaborative (eMHIC)
– 2022 Dalhousie University Aurum Award
– 2020 Digital Health Canada, Women Leaders in Digital Health
– 2019 Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health, Champion of Mental Health, Innovation
– 2017 Governor General of Canada Innovation Award
– 2013 Ernest C. Manning Encana Principal Award for Social Innovation Award
– 2012 Mental Health Commission of Canada Award for Social Innovation
– 2012 Progress Innovation Award, Progress Magazine

Our Solution

The Strongest Families Institute (SFI), a Canadian charity, delivers a universal stepped-care system (USCS) providing timely, evidence-based mental health support across the lifespan. Using telephone coaching, cognitive-behavioural interventions, and digital tools, care is adapted to individual needs. Co-designed with families, clinicians, and policymakers, SFI ensures accessibility, continuity, and high-quality outcomes. Its IRIS technology and app support bilingual delivery and monitoring. Serving over 10,000 clients annually through national partnerships, SFI addresses children, families, and adult populations, including military and veteran families. Proven effective in Canada and Finland, SFI empowers individuals, strengthens mental health outcomes, and advances scalable, accessible care.

Key Features

1

An award-winning Canadian charity

Providing a validated, highly impactful bilingual eMH system of care for children, youth adults and families that is fully bilingual, delivered by trained telephone support coaches.

2

A pioneer in eMH

Grounded in 25 years’ research, SFI effectively treats pediatric mental health disorders, improving functioning, reducing substance use, preventing suicide, with high satisfaction.

3

Co-design has been a fundamental tenant of SFI

From initial research to service implementation (i.e., programs, technology and system logistics) – an ongoing iterative process to “Get it right by design!”

4

Universal MH system of care based on stepped care model

Provides the right intensity programming to meet needs along the mh continuum providing a variety of program services that is family/person-centric. A population-based approach that equ

5

Proprietary, codesigned IRIS technology

Includes an interoperable App connection certified by MHCC and ORCHA.

6

Care is customized to meet client needs

Includes adaptations to address at-risk populations (e.g., rural, BIPOC, LGBTQ2+, neurodevelopmental conditions, newcomers, military, Veteran and first responders).

Collaboration in Action

Main Collaborators

  • nova-scotia
  • new-nouveau-brunswick-canada
  • newfoundland-labrador
  • prince-edward-island-canada
Manitoba
Recovery Alberta
Military Family Services (MFS)
Northwest Territories
Public Health Agency of Canada
Veterans Affairs Canada

SFI programs are available nationally for all Military, Veteran and RCMP members. For a comprehensive list of where SFI programs are available, please see their website: https://strongestfamilies.com/howtorefer/

Join Our Global Community

Three ways to get involved:

Choose the level that fits.

become a member

Key Learnings

A Canadian charity faces funding challenges, as non-profits often lack support for technology. Securing contracts across 13 provincial and territorial governments is complex due to differing processes, election cycles, and funding terms. Competition, shifting priorities, rising operational costs, and ongoing needs for technology, security, and program updates add pressure.
Prioritize co-design with stakeholders, especially those with lived experience, across all stages. Use SFI’s iKT to guide needs-based, relationship-focused design. Invest early in quality assurance, training, and measurement. Let digital tools support, not replace, human connection. Build adaptable, context-sensitive programs and decide early on tech ownership—SFI’s in-house control enables rapid changes. Balance scientific rigor with practical usability for scalable impact.
International collaboration strengthened SFI’s model, enabling cross-national trials in Finland, Vietnam, and Spain that validated outcomes and informed program design, fidelity, and digital infrastructure. These partnerships enhanced culturally adaptable, coach-supported, technology-enabled care, advanced e-mental health innovation, and positioned SFI to improve equitable access to mental health services globally.

Looking Ahead

We hope to expand internationally through collaboration.
SFI invites collaboration with researchers, policymakers, and organizations on scalable mental health initiatives, including program adaptation, research, and knowledge exchange, leveraging digital tools and paraprofessional models for accessible, evidence-based care.
Patricia Lingley-Pottie

Key Contact

Dr. Patricia Lingley-Pottie
Co-founder, President and CEO
Strongest Families Institute (formerly Family Help)

Email

[email protected]

Website

Resources

IRIS Brochure
IRIS-Brochure_11Jun18.pdf
SFI General Civilian Brochure
SFI-General-Civilian-Brochure.2025.pdf
Stepped Care - SFI Universal System
Stepped-Care-SFI-Universal-System.png

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