May is Mental Health Awareness month, an international movement dedicated to reducing stigma, providing education, and promoting mental health as a critical part of overall health and well-being. The month highlights the need for community support, early intervention, and professional resources for those challenged by mental health issues.
Having type 1 diabetes (T1D) affects a person’s emotional, social, and mental wellbeing throughout their lifetime, known collectively as psychosocial health.
Research has shown that people with T1D are at higher risk of mental health disorders including depression, anxiety and disordered eating. These challenges are common in people with T1D and can be treated – but only with the right resources that address the correct gaps in healthcare specific to diabetes.
Launched in 2021, Breakthrough T1D takes a three-pronged approach to its Mental Health Strategy: 1) enabling knowledge generation through new research, 2) delivering a training program for mental health providers, and 3) developing both new and ongoing community supports.
Since then, we have seen significant progress in all three key areas, thanks to the generous support of donors, as well as partnerships with academia, other diabetes organizations, and community partners.
We are pleased to share the updates to this program that have taken place since May, 2025.
Mental Health + Diabetes Training Program
A training program specializing in type 1 and type 2 diabetes
We continued to deliver the Mental Health + Diabetes in both English and French, supporting registered mental health providers care providers to better understand the psychosocial impacts of diabetes.
This year, we developed a companion workbook to the e-learning that includes key takeaways from each module and includes thought-promoting questions. This workbook addresses feedback from learners that have completed the program, as this was a common request of participants.
We made updates and quality improvements to ensure the program remains relevant and evidence informed.
- 678 MH completed this training as of May 1st 2026
Mental Health + Diabetes Directory
A directory of mental health providers who have completed the Training Program
Mental health providers who complete our training program are eligible to join our Directory of trained providers, allowing the the diabetes community to more easliy find providers in their communities.
We were very pleased to see consistent and continued growth of the Directory and we continued to work to increase the visibility of trained mental health providers across Canada.
We completed ongoing reviews and maintenance of the Directory to ensure listings remain accurate and useful for people living with diabetes and their caregivers.
The Directory now includes trained mental health providers who can provide care in all provinces and territories (please note for the territories they are currently offering virtual appointments and are cross-listed with other provinces).
- 244 MH listed as of May 1, 2026
Research updates
Current mental health research focuses on adolescents, young adults, and those facing care transitions or geographic barriers.
Projects funded in partnership with Brain Canada are developing and testing psychosocial interventions.
A randomized controlled trial, Teaching Adolescents with type 1 Diabetes Self-compassion (TADS) to reduce diabetes distress, led by Dr. Marie-Eve Robinson, Ontariodemonstrated that a mindful self‑compassion program significantly reduced diabetes distress, depression, anxiety, and disordered eating among youth. Full results from this completed study will be presented in 2026.
Dr. Tricia Tang, British Columbia uses a virtual care platform called REACHOUT to deliver peer‑led mental health support to adults with T1D across British Columbia. Participants in Dr. Tang’s recent trial showed reductions in diabetes distress and depressive symptoms, alongside increased perceived social support.
TECC-T1D3: Technology-enabled Comprehensive Care for young adults with Type 1 Diabetes and Diabetes Distress, a study led by Dr. Peter Selby, Ontario is using qualitative interviews to inform the design of a technology‑enabled care intervention for young adults experiencing diabetes distress, which is currently in the pilot phase.
Projects funded in partnership with CIHR address key life transitions and unmet psychosocial needs.
Aiming for Something Sweeter: Supporting Youth with Type 1 Diabetes During Transition from Pediatric to Adult Diabetes Care led by Dr. Sonia Butalia, Alberta is testing how to support youth transitioning from pediatric to adult diabetes care by integrating trained non‑medical transition coordinators into the health system.
Adaptation and Pilot Evaluation of a Digital Intervention Targeting the Psychosocial Needs of Individuals with Pregestational Diabetes: A Mixed-Methods Multi Phase Study led by Dr. Deborah Da Costa, Quebec is adapting the HealthyMoms digital platform to support the mental health needs of individuals with pre-gestational diabetes during pregnancy planning, pregnancy, and postpartum periods, with a trial planned for 2027.
Type 1 Diabetes, Exercise and Mentoring (TEAM) Trial: A randomized controlled pilot trial using peer mentorship to increase physical activity and quality of life in adolescents with type 1 diabetes led by Dr. Jon McGavock, Manitoba evaluates a peer‑mentorship model to increase physical activity, quality of life, and belonging among adolescents with T1D, with early feedback demonstrating meaningful benefits among participants.
Find Your CommuniT1D: Customized Virtual Peer Support for People Living with Type 1 Diabetes. Dr. Holly Witteman, Quebec established a robust team of individuals with lived and loved experience of T1D as well as digital health experts to create CommuniT1D. The program launched in summer 2025 and are currently recruiting participants that are being placed in small groups based on similar circumstances or needs.
Updates on Community Grants
An incubator initiative designed to provide seed funding to organizations ready to transform innovative ideas into successful projects to support the mental health and wellness of the T1D community.
We held a virtual symposium for Community Grants in October 2025 where the leads shared their results and learnings to wrap up the 2023 grants.
Through their community grant support, the University of Montreal created videos in French with English subtitles about mental health and T1D, covering a range of important topics. These videos and more T1D specific mental health content are available on the Type 1 Better Support platform.
We also provided a top up grant to Connected in Motion, “Bridging the Gap: Mental Health Integration into Slipstream Programming,” wrapped up in February 2026, an extension and add on to the 2023 grant stream. With this support the organization built a new mental health hub: https://www.connectedinmotion.ca/mental-health-hub/, that expanded digital content and delivered mental health specific sessions at their virtual programming session. session.
The new Hub now brings together:
- Community-written blogs and reflections on topics like burnout, identity, relationships, aging, and emotional resilience
- Recorded virtual sessions exploring the mental side of living with type 1 diabetes
- Community-created tools and gentle visual resources that support everyday well-being
- Clear pathways to connect with others through events, groups, and additional supports
A 2026 funding opportunity has been announced and will be larger (up to $35,000 each) to allow for even more fulsome projects.
Expanded partnerships and community collaboration
Working with the community to provide outreach and further fill gaps in community resources and care
Breakthrough T1D was pleased to launch a new partnership with You’re Just My Type (YJMT to provide more peer support opportunities, both virtually and in-person.
This partnership will bring two in-person events and one virtual event throughout 2026 – May 30th in Vancouver, Toronto in the autumn, and a virtual event later in the year. These will be YJMT’s first-ever Canadian events and will help to strengthen peer connection and community-driven mental health support for adults living with T1D.
This partnership reflects a shared commitment to meeting people where they are with relatable, accessible mental health resources.
We also continue to collaborate with Diabetes Canada on our Training Program and Directory, and thank them for their ongoing efforts to increase awareness and engagement of these initiatives.
Caregiver Support
Recognizing an unaddressed need for parent and caregiver support.
We have also released a new Caregiver Guide for parents and caregivers of children and adolescents living with T1D. Based on a guide produced by Breakthrough T1D Australia, and with input from Canadian mental health providers and people with lived experience of T1D, we are pleased to release the updated Canadian guide for our audience.
We had frequent feedback that caregiver support was a significant need for the T1D community, and the new guide acts as a practical, compassionate resource to support parents and caregivers of children and youth living with T1D.
The Caregiver Guide will be included in the Bag of Hope and Teen Care Kit in print and is also available online for download.
To further support T1D caregivers, we are planning virtual, interactive sessions for fall 2026. These facilitated sessions will aim to provide parents and caregivers of children and teens living with T1D with a supportive, interactive space to reflect on their experiences, build practical coping skills, and connect with others facing similar challenges.
Thank you to our community
Breakthrough T1D Canada remains enormously grateful for the support of our Mental Health Advisory Council, lead volunteers and philanthropic partners, including funding partners Brain Canada and CIHR, without whom our progress in this area would not be possible.
For more information on mental health supports, please visit the Directory at directory.breakthroughT1D.ca or our mental health resources page.
To keep informed of upcoming events with YJMT and the caregiver support sessions, please ensure you’re on our mailing list or follow our social media channels:
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