Relief
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1991
- HeadquartersMontréal, Canada
- Headcount11–50
- GTM type—
- OfferingServices
Relief firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Relief
- Legal name
- Relief
- Website
- https://relief.ca
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1991
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Relief industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Mental Health Services
- NAICS
- Outpatient Mental Health and Substance Abuse Centers (621420), Other Individual and Family Services (624190)
- SIC
- Services-Health Services (8000), Services-Social Services (8300)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Mental Health & Crisis Support Services (BPAGAEAH)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Peer Support, Recovery Coaching & Sober Living Services (HLAFACAN)
Keywords
Where Relief is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Montréal
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Relief business model
Business model- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Individual and group donations: Online donation campaigns such as 'Every Donation Helps Clear The Path' ($350,000 target tied to Relief's 35th anniversary) and 'Donate to Relief'. Donations are recurring and one-time, channeled through a Paysafe-secured donation flow. Donors fund direct services and program expansion.
- Facilitator training and workshop material sales: Paid training ($500 per person for the 7-hour self-management support training recognized by OPQ/OTSTCFQ) and paid workshop materials ($599 per workshop kit plus $128 per facilitator's guide). Sold to organizational partners who then deliver workshops to their own clientele under license.
- Fundraising events and community-driven activities: Annual marche Relief (formerly J'avance en marchant), Tournoi de golf Fondation Casse-Tête (8th edition raised $120,000), Galerie Claude Lafitte art auctions (6th edition raised $6,612), marathon fundraisers, and corporate 4 à 6 FUN events. Combined community action raised $138,637 in 2021-2022 and $77,053 in the 4th marche Relief edition.
- Major-donor and corporate sponsorships (financial partners): Tiered sponsorship program (Éclaireur / Bienveillant / Attentif / Visionnaire / Innovateur / Résilient) with annual contributions ranging from under $4,999 up to $500,000–$1,000,000+. Partners include Bell Cause pour la cause, Fondation Beausoleil, Fondation Casse-Tête, Banque Nationale, Daymark Foundation, IA Groupe financier, Cossette, MSSS, and many others; plus the Beneva $1M / 5-year co-investment in the Chaire de recherche Relief.
- Government and public-sector funding: Multi-year funding from Santé et Services Sociaux Québec (MSSS) at the $100,000–$249,999 tier (and $100,000–$249,999 in the 20-21 fiscal year), with project-specific support (e.g., Bell Cause pour la cause funding the 'Pour aller plus loin' project, and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council funding the individual self-management support co-design research).
- Membership and individual giving programs: Membership enrollments and continuous individual donor contributions, managed via the in-house membership module on the Donna platform.
- Relief Affaires (B2B workplace mental-health contracts): B2B program launched September 2021 offering employers awareness, training, support, intervention, philanthropy, and research engagements. In 2020-2021 Relief supported 13 businesses with webinars during the pandemic; the program is partnered with the Conseil du patronat du Québec (CPQ) for SME reach.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Per seat | Pay-as-you-go | Self-management support training (7 hours, OPQ/OTSTCFQ-recognized) |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Workshop materials bundle |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Individual self-management support (direct to public) |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Self-management workshops and support groups (direct to public) |
| Subscription | Annual | Relief Affaires (B2B workplace program) |
Go-to-market motion4 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels11 records
Relief product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Relief is a Quebec-based non-profit that delivers mental health self-management services to people living with anxiety, depression, or bipolarity, and their loved ones. Offerings include bilingual virtual individual self-management support (50-minute one-on-one sessions plus 20-minute follow-up calls), standardized 10-12 week psycho-educational group workshops (Living with Anxiety, Living with Depression, Living with Bipolarity), online support groups, a helpline, a digital platform with 18 psycho-educational themes, and OPQ/OTSTCFQ-recognized 7-hour facilitator training licensed to a network of partner organizations across Quebec. Relief also operates the B2B Relief Affaires workplace mental-health program for employers and SMEs.
Product overview
Relief is a Quebec-based non-profit mental health center of expertise that operates a single integrated service portfolio rather than a SaaS-style platform-plus-modules architecture. Its offerings sit on a unified self-management foundation — the "soutien à l'autogestion" approach — and are delivered through three interconnected program lines: (1) direct services to individuals, including Individual self-management support (with specialized variants for older adults and for entrepreneurs), Self-management workshops (Living with Anxiety, Living with Depression, Living with Bipolarity), and Support groups; (2) capacity-building services for partner organizations and professionals, including Training in self-management support (7-hour OPQ/OTSTCFQ-recognized facilitator training), the Relief for Business (Relief Affaires) B2B program, and the Relief digital platform hosting psycho-educational content; and (3) awareness and community-building offerings, including the "Better" documentary series, the Le journal de Louise (The Diary of Louise) campaign, the annual Relief Walk, the Relief Forum (currently in maintenance), and the Relief Newsletter. Together these services target people living with anxiety, depression, or bipolarity, their loved ones, workplaces, and the broader Quebec/Canadian public.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Relief Affaires: Workplace mental health program offering awareness, training, information, support, intervention, philanthropy, and research services for businesses, organizations, high-level management, managers, and employees.
Products and services
- Individual self-management support Bilingual virtual one-on-one service offering flexible 50-minute sessions plus 20-minute follow-up telephone calls; participants access 18 psycho-educational themes and exercises on a digital platform at their own pace to regain control over their mental health. Free of charge to individuals living with anxiety, depression, or bipolarity.
- Self-management workshops (Living with Anxiety, Living with Depression, Living with Bipolarity) Group-based psycho-educational intervention delivered over 10 to 12 weeks of 2.5-hour weekly sessions for groups of 8-15 adults; three validated topics: Living with Anxiety (10 weeks), Living with Depression (10 weeks), Living with Bipolarity (12 weeks, requires formal diagnosis). Free of charge for participants; available in Montreal and across Quebec through Relief's partner network.
- Individual support program for older adults Specialized individual self-management accompaniment adapted to the realities of older adults living with anxiety, depression, or bipolarity. Free of charge.
- Individual support for entrepreneurs Individual self-management accompaniment designed specifically for entrepreneurs living with anxiety, depression, or bipolarity. Free of charge.
- Training in self-management support (facilitator training) 7-hour accredited facilitator training (one full day in Montreal or two 3.5-hour Zoom half-days) that prepares mental-health professionals and trained peer supporters to deliver Relief's self-management workshops; recognized by OPQ (Recognition No. RA07253-25 OTSTCFQ) for continuing education. Priced at $500 per person, with a minimum of 2 trainees per organization.
- Workshop materials bundle (participant workbooks and facilitator guides) Standardized workshop kits required for partner organizations that have completed facilitator training: $599 per workshop kit (participant workbooks) plus $128 per facilitator's guide. One-time perpetual license per organization.
- Relief for Business (Relief Affaires) B2B workplace mental-health program combining awareness, training, information, support, intervention, philanthropy, and applied research to help organizations create healthy, balanced, and safe work environments. Sold on an annual subscription basis (quote-based, not publicly disclosed) to enterprises and SMEs across Quebec and Canada.
Quantifiable outcome
- 30% increase in interventions during the pandemic (2020-2021 annual report), on top of a 16,000-intervention baseline in 2019.
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use Relief
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments7 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Relief technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration8 records
Feature5 records
Relief partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.
- CossetteflagshipBranding agency that developed the Revivre-to-Relief rebrand (name, visual identity, new website launched April 2021) free of charge; also a core-tier ($250,000–$499,999) financial partner in 2021-2022. Josée St-Amand (Relief Director of Growth and Marketing) credited Cossette with capturing the essence of the organization.
- Santé et Services Sociaux Québec (MSSS)flagshipGovernment partner at the $100,000–$249,999 financial tier in both the 20-21 and 21-22 annual reports; endorses self-management as a best practice for mood and anxiety disorders alongside the WHO.
- Conseil du patronat du Québec (CPQ)flagshipStrategic partnership announced in March 2022 by Relief's Executive Director Jean-Rémy Provost and CPQ President Karl Blackburn to bring the Relief Affaires program to SMEs across Quebec, addressing the workplace mental-health gap.
- Université Laval — Chaire de recherche Relief en santé mentale, autogestion et travailflagshipRelief Research Chair in mental health, self-management, and work, funded jointly by Relief and Beneva ($1M / 5 years) and held by Simon Coulombe, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Industrial Relations at Université Laval. Underpins Relief's scientific validation and produces research such as a 1,500-person Canada-wide SME mental-health survey with 11 recommendations.
- Université Laval — Programme Pairs aidants réseau (Association québécoise pour la réadaptation psychosociale)coreRecognized peer-support training that meets Relief's prerequisite for facilitating workshops; informs Relief's intervention framework and provides accredited training for peer-support intervenors.
- BCE / Bell Canada (Bell Let's Talk)flagshipPresenting Partner of the SolidaiRevivre campaign, supporting Relief's rapid pivot to virtual self-management workshops, individual consultations, and group interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic (quote from Mirko Bibic, President and CEO).
- Donna interactive suite (Suitedonna)coreUnderlying CMS/platform powering the relief.ca website, donation forms, member area, and online service flows.
- PaysafecorePayment-processing and security partner for Relief's online donation and registration flows.
Scale indicators14 records
Recent moves10 records
Relief competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA): National Canadian non-profit federation delivering mental-health programs, peer support, and workplace initiatives. Directly comparable to Relief as a Canadian mental-health NPO with a national footprint, B2B workplace offerings, and provincial divisions, although CMHA operates at a larger national scale and broader mandate.
- Revivre (program of Relief): Relief itself was previously known as Revivre, but the legacy brand remains operationally integrated; included for completeness as the directly comparable Quebec-focused self-management program lineage. (Self-reference; not a separate entity.)
- Anxiety & Depression Association of America (ADAA): U.S.-based non-profit dedicated to anxiety, depression, and related disorders, providing education, support groups, and clinician training. Directly comparable to Relief's mission and program mix, though Relief is Quebec-anchored, bilingual, and operates a licensed facilitator training model.
Broad incumbents
- Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH): Canada's largest mental-health teaching hospital and research center, headquartered in Toronto. Comparable as a Canadian mental-health institution combining clinical care, research, and public education, though CAMH operates at hospital scale rather than as a self-management-focused non-profit.
- Schizophrenia & Psychosis Action Alliance (formerly NAMI): U.S.-based mental-health advocacy and education non-profit offering peer-led support groups and psychoeducation programs. Comparable to Relief in its self-management/psychoeducation workshop model and peer-support orientation, although focused on psychosis/schizophrenia rather than anxiety/depression/bipolarity.
- Headspace Health: Global digital mental-health platform combining meditation, self-guided therapy, and employer B2B programs (Headspace for Work). Comparable to Relief on the B2B workplace channel and self-management framing, though Headspace is venture-backed and operates at vastly larger scale across multiple geographies.
Regional players
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute: Montreal-based McGill-affiliated psychiatric hospital and research institute. Comparable as a Quebec mental-health institution with a strong research mandate in mood and anxiety disorders, though it operates as a clinical/research hospital rather than a community-based non-profit.
- Revivre (Belgium): Belgian non-profit providing support groups and self-management resources for people with depression, bipolar disorder, and anxiety. Closely comparable in scope (self-management, peer support, mood and anxiety focus), but operates in Belgium rather than Quebec and is therefore a regional rather than direct peer.
Emerging players
- Togetherall: Digital mental-health platform offering 24/7 anonymous peer-support forums moderated by clinicians, often licensed through universities and employers. Comparable to Relief's support-group and forum vision, but digital-native and commercial rather than donation-funded.
Others
- Ordre des psychologues du Québec (OPQ): Quebec's regulatory order for psychologists. Not a competitor but a key ecosystem actor — OPQ recognition of Relief's facilitator training is a regulatory moat for Relief, and OPQ shapes the regulated-professional landscape that Relief's services complement rather than replace.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Relief social profiles
Digital presenceRelief compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Relief financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Relief leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles12 records
Relief subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Relief funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Relief M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Relief
What does Relief do?
Relief is a Quebec-based non-profit that delivers mental health self-management services to people living with anxiety, depression, or bipolarity, and their loved ones. Offerings include bilingual virtual individual self-management support (50-minute one-on-one sessions plus 20-minute follow-up calls), standardized 10-12 week psycho-educational group workshops (Living with Anxiety, Living with Depression, Living with Bipolarity), online support groups, a helpline, a digital platform with 18 psycho-educational themes, and OPQ/OTSTCFQ-recognized 7-hour facilitator training licensed to a network of partner organizations across Quebec. Relief also operates the B2B Relief Affaires workplace mental-health program for employers and SMEs.
Is Relief a public or private company?
Relief is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Relief founded?
Relief was founded in 1991. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Relief based?
Relief is headquartered in Montréal, Canada, in the North America region.
How does Relief make money?
Seven revenue lines are on record. Individual and group donations are the primary driver. The others are facilitator training and workshop material sales, fundraising events and community-driven activities, major-donor and corporate sponsorships (financial partners), government and public-sector funding, membership and individual giving programs and relief Affaires (B2B workplace mental-health contracts).
Who are Relief's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), Revivre (program of Relief) and Anxiety & Depression Association of America (ADAA). Broad incumbents are Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Schizophrenia & Psychosis Action Alliance (formerly NAMI) and Headspace Health. Regional players are Douglas Mental Health University Institute and Revivre (Belgium). Togetherall is listed as an emerging player. Ordre des psychologues du Québec (OPQ) is listed as an others.
Does Relief have an API?
No public API is recorded for Relief.
What industry is Relief in?
Relief's product category is Mental Health Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAEAH, Mental Health & Crisis Support Services, with a secondary code of HLAFACAN, Peer Support, Recovery Coaching & Sober Living Services. Its NAICS code is 621420 and its SIC code is 8000.