Relief

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

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

• Mental health support
• Self-management programs
• Psychoeducation workshops
• Anxiety depression services
• Peer support groups

Headquarters

HQ city

Montréal

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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).
6. Membership and individual giving programs: Membership enrollments and continuous individual donor contributions, managed via the in-house membership module on the Donna platform.
7. 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

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core 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

Named customers6 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• CossetteflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerBranding 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)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment 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 or Co-development PartnerStrategic 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 travailflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerRelief 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)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRecognized 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)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPresenting 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)coreTechnology or IntegrationUnderlying CMS/platform powering the relief.ca website, donation forms, member area, and online service flows.
• PaysafecoreTechnology or IntegrationPayment-processing and security partner for Relief's online donation and registration flows.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves10 records

Direct 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

• Facebookfacebook.com/monrelief.ca
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/revivre
• Instagraminstagram.com/monrelief.ca
• Xx.com/monrelief

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Relief