We, the undersigned, are clinicians from fields including psychiatry, psychoanalysis, psychology, clinical counseling, and social work, who live and work all over the world. We are writing to express our profound concern regarding the decision of the C.I.U.S.S.S. to close the 388 (Center for Treatment of Young Psychotic Adults) in Quebec City. This decision poses a significant risk to the mental health landscape, both locally and globally, and is sure to have negative effects on those most in need of such services.

The 388 is a vital institution, at the cutting-edge of the treatment of psychosis. Its integration of psychoanalysis with a community-based framework and a multi-modal, interdisciplinary approach serves as an inspiration for many of us. In Chicago and Boston, New York and Los Angeles and beyond, many of us have explored and continue to look to the treatment model developed at the 388 as a source of inspiration and guidance in the development of clinical offerings for patients in our own communities who suffer from psychosis. As mental health clinicians working on the frontlines, we recognize the unique value of the 388’s approach in responding to the needs of patients who so often slip through the cracks of existing service frameworks. This treatment offers a rare and essential opportunity for the suffering person not only to manage their symptoms, but to explore their humanity, engage in deep transformation, and find new forms for their contributions as citizens in the world with others. This is not merely a treatment facility—it is a sanctuary where individuals suffering from profound difficulties can rebuild their lives, as many of its users have attested. The closure of the 388 would dismantle a deeply rooted and irreplaceable model of care that addresses the complexities of psychosis in ways that few, if any, other facilities do.

Many of the undersigned have regularly traveled hundreds or even thousands of miles in order to learn about the psychoanalytic approach of the 388, and to participate in training seminars offered by GIFRIC. This education has been vital to our own clinical practices. The teaching and leadership of analysts Lucie Cantin, Danielle Bergeron, and Willy Apollon have had a generative effect, inspiring organizations and practitioners far beyond Quebec. The intellectual and ethical rigor that characterizes the 388 has been an inspiration for leading clinicians, academics, and educators not only in the field of psychoanalysis but also in the fields of psychiatry, clinical mental health counseling, clinical psychology, anthropology, and social work. The 388 has been a site for research and is an exemplary clinic, with data-supported results for the treatment and long-term re-integration of young people with psychosis into the local community as contributing members of society. It is difficult to overestimate the truly singular impactt the work at the 388 has had on seeding new ideas in mental health treatment and research.

The closure of the 388 would not only dismantle a singularly effective model of care but also represent a significant setback for the global mental health community, which looks to this institution for guidance and innovation. We implore decision-makers to engage with stakeholders, including clinicians, patients, families, and the community, to explore alternatives that preserve the invaluable work being done at the 388. By ensuring its continued operation, you will be safeguarding a beacon of hope for individuals with psychosis and fostering the advancement of mental health care globally. Let us work together to sustain and expand the legacy of the 388, rather than allow it to become a cautionary tale of lost potential. We urge you to reconsider this decision.