The worldwide launch of the Lancet Commission on Global Mental Health and Sustainable Development at the first-ever Global Ministerial Mental Health Summit occurred in October 2018. Since the launch, GMH@Harvard has lead an Initiative to make the goals of the Lancet Commission a reality.
The Initiative is currently working to scale, and sustain a set of work-packages which seek to transform mental health globally. The Initiative has identified priority work-streams that seek to address structural barriers to success, we’ve outlined them below:
The voices of people with the lived experience are critical to address the profound levels of human rights abuses experienced by people with mental disorders.
We initiated an effort to engage these voices through a workshop in September 2019 where legal experts, mental health professionals, and prominent self-advocates will elaborate on the practical considerations and research agenda arising from the Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities prohibiting the involuntary treatment of persons with mental disorders.
Our goal is to generate guidelines on supported decision making and enabling the engagement of people with the lived experience to design, deliver and evaluate the quality of mental health care.
EMPOWERING LEADERS FOR IMPROVED HEALTH OUTCOMES
The Certificate of Specialization comprises three programs, taught by faculty from the Harvard School of The Certificate of Specialization comprises three programs, taught by faculty from the Harvard School of Public Health, the GlobalMentalHealth@MentalHealthForAllLab Initiative and an international pool of experts, embracing both empirical evidence and real-world lessons. Through this training and mentoring program, professionals from around the world will empower themselves to scale-up evidence-based and innovative programs to address the mental health needs of their communities with knowledge, skills, and peer support.
Those who complete both Foundations of Mental Health Care and Scaling Up Mental Health Care programs are invited to join a third program: a peer-learning collaborative to support and learn from one another as they embark on their journey of being champions for mental health.
There is a growing crisis of poor mental health afflicting young people globally, and health systems need a renewed commitment to work across sectors to reduce the incidence of mental health problems and reduce mortality related to self-harm and violence.
Nurturing environments (at home, in schools, in neighborhoods and in the digital world) promote mental health, prevent mental health problems, and intervene in a timely fashion when mental health problems arise.
We have initiated a program to implement a ‘joined-up’ program of evidence-based interventions that support the creation of such nurturing environments in diverse populations globally, and to demonstrate their impact on reducing mental health problems—including violent behavior, self-harm, and addictions—in young people in the target communities.
We have also initiated an evidence-based integrated intervention program for university students throughout the world.
It all started with an idea about a space where experts from a myriad of disciplines with shared interests gather and work towards uncovering the mysteries of the mind. After a year of putting the details of the idea together and another year of planning, The MIND Project (TMP) was established on September 8th, 2020, and launched on January 31st, 2021.
We work with a large community of faculty, trainees, and graduate and undergraduate students, who are passionate about improving the lives of those with mental health conditions.
Read more about The MIND Project.
