Reflections on Mental Health Work in Post-Conflict Aceh, 2004-2024

Professor Byron Good will present “Reflections on Mental Health Work in Post-Conflict Aceh, 2004–2024,” drawing on two decades of experience in the region. Following the devastating 2004 tsunami that struck Aceh and revealed an ongoing civil conflict to the international community, a peace accord was signed in 2005 that ended much of the violence. In the years that followed, Professor Good and Professor Mary-Jo Good partnered with the International Organization for Migration to lead mental health initiatives in the post-conflict areas. This included a large-scale Psychosocial Needs Assessment and the development of mental health outreach teams serving 75 villages. In this session, Professor Good will share insights from the program’s implementation and outcomes, and reflect on the enduring role and impact of mental health interventions in post-conflict recovery.

This event is free and open to the public. 

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Byron Good, PhD, BD
Professor of Medical Anthropology, Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and Department of Anthropology, Harvard University

Professor Good is a medical, psychological and psychiatric anthropologist. Professor Good has been carrying out research focused on subjectivity, culture and mental illness in Indonesia since 1996 – on studies of psychosis and the development of mental health services in Yogyakarta, Java, and on humanitarianism and mental health responses to traumatic violence in Aceh. He has conducted and led studies of early experiences of psychosis in Indonesia, as well as comparative projects of first episode psychosis in Indonesia, China, Hong Kong, and the United States.

Professor Good gave the 2000 Lewis Henry Morgan Lectures and Oxford University’s 2010 Marett Lecture. He was awarded the Society for Medical Anthropology’s Lifetime Mentoring Award in 2000 and the Society for Psychological Anthropology’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017. He was the President of the Society for Psychological Anthropology 2013-2015. He served as Editor-in-Chief of the journal Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry 1986-2004.

About the Global Research and Innovation Speaker Series

The Harvard Global Health Institute’s Global Health Research and Innovation Speaker Series showcases the latest scholarly and scientific advancements in global health across Harvard and beyond, to make cutting-edge research accessible to a diverse global audience, and to spark innovative solutions in the pursuit of health equity and improved health outcomes worldwide. The public series takes place virtually on the second Tuesday of each month from 12:00 to 12:45 pm ET. Each session will include a presentation by a featured speaker showcasing their innovative research in global health, followed by a moderated Q&A.

The Harvard Global Health Institute provides a platform for different perspectives and debates within the field of global health through a variety of media. The views expressed in these events and programs are solely those of the speakers, authors, researchers, and participating audience. As such, they do not speak for the institute or the university.