World Mental Health Day 2025: HGHI Student Intern Highlights the Power of Connection
Today (October 10th) is World Mental Health Day 2025. At Harvard, students are engaged in various projects to raise mental health awareness throughout the year. One such example is HGHI student summer intern, Anna Zettelmeyer ’26, whose partnerships with the mental health organization Sangath in India over the last summer helped advance mental health equity and global collaboration through community-based care through hands-on research and fieldwork. Anna gained firsthand insight into how young professionals can support mental well-being across cultures.
“This photo captures my first sight seeing experience in Goa. I went to a fort on the coast and it was lovely to see the area from above, to match the map I had seen so many times laid out in front of me in person.” – Anna Zettelmeyer ’26
A Summer of Learning and Connection
Sangath is a community-based non-governmental organization in Goa, India, known internationally for its pioneering work in mental health research and care. Through rigorous research, innovative solutions, service delivery, strategic partnerships, and public engagement, Sangath produces context-specific insights and ensures they are adopted widely to transform mental health care. Anna’s internship with them spanned from both academic and field-based experiences, allowing her to contribute to grant development, co-author academic papers, and participate directly in fieldwork focused on adolescent mental health in Pune.
Among her most meaningful experiences was helping to design and facilitate refresher trainings for peer facilitators who support adolescents with depression and anxiety. Delivered in Hindi, Marathi, and English, the sessions centered on self-care, emotion management, and collaborative dialogue, key components of effective mental health care.
“No single experience will teach you how to simply work in global health,” said Anna. “Every community, every organization, every culture, and every project is part of a continuous learning process. Be excited about how much there is to learn, and be patient and grateful to your colleagues, your mentors and yourself along the way.”
Lessons Through Experience
Throughout her internship, Anna contributed to a wide range of research activities, including grant submissions, literature reviews, and manuscript development. She supported a meta-analysis project, helped craft an umbrella review protocol, and assisted in revising and editing multiple academic papers, all while gaining firsthand insight into the complexities of conducting global research.
Anna reflected on her most powerful lesson which came not from technical work, but from the relationships and cultural experiences that surrounded it.
“This internship was transformative in helping me understand both the technical and interpersonal dimensions of global health research,” Anna reflected. “I learned what it truly means to work as a researcher and how projects are developed, funded, implemented, and translated back into practice.”
From discussing research ideas over lunch in Goa to collaborating with colleagues during field training in Pune, Anna found that mental health work is as much about human connection as it is about data. “Conversations, collaboration, and shared learning,” she said, “are what truly shape impactful global health work.”
A Shared Duty: Mental Health as a Human Right in Emergencies
Anna’s experience has deepened her commitment to pursuing a career in global mental health research. She plans to continue her studies through graduate work in global mental health or epidemiology, driven by her commitment to improve mental health outcomes.
Her reflection embodies the spirit of World Mental Health Day: a commitment to awareness, empathy, and global collaboration.
This year’s theme, “Mental health in humanitarian emergencies,” focuses on the urgent need to support the mental health and psychosocial well-being of people affected by conflict, displacement, and disaster. It reminds us that mental health is not only an individual concern, but also a universal human right with shared responsibility and a cornerstone of healthy, resilient societies.
On this World Mental Health Day, let us intensify our efforts to create a world where mental health is valued, protected, and accessible for all, especially in the face of adversity.
At the Paul Farmer Symposium, held in November 2025 at the Harvard Medical School and organized by the non-profit co-founded by the late HMS professor Paul Farmer, Partners In Health, global health leaders convened to examine how innovation, research, and community-led models can advance mental health equity worldwide. This year’s symposium centered on the theme “Mental Health Matters,” highlighting mental health as a foundational component of global health systems.
In this talk, Professor Joseph P. Gone explores how Indigenous perspectives can reshape understandings of mental health, challenging Western psychiatric frameworks and reframing “mental health” concerns as postcolonial disorders.
Professor Byron Good reflects on two decades of mental health work in post-conflict Aceh, revealing how international collaboration can shape long-term recovery and resilience. Featuring:
