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This guest blog post was written by Marina Marcus, a doctoral student and research assistant in Dr. Verdeli’s Global Mental Health Lab.
Global mental health is a relatively new and quickly growing field. The aim of health professionals who work in global mental health is to identify and fill the mental health treatment gap – the difference between the high demand for mental health services around the world and the scarcity of mental health treatment resources, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Many studies have established the high prevalence of common mental disorders such as depression and anxiety all over the world, irrespective of country, cultural considerations, or socioeconomic status. People living with mental illness are often unable to access treatment for many reasons, including stigma, lack of awareness about treatment options, and a lack of available resources. Now that the demand for mental health services has been established globally, the question becomes, how can the problem be addressed?
Mental health has historically been ignored in the realm of international development; until recently, mental health wasn't discussed in the Millennium Development Goals put forth by the United Nations, and has been added as a passing mention in the Sustainable Development Goals. This past April, however, the World Health Organization and the World Bank joined for a two-day conference in which global health leaders from all over the world discussed strategies for prioritizing mental health in the mainstream of the global development agenda. Arguments were made for the benefits of prioritizing mental health worldwide, aside from the obvious argument of ending the unnecessary pain and suffering caused to hundreds of millions of people by mental illness. For example, leaders within the World Health Organization shared a study in which they found that for every $1 spent on mental health for treatment such as counseling and medication, governments could receive a $4 return on their investment when they account for the lack of productivity and reliance on government welfare that mental illness can cause.
At the Global Mental Health Lab at Teachers College, Columbia University, we focus on research and capacity building in the prevention and treatment of mental health conditions in under-resourced communities around the world. We partner with local health providers, whether they be mental health specialists or lay people, to train in evidence-based, locally valid forms of psychotherapy so that the options for mental health treatment in low-resources settings can grow. This July, the Global Mental Health Lab is organizing an immersion-training program for mental health and allied professionals and students working with populations exposed to severe adversities and trauma. Trainees are invited from all over the world to learn about assessment strategies in emergency settings, group therapy in low-resource settings, and family-engagement strategies. A major goal of the training, as well as all projects conducted by the Global Mental Health Lab, is also knowledge-sharing, so that the people evaluating mental health programs and those providing on-the-ground services can share their experiences to ultimately improve the quality of mental health treatment worldwide.
