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Transforming the understanding
and treatment of mental illnesses.

Global Mental Health Research

Mental illnesses are a global concern and are among the most common causes of disability. The Global Mental Health Team, which consists of multidisciplinary staff members from NIMH's intramural and extramural research programs, was established to help inform and shape NIMH goals and priorities on global mental health research. 

The team focuses on expanding research in low-resource settings internationally, in order to expand preventive strategies and address mental health care that is often inadequate and inaccessible. The Global Mental Health Team works to support the mission of the NIMH Center for Global Mental Health Research (CGMHR).

Global Mental Health Team Working Groups

The Global Mental Health Team has three working groups tasked with helping achieve team goals establishing team research priorities.

The goal of the Strategic Engagement Working Group is to promote and elevate GMH research priorities through (a) coordinated information sharing within NIMH to expand awareness of GMH research issues and opportunities; (b) strategic planning that helps identify, prioritize, and implement NIMH’s global mental health research goals and objectives; and (c) knowledge exchanges that increase learning opportunities, allow for diverse perspectives, and foster relationships within the internal and external GMH research community.

The goal of the Reciprocal Learning working group is to communicate the importance of multidirectional exchange, adaptation, and implementation of advancements in global mental health research. In particular, the group aims to identify methods, approaches, and interventions that have been or could be effectively adapted in new settings, including strategies for optimal implementation.

The goal of the capacity building working group is to gauge and develop projects and initiatives that enable the performance of high-quality mental health research and practice, with particular interest in supporting researchers and practitioners in low- and middle-income countries. This group aims to develop, leverage, and disseminate resources and opportunities to overcome the challenges to building research capacity in LMICs in an equitable manner. Key areas of interest include strengthening a sustainable and equitable research training pipeline, fostering effective mentorship, supporting institutional research capacity, and encouraging the development of equitable partnerships and collaborations that facilitate the translation of mental health research to practice more broadly.

Highlighted Meetings and Events

Featured Funding Opportunity Announcements

Global Mental Health News and Events

 
Center for Global Mental Health Research

Learn more about NIMH's Center for Global Mental Health Research.

 
Research Highlights

Explore research advances and ongoing research on global mental health supported by or conducted at NIMH.

 
Science News

Find NIMH science news related to global mental health.

Team Leads

Collene Lawhorn, Ph.D.
COVID Mental Health Impact Lead, Division of Translational Research
Email: collene.lawhorn@nih.gov

Leonardo Cubillos, M.D., M.P.H.
Director, Center for Global Mental Health Research
Email: leonardo.cubillos@nih.gov

Meet the Team