Below are highlights from our interview with  Paula Worby
Read the full conversation.

This month we had the pleasure to speak with Paula Worby, a long-time editor at Hesperian Health Guides. Paula discusses Hesperian’s history, her own journey to public health, and Hesperian's latest resource: Promoting Community Mental Health.

Thanks for joining us, Paula. Will you briefly introduce yourself?

My name is Paula Worby. I currently work for and am an editor, writer and project coordinator for Hesperian Health Guides, based in Oakland, California.

Would you mind just sharing a little bit about Hesperian and its work?

Hesperian is a wonderful non-profit organization with more than 50 years of history. Hesperian writes and distributes user-friendly health information in many languages used all over the world. Hesperian is known for being trustworthy and for its practical approach to health information. Our resources show, not just how to treat a health problem--let’s say asthma--but how to think through the causes of health problems, like who tends to get asthma and why. One tag line is “Health for All,” an ongoing reminder of the need to challenge the inequalities behind health problems.

Can you share a little more detail about what you do and what your role entails?

I joined Hesperian about 10 years ago as an editor on a project to create updated booklets about various health conditions. These materials follow the tradition of Where There Is No Doctor but expand on topics that have become more important over the years, such as non-communicable diseases. These newer materials reflect the changing roles of women and gender in societies, how so many people are now in urban settings, and how community health work is always evolving.

I worked to develop publications on diabetes, heart health, mosquito-borne illnesses, cancer, and vaccines, among others. For some of these chapters, we had outside experts do a first draft and on others I wrote the first draft. But, ultimately, all were developed through collective processes, with my colleagues at Hesperian and a range of external volunteers contributing different kinds of expertise and community feedback.  

So, now let’s talk about the latest book which you worked on, Promoting Community Mental Health!

It is a real pleasure to be associated with this book and to be its primary author, though important to again emphasize the collective process—I have a co-author, Todd Jailer, and many others at Hesperian and beyond were involved. 

Hesperian has always included mental health in its resources. For example, dedicated chapters in the books Where Women Have No Doctor and our Workers’ Guide to Health and Safety. Our book on supporting children who have HIV embeds mental health sensitivity throughout with warm and caring language.  But we really wanted to do an in-depth and practical guide dedicated to community level aspects of mental health.

The title of the book, Promoting Community Mental Health, suggests a different approach than the usual focus on one-on-one therapy and seeking treatment from a provider. 

Yes! As you point out, the title doesn’t only say “mental health,” but rather "community mental health," and emphasizing “promoting,” adds even another layer—that of active engagement. It’s true we’re so used to thinking about mental health as a one-on-one helping experience...Those concerns are huge and we do say in the book sometimes professional help is needed, no question. But so many people don't have ready access to a therapist or professional help. Given this harsh reality, we point out all the ways for people to plug in: helpers at a family, neighborhood, and community level to change the landscape underlying our collective mental health. How are we all managing this together? The book is really trying to pick that up. 

How do you, in the book, zoom out to look at mental health on the community level?

We say that many, many people out there who are helpers or playing any kind of a community-building role are doing mental health work by helping others and trying to make things happen on a community level.

For example, I think about teachers, librarians, faith leaders, or the friendly receptionist at the health clinic whose work is not thought of as mental health work, yet they really shape others’ day-to-day experiences. Community organizing and community building also builds community mental health, changing how we interact and what people accomplish together.

How might this book be different from some of the other mental health resources that are out there?

The book gives people a concrete way to understand complicated ideas. It doesn’t oversimplify–it's not a simple book–but we try to make it really readable. Also, our situations, context, language, culture, community dynamics, and personal experiences are different, so we are very careful never to say one-size-fits-all. The book has drawings and examples from real-life situations so that people can see what applies to them and their situation directly or if there is something that feels adaptable.

Based on your experience, what advice do you have for young people and students today?

Being a student is such an amazing time to explore. When choosing paths, think about what will feel important and stay satisfying over time. If it involves working with community members or on their behalf, I’d say learn to listen deeply, be prepared to rethink your own beliefs, and accept you’ll get things wrong sometimes. Also, I can’t say enough about how learning a language other than one you grew up with can broaden your perspective as well as open doors. In my case, moving to another country was a humbling reminder that the more you know, the more you realize all you don’t know. And there are things you only learn about yourself and where you come from, once you leave and go somewhere else.