3. GMH Core (Overview)

Update August 2026:
The mnaterials below are from  from the inital years of the GMH-Map Project (2011-2015). 
Many of the links no longer work and hence one has to search for them online or elewhere.
There are of course many more "core" materials realated to the vast GMH domain now!

1. See the GMH-Map Project section of this website
to access our GMH overview publications and presentations (2011-2026).

----------

2. Here are some  of the many categories of resources within the GMH domain.
These and other categories [incluiding GMH and artificial intelligence]
can help form a useful grid for navigating and staying current with GMH.
Many of the resources could also be organised by Region, Language, and Sector.

• Affiliations and Partnerships (e.g., principles for working together)

• Advocacy and Rights (e.g., QualityRights project and toolkit, WHO 2012)

• Alcohol and Substance Abuse (e.g., WHO substance abuse info/resources)

• Films and Videos—e.g., Breaking the Chains (Colucci, 2013), Like a Death Sentence (Human Rights Watch, 2012), Hidden Pictures (Ruston, 2013)

• Gender and Mental Health (e.g., summary of some research)

• Humanitarian Applications (e.g., settings and staff)

• Organizations and Networks (e.g., list of featured organisations at in2MentalHealth)

• Policy: International and National (e.g., Resolution on the Global Burden of Mental Disorders...WHO, May 2012)

• Research and Training Centers/Programs—e.g., Global Mental Health Research Program  (National Institute of Mental Health) and Collaborating Centres (World Health Organization)

• Practice Guidelines and Services (e.g., call for articles on GMH case studies, PLoS Medicine)

• Training and Learning ( e.g., masters programmes and more)    

•  Voices and Stories—e.g., GMH Voices (Member Care Associates)

• Webinars—e.g., links to upcoming and archived GMH webinars related to GMH        

-------------

3. Here are some core resource materials to orient people to the GMH domain.
This list was initially compiled in 2011.

Global Mental Health

Lancet Series, 2011 on Global Mental Health  http://www.thelancet.com/series/global-mental-health-2011

Lancet Series, 2007 on Global Mental Health (This landmark series includes six articles and eight commentaries on GMH issues) http://www.thelancet.com/series/global-mental-health   [See also the America's launch for the Lancet GMH series, in 2008]

Packages of Care for Mental, Neurological, and Substance Use Disorders in Low and Middle-Income Countries (2009) Public Library of Scince (PloS) http://www.globalmentalhealth.org/articles_plos-medicine-series_174.html

Where There Is No Psychiatrist: A Mental Health Manual (2003) by Vikram Patel http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/publications/books/rcpp/1901242757.aspx

WHO Mental Health publications

*Human resources for mental health: Workforce shortages in low-and middle-income countries. (2011) http://www.who.int/hrh/resources/observer8/en/index.html

*mhGAP Intervention Guide (2010) http://www.who.int/mental_health/evidence/mhGAP_intervention_guide/en/index.html

*Mental health and development report (2010) http://www.who.int/mental_health/policy/mhtargeting/en/index.html

*Improving health systems and services for mental health (2009) http://www.who.int/mental_health/policy/services/mhsystems/en/index.html

*mhGAP Mental Health Gap Action Programme: Scaling up care for mental, neurological, and substance use disorders (2008). http://www.who.int/mental_health/mhgap_final_english.pdf

*Integrating mental health into primary care – a global perspective (2008) http://www.who.int/mental_health/policy/services/mentalhealthintoprimarycare/en/index.html

*Project Atlas: Resources for Mental Health (2011, 2005, 2001) http://www.who.int/mental_health/evidence/atlas/en/

*IASC Guidelines for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings; What Should Humanitarian Health Actors Know (2010)

*IASC Guidelines for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings (2007)

*Mental and Social Aspects of Health of Populations Exposed to Extreme Stressors (2003)

*WHO Mental Health Policy and Service Guidance Package (2003-2007) http://www.who.int/mental_health/policy/essentialpackage1/en/index.html

*World Health Report 2001. Mental Health: New Understanding, New Hope (2001) www.who.int/whr/2001/en

Notes: Helps for Mental Health–See the several materials for practitioners and consumers on various mental conditions and issues at NIMH http://www.athealth.com/ and Athealth http://www.nimh.nih.gov/index.shtml

Notes: Human Rights and Mental Health–See the web site of the Movement for Global Mental Health. The material begins by listing several human rights treaties that the United Nations has ratified, beginning with the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. These treaties guarantee civil, political, social, cultural, economic, religious, etc. rights. http://www.globalmentalhealth.org/articles_human-rights-and-mental-health_39.html

**See the brief and fascinating video on human rights from Veritas for historical context/relevance. http://www.youtube.com/user/VeritasForum#p/c/2/nCQWwkERit4

4. More Resources

(also posted 2011-2015--as part of the initial GMH-Map Project--for mapping GMH)

 Humanitarian Effectiveness and Staff Wellbeing, webinar organized by Humanitarian Professionals in Assistance and Protection, 30 July 2015. (audio and powerpoint available online, opening 30 minute presentation by Dr. Alastair Ager, Columbia University)

Stress Management in Peace Operations, 2015, Maren Rößler and Cord Wiesenthal.  ("This study is based on interviews with German civilian experts in international peace missions by the EU, OSZE, and UN and those responsible for human resources in these organizations. The authors Maren Rößler and Cord Wiesenthal investigated which cumulative stress factors in peace missions influence the well-being and motivation of the staff involved and how the stress they experience can be managed by the institutions. The results show that internal factors connected to the mission cause the most stress, but that advice offered by the institutions is primarily focused on the external circumstances relevant to safety concerns.")

http://www.zif-berlin.org/en/about-zif/news/detail/article/neue-zif-study-stress-management-in-peace-operations.html

http://www.zif-berlin.org/fileadmin/uploads/analyse/dokumente/veroeffentlichungen/ZIF_Study_Stress_Management_August_2015_ENG.pdf

Crossing Boundaries: Meeting the Needs of Refugee Communities Around the Globe, Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology (William James College), 26 June 2015, Newton, Massachusetts USA (jill_bloom@mspp.edu).. Organised by the GMH Program at MSPP [example of one of thee presentations--powerpoint on GMH: Tracking and Trekking Across Sectors]

Global Perspectives on Mental Wellbeing--Knowledge Exchange/Summer School. A one-week course offered by the University of Glasgow and University of Rwanda, 15-19 June 2015, Kigali, Rwanda. Contact: http://global-perspectives-on-mental-wellbeing.eventbrite.co.uk

(April 2015): Bi-weekly news bulletin from the APA Office of International Affairs with information about opportunities for international engagement in mental health (www.apa.org/international). For more information or to send information to include: sasonganyi@apa.org.

Transcultural Psychiatry (Dec. 2014)--Special journal issue on GMH; free access to the opening editorial, 12 pages with reflections on contributions from GMH and concerns about GMH  http://tps.sagepub.com/content/51/6.toc

2015 launch--Global Mental Health, new open access journal from Cambridge University Press; "aims to publish papers that apply the global point of view to mental health research...seeks to cultivate the emerging field of [GMH], and to provide a forum for the publication of the new perspectives and paradigms developing from it." Four categories of papers to be included: Interventions, Etiology, Policy and Systems, Training and Learning. http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=GMH.

Intervention:  International Journal of Mental Health, Psychosocial Work, and Counselling  in Areas of Armed Conflict : http://www.interventionjournal.com/Special issue on “New Frontiers in Mental Health and Psychosocial Wellbeing in Low Resource and Conflict Affected Settings" (Volume 12:2—December 2014). Note that previous issues are available online starting one year prior to the current issue.

http://journals.lww.com/interventionjnl/Fulltext/2014/12001/Rethinking_mental_health_care___bridging_the.3.aspx

#FundaMentalSDG is an initiative aiming to include a specific mental health target in the post-2015 agenda. We are committed to the belief that there can be no health without mental health, and that there can be no substantial development without including mental health into the post-2015 agenda. For more information and to get involved:  http://www.fundamentalsdg.org

Suicide and depression resources (links on WHO website):

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2014/suicide-prevention-report/en/

--Preventing Suicide: A Global Imperative (WHO report, September 2014)

--See also the 5 minute video on suicide and the Suicide Fact Sheet 

--Living with a Black Dog (animated, creative video to support those who help others with depression; a companion video to I Had a Black Dog)

Update of core resource materials for GMH orientation (GMH-Map project)

Tracking and Trekking with GMH! Presents seven core GMH categories for connecting and contributing to GMH. Featured is a listing of 13 GMH gatherings (conferences/events) 2013-2014, many with links to power point/video presentations.   

Mental Health Innovation Network (this site facilitates and shares progress in the development, evaluation, scaling up, promotion, intervention, and treatment for mental disorders around the world; its three emphases are innovations, resources, and community)

Responding to the critiques about GMH: See Point 4 in the "Persepectives" section on this website.

Just published(July 2014): Making mental health count: The social and economic costs of neglecting mental health care (2014, OECD; available for free online download). See also: Investing in Mental Health: Evidence for Action (WHO, September 2013, 36 pages)

GMH: Staying Updated-Crossing Sectors, Spring Conversation Series, O'Neill Institute, Georgetown University. Tuesday 6 May, 13:30-14:30 EST; presenter: Dr. Kelly O'Donnell (Listen live: US/Canada Toll free: 1-866-244-8528 International Toll: 1-719-457-0816  Password: 292140). Click here for the power point presentation. More details here: http://www.law.georgetown.edu/oneillinstitute/news/KellyODonnell2014.cfm#

GMH: Strategies for Staying Updated, Kelly O'Donnell, Psychology International, March 2014, Vol. 25, No. 1  Click here for full version of the article (this Psychology International issue has many articles related to GMH/international psychology) 

GMH and NGOs: Working Together Well! (short version of power point-plenary session, HimalPartner GMH Seminar, Oslo, 7 March 2014)

Gathering on Mental Health and the Church (Orange County, California, USA  28 March 2014) NAMI, Catholics, and Evangelicals seriously connect on behalf of mental health with an estimated 10,000 people participating in person/online. See the article: Can Churches Separate Mental Illness and Shame? Also see: more reflections by a plenarist; NAMI news; the Event website

GMH-Map Resource Update: March 2014 ( core materials for GMH orientation)

Hidden Pictures Project. The first short video features the work of Vikram Patel in India, recruiting and training community members to provide basic counseling. 

Currently there are at least five GMH edited volumes, full of materials useful for practice, policy, health systems, advocacy, training, etc. These are:  GMH: Trauma and Recovery (2011, edited by Richard Mollica); 21st Century GMH (2012, edited by Eliot Sorel); and GMH: Principles and Practice (2013, edited by Vikram Patel, Harry Minas, Alex Cohen, and Martin Prince), Public Mental Health: Global Perspectives (2013, edited by Lee Knifton and Neil Quinn), and Improving Mental Health Care: The Global Challenge (2013, edited by Graham Thornicroft, Mirella Rugeri, and David Goldberg)

The special GMH issue from Intervention: International Journal of Mental Health, Psychosocial Work, and Counselling in Areas of Armed Conflict  and Psychology Serving Humanity: Proceedings of the 30th International Congress of Psychology (Volume One: Majority World Psychology; Volume Two: Western Psychology). 

WHO Resolution 134 R8 (24 January 2014). Contributing to social and economic development: Sustainable action across sectors to improve health and health equity (follow-up of the 8th Global Conference on Health Promotion) http://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/EB134/B134_R8-en.pdf ["Recognizing that a number of mental disorders can be prevented and that mental health can be promoted in the health sector and in sectors outside health and that global support is necessary for national and local work on mental health and development, including through the  Mental Health Action Plan and the WHO MINDbank;"]

WHO MINDbank Online Platform (launched on the occasion of Human Rights Day, 10 December 2013 and  on the occasion of the 65th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;. This tool "brings together a range of country and international resources, covering mental health, substance abuse, disability, general  health, human rights and development.  These include policies, strategies, laws, and service standards."  It is part of the WHO QualityRights Project and supports the WHO Mental Health Action Plan 2013-2020).

The Core Humanitarian Standard (draft from 9 December 2013 "...supports humanitarian actors to apply fundamental humanitarian and human rights principles, improve the quality and effectiveness of assistance, and bring greater accountability to communities and people affected by disaster." Consultative input is requested through March 2014. For more information: mgarrard@hapinternational.org)

International Council of Nurses. (2007). Occupational health and safety management programme for nurses. Geneva: Author. ["Nurses are the principal group of health care personnel providing primary health care at all levels and maintaining links between individuals, families, communities and the rest of the health care system. Working with other members of the health care team and other sectors or on their own, nurses explore new and better ways of keeping well, or improving health and preventing disease and disability. Nurses improve equity and access to health care and add quality to outcome of care." page 7]  http://www.icn.ch/images/stories/documents/publications/guidelines/guideline_occupationalhealth.pdf

Position Statement on Mental Health in the Post-2015 Development Agenda (Movement for Global Mental Health, September 2013)

GMH Week+ Geneva: Connecting-contributing via a strategic week of events/activities (3-11 October 2013):

3-4 October: Webster University’s Psychology/Counselling Conference--Ties that Heal (existential, interpersonal, neurobiological pathways to healing)

3-4 October: Geneva colleagues will be joining with many others from around the world for the International Forum on Innovation in Mental Health, Lisbon (this is the first technical meeting of the Gulbenkian GMH Platform)

7 October: mhGAP Forum (focusing on the implementation of the Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan 2013-2020

8 October: Working Consultation—Implementing Evidence-Based Practice in Low Resource Countries (Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, NGO Forum for Health, USAID Victims of Torture Fund, WHO Collaborating Center on Mental Health of the University of Geneva—Department of Psychiatry) click here for flyer

8 October: Knitting the Net (informal dinner event for developing GMH connections and sharing GMH reflections)

9 October: MHPSS in Emergencies: How Do the Existing Guidelines Help Practical Applications Across Sectors? (IASC event convened at the United Nations, focussing on th IASC 2007 MHPSS guidelines in emergency settings and subsequent materials for different users/settings)

10 October: Hidden Pictures part of the worldwide film screening and World Mental Health Day (Webster University, co-organised with the NGO Forum for Health; click here for more information on the Webster University screening and the poster for the Webster University screening; note that the theme this year for WMHD is Mental Health and Older Adults; click here to see the list of previous WMHD themes since the first one in 1992)

11 0ctober: Breaking the Chains of People with Mental Illness in Indonesia (film screening at WHO)

UNHCR's MHPSS for Staff and for Persons of Concern (two reports, 2013)

Investing in Mental Health: Evidence for Action (WHO, September 2013, 36 pages)

GMH Forum: Sustainable Development through Global Action--The Case for Investing in Mental Health (hosted by the Centre for Global Mental Health, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London--27,28 September 2013)

Building Back Better: Sustainable Mental Health Care after Emergencies (WHO publication launched in Geneva on International Humanitarian Day, 19 August 2013; three broad emphases: crises as opportunities to develop mental health care, 10 national case examples, lessons learnt). Click here to view the powerpoint for Building Back Better (presented at the August launch, WHO Geneva)

GMH: A Resource Map for Connecting and Contributing (keynote/powerpoint presentation at the Nordic WHO Simulation Conference, Copenhagen, 7 August 2013--a GMH overview including six short video links; click here for the handouts) 

Two International Courses on Mental Health (MH Law and HR-- India;  MH Policy and Services--Portugal)

Some Core Resources for GMH Orientation (updated)

WHO Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan 2013-2020 (final version, 27 May 2013)

Grand Challenges in Global Mental Health (five-part series  of articles in PLOS Medicine focusing on integrating mental health into other health care platforms, emerging from the 2012 NIMH workshop "Grand Challenges in GMH";  open access online)

ADVANCES IN TRAUMA CARE:

EMDR with Survivors of Mass Disaster and the WHO Global Mental Health-Action Plan

[Special side event on the occasion of the 66th World Health Assembly

Tuesday 21 May 2013, 12:00-13:30; United Nations Geneva—NGO Resource and Service Centre]

HELP TO ALLEVIATE THE GLOBAL BURDEN OF TRAUMA:

New Responses to a Challenge for Governments, UN Agencies and Civil Society

6-8 June 2013 Geneva, in/around the Centre International de Conférences Genève

----------------

Note: EMDR was recently recommended by WHO as a new treatment option for trauma, in addition to cognitive behaviour therapy.

Mental Health: Breaking Down Barriers (10 articles). This is the special theme of the March-April 2013 issue of Health Progress (Volume 94, number 2, Catholic Health Association of the United States).

Three GMH updates related to UN/WHO--GMH Action Plan, NCD Action Plan, Sustainable Developmental Goals.

Global Mental Health Special Issue, International Health (March 2013--three of the 11 GMH articles are available online for free, Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene)

The Human Development Report 2013--The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse World. This is the annual report from the UN Development Program. The Overview section is easy to review, especially in light of busy schedules!

The World in Denial? Global Mental Health Matters (conference, 26-27 March in London, Royal Society of Medicine)

Flourishing (MCA Resource Update, February 2013, with perspectives/resources from Positive Psychology on happiness/well-being)

New Action Plan Could be a Turning Point in GMH (GlobalPost, 28 Janaury 2013)

a. Brief summary of the WHO-Executive Board meeting on the GMH-Action Plan, 22 January 2013 b. Highlights by WHO of the comments from the Executive Board meeting

Hidden Pictures: The Underexposed World of GMH (trailer for a film on the human faces/realities of GMH--coming winter 2013)

Like a Death Sentence (Human Rights Watch, on the negative aspects of HR and MH in Ghana--simple report and full version plus brief video, 2 October 2012)

No Health Without Mental Health: Lessons Unlearned (an article consisting of five cogent paragraphs in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization, January 2013--91: 3-3A)

Inter-Agency Guide to the Evaluation of Psychosocial Programmes in Humanitarian Crises (UNICEF et al.)

Primary Care, Mental Health and Public Health Integration: The Catalytic Role of Communication/Information Technology --10-13 April 2013, WPA Regional Congress , Bucharest

"Employable Idealism"--Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology

Update and reflections on the WHO mhGAP Forum, 10 October 2012

20+ Years of World Mental Health Days (1992-2012)

 Examples of important UN resources 2012 (CONGO)

Special post: "The ‘zero draft’ Global Mental Health Action Plan 2013-2020  (English and French) is now ready for review and comments. TheAction Plan was requested by the 65th World Health Assembly in Resolution WHA65.4 on The global burden of mental disorders and the need for a comprehensive, coordinated response from health and social sectors at the country level."

Special post: Mental Health and Psychosocial Support for Conflict-Related Sexual Violence

(WHO et al, 2012, eight page summary) 

Special post: Global Mental Health: A Resource Primer for Exploring the Domain

(International Perspectives in Psychology: Resarch, Practice, Consultation, 2012, Volume 1, Issue 3). Note: This is the foundational research article for the intial development of the GMH-Map website.

Special post: 21st Century Global Mental Health,

(Edited by Eliot Sorel  and available September 2012 from Jones and Bartlett Learning)

Note: This is the first text of its kind in the GMH domain, intended for graduate public health students, educators, and practitioners.

Special post: World Mental Health Day 2012--Depression: A Global Epidemic

Note: See also the Listing of WMHD Themes from 1992-2012.

1. Here are some suggestions for newsletters-updates:

• • Movement for Global Mental Health (monthly)

  • Centre for Global Mental Health (monthly)

  • mhGAP, World Health Organization (twice a year)

  • World Federation for Mental Health (quarterly--website being redone Nov. 2013)

  • Psychology International--Office of International Affairs, APA (3-6 times/year)

 2. Some recent materials (2011-2012):

Training:

Masters degree programmes in Global Mental Health (starting August/September 2012):

1. King's College London and University of London (GMH)

2. University of Glasgow (GMH)

3. Univeridade Nova de Lisbao, Faculty of Medical Sciences, MH Department (Mental Health Policy and Services)

4. Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology (Counseling Psychology/GMH)

Research:

**Grand Challenges for Global Mental Health, (July 2011)

Pamela Collins et al, NIMH et al, Nature, Volume 475, 7 July 2011, pp. 27-30

**The Global Economic Burden of Non-communicable Diseases (September 2011--with a significant emphasis on MH)

World Economic Forum and Harvard School of Public Health

**Research Priorities for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Humanitarian Settings (September 2011)

Tol et al, PLoS Medicine

**2011 Mental Health Atlas (October 2011)

World Health Organisation

**Lancet series on Global Mental Health (October 2011, four comments and six papers in this 2nd special sissue on GMH)

**Special issue on GMH (January-Febraury 2012, eight articles) 

Harvard Review of Psychiatry 

**Global Mental Health: A Resource Primer for Exploring the Domain

(International Perspectives in Psychology: Resarch, Practice, Consultation (2012, Voluume 1, Issue 3)

(Note: This is the foundational research article for the intial development of the GMH-Map website).

**PLoS Medicine series/call for GMH case studies to illustrate how GMH is practiced in a variety of contexts in view of public health and clinical approaches.

Practice:

**Psychological First Aid: Guide for Field Workers (2011)

World Health Organisation, War Trauma Foundation, World Vision International

** Access to the World of Psychology (Psychology International, March 2012)

**GMH--Finding Your Niches and Networks (Psychology International, March 2012)

**Global Mental Health: A Resource Map for Connecting and Contributing (Psychology International, July 2011) Kelly O'Donnell, Psychology International, 22(2), pp. 4-6.

**Twelve Critical Issues for Mental Health Professionals Working with Ethno-Culturally Diverse Populations (October 2011)

Anthony Marsella, Psychology International, 22(3), pp. 7-10.

**GMH and its Discontents (a summary of conference/workshop at McGill University in July 2012 on GMH: Bridging the Perspectives of Cultural Psychology and Public Health)

**Integrating Primary Care, Mental Health, and Public Health (European and American Perspectives--Symposium at American Psychiatric Association annual meeting,  7 May 2012). [Note: See the info on the World Psychiatric Association's Regional Congress in Bucharest 10-13 April 2013 on this same topic with a focus on Southeast Europe and Eurasia.]

****PLoS Medicine series/call for GMH case studies to illustrate how GMH is practiced in a variety of contexts in view of public health and clinical approaches.

Declarations and Statements:

**Rio Political Declaration on Social Determinants of Health (21 October 2011)

World Health Organisation

**Cape Town Declaration (16 October 2011)

Pan African Network of People with Psychosocial

** Mental Health and the Scope of Noncommunicable Diseases

Joint Statment to the UN High-level Meeting on Noncommunicable Disease Prevcention and Control (19-20 September 2011)

NGO Forum for Health (Geneva) and NGO Committee on Mental Health (New York)

Resolutions:

**A United Nations General Assembly Special Session for Mental, Neurological, and Substance Use Disorders: The Time Has Come (17 January 2012)

Judith Bass et al, PLoS Medicine, 9(1): e1001159. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001159

** Resolution on the Global Burden of Mental Disorders and the Need for a Comprehensive, Coordinated Response from Health and Social Sectors at the Country Level  (World Health Assembly--WHO, 25 May 2012)

WHO Executive Board (passed at the WHO World Health Assembly 22 May 2012)

Advocacy:

WHO QualityRights Project--Toolkit lauched 15 June 2012 (goals: improve the quality and human rights conditions in mental health and social care facilities; empower civil society organization to advocate for the rights of people with mental and psychosocial disabilities)

Interested in multimedia materials? Try some of these recent items.

Some are more mainstream and some are more divergent:

• • GMH overview and in a Jordanian context (WHO, 2011, six minute video)

  • Madness Radio (archived radio programs/interviews on mental health topics from a variety of perspectives)

GMH Online Communities:

See the description/links at the blogsite: in2MH (http://in2mentalhealth.wordpress.com/)

(This blogside provides information "from and between mental health workers, NGO's, institutes, and others who are interested in improving mental health in low and middle income countries.")