Overview

There is no health without mental health. Given the critical role that mental health plays in wellbeing and the wide-ranging of consequences of mental disorders on those that experience them, as well as their family members, community networks and society as a whole, mental health and wellbeing have been included as part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

There are many different factors that can promote mental health and build resilience in individuals and communities, however there are also many risk factors that can contribute to serious mental health problems. New developments in services, research and policy emphasize the need to develop a body of specified inter-disciplinary knowledge, geared to facilitate the recovery of at-risk populations. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing vulnerabilities and exposed more of the general population to risk factors for poor mental health, including poverty, bereavement illness, unemployment, and disruptions to education and work.

The Center for Mental Health Research, Practice and Policy, founded in 2009, is an integrative, multi-disciplinary center unique in its comprehensive scope.  It has collaborated closely with several departments in the University that contribute to the field of mental health including Public Heath, Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Social Work, Gerontology, Psychology and Law.  The center has also collaborated with many leading researchers from many institutions around the globe as reflected in the many collaborative publications. The Center has also generated ongoing dialogue and cooperation between academic research, mental health practice, and public policy.  This pioneering dialogue facilitated the implementation of effective approaches and interventions and contribute to their definition, standardization, and evaluation.

The vision of the Center for Mental Health Research, Practice and Policy, is to increase our understanding of these risk and resilience factors, develop approaches that promote wellbeing and inclusion throughout the lifespan, develop innovative interventions that increase access to effective mental health care, and address public perception and stigma around mental health issues.  We aim for the Center for Mental Health Research, Practice and Policy will be a hub for these activities – creating a bridge between academia, practice, and policy and

making deep-seated therapeutic, policy and societal changes. We are committed to cooperation with service users and service providers, providing opportunities to improve wellness and health, increased access to interventions and psychosocial support through innovations such as digital interventions and alternatives to hospital-based care, and improving early recognition and interventions for mental health problems.

Specifically, the Center conducts research and activities that:

  1. Increase our understanding of mental health problems.
  2. Promote inclusion of individuals with mental health problems – in research, practice, and in society in general.
  3. Facilitate more accurate identification of at-risk individuals and deliver early interventions to promote wellbeing and prevent the development of psychopathology.
  4. Improve accessibility and quality of national and international mental health services across the different groups in society including ethnic minorities and across the whole lifespan.
  5. Contribute to policy development in the field of mental health.
  6. Engage the general public about perception of issues related to mental health.