In SH + , helpers are referred to as ‘facilitators,’ and are not required to have prior mental health experience . In Nepal, CAP was compared to a control group receiving mhGAP-based interventions delivered by primary health workers. The CAP manual does not specify educational requirements for helpers, but in India, the counsellors had no background in mental health, had at least a secondary school education and fluency in local languages; in Nepal, counsellors had at least a high school education 28,30,31.

• Information to help healthcare professionals improve physical and mental health and wellbeing.
• In China, depression improved post-intervention; however, the effects diminished by 3 month follow-up .
• Although there is an increasing number of meta-analyses which provide an estimation of benefit across existing studies 14,15, the goal here is to describe what works where and for whom to guide local selection of interventions.
• However, PFA, CPT, and THP lack suicide risk assessment protocols, highlighting a gap in structured identification and support for at-risk individuals.
• The THPP in Pakistan showed improvements in social support at 6 months but not at 3 months follow-up, whereas THPP in India improved social support at both 3 and 6 months follow-up 93,94.
• They help people to spend time in public spaces and engage in interactions and relationships.

A growing body of research shows that mind-body interventions can have a particular benefit to your mental health. If you’re interested in working in the field of mental health, consider a career in social work. Half of Us is a project by mtvU and the Jed Foundation that encourages public dialogue about youth mental health issues and refers high school and college students to resources where they can find help.

If you need inpatient or outpatient treatment

Two middling successes, with some aspects discussed below in the section on continuing challenges, are the integration of mental health care into the general medical system and stigma reduction. This article summarizes past gains and successes in US mental health, outlines failures and continuing problems, and discusses solutions, with an eye toward the role of social policy. Mental illness is highly prevalent and a leading cause of disability globally and in the United States.1 In the United States, which is the focus of the article, one in five adults and youth ages 9 years old and older and one in six children ages 2–8 years old experience mental illness each year2, 3, 4; about half of the US population experiences mental illness at some point in their lifetime.4 In recent years, the stressors of the COVID‐19 pandemic have increased psychological distress, anxiety, and depression across the globe. This page provides resources to help you keep mentally healthy and to reduce stress. Learn about mental health basics and data, and where to get help and support.

Issues in Mental Health Research in Developing Countries

Mental health is essential to our overall well-being and as important as physical health. That makes for a lot of psychiatrists, counselors, and social workers. Delve into the psychology most relevant to your health practice area with these open course materials from renowned universities. Feel free to share these messages across your social media channels, newsletters, or other promotional materials.

Health care & research

Third, this review focuses exclusively on interventions for adults; interventions designed specifically for children and adolescents are not included. To support implementers in selecting the most appropriate intervention for specific target populations, we present visual infographics summarizing key features of each intervention. Mental health conditions have consistently ranked among the top ten leading causes of disease burden worldwide for the past 30 years .

Helpers, or e-helpers, focused on supporting clients emotionally and providing technical assistance, received five days of active listening and problem-solving training under the supervision of mental health professionals 57,58. Step-by-Step (SbS) is a digital mental health intervention developed by WHO Strengthening youth behavioral health workforce in collaboration with Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health and partners (Fig 6) . Three RCTs indicated that the recruited helpers did not have professional training or prior experience in mental health care 42,43,50. Counseling for Alcohol Problems (CAP) is a psychological intervention used in primary healthcare settings to identify and treat harmful and dependent alcohol use (Fig 3) .

This paper guides policymakers, program designers, and implementers in selecting psychological interventions suitable for low-resource settings. This review synthesizes information on 10 psychological interventions and PFA, integrating findings from intervention manuals and RCTs conducted in low-resource settings. Integrating psychological interventions into existing programs is crucial for their sustainability and effectiveness. Several interventions, including SH + , PM + , SbS, IPT-G, CETA, and CPT, demonstrated effectiveness in addressing trauma-related symptoms. All reviewed interventions demonstrated benefits for reducing depression, except for CAP, which did not target depression as an outcome.