About CUGMHP

The Global Mental Health Programs Consortium is based at Columbia University in New York City. We champion better mental health worldwide through innovative advocacy, research, and training. The Global Mental Health Program was founded in 2012 by Professor Kathleen Pike in response to the overwhelming burden of disease of mental illness. It transitioned to a formalized consortium of programs in 2018.

Our Mission and Vision

We envision a world in which mental illness loses its stigma and is recognized as a serious global issue that has an economic, political, and social impact on all of us—whether or not we are directly affected individually or through loved ones.

We envision a world in which effective prevention and treatment interventions are available and accessible in all societies.

We strive to be a world leader in advocacy, research, and training in global mental health.

We are on a mission to promote mental health and reduce the burden of mental illness around the globe by:

  • Delivering postgraduate educational programs that prepare clinicians and researchers to advance the field of global mental health
  • Developing training programs that build capacity for research and clinical care in low and middle-income countries
  • Conducting basic and applied research that has global relevance
  • Advancing community awareness and understanding of mental illness
  • Advocating for human rights of people with mental health illness, including the right to participate in civil society, as specified in United Nations Declarations

 

About the Website

This website is designed to show the breadth of research, training, and advocacy that exists at Columbia University in the field of global mental health. The site consists of four major theme pages:

  • Programs: Navigate using the “Programs” tab to see all initiatives led by Columbia University faculty in the field of global mental health. Programs include research grants, training grants, advocacy initiatives, and student courses.
  • People: Navigate using the “People” tab to view Columbia University faculty who work on one of the affiliated programs or otherwise collaborate with global mental health projects. These people include Steering Committee members, who direct the vision and long-term strategy for global mental health at Columbia, and other affiliated faculty.
  • Places: Navigate using the “Places” tab to see our work organized by its implementation country. We work directly in over 25 countries, in addition to our global initiatives that span the world.
  • Purpose: Navigate using the “Purpose” tab to see our work organized by its core purpose, based on our three missions of research, training, and advocacy in global mental health. Some programs may encompass more than one purpose.

If you are a Columbia University faculty member who works in global mental health and would like to join our collaboration and have your work featured on our website, please contact: [email protected].

 

Our Team

The Columbia University Global Mental Health Programs network and website are supported by Dr. Kathleen M. Pike, Chair of the Global Mental Health Steering Committee, and her staff: