So what is the Global Alliance doing on the international stage?

The Global Alliance’s unique action-oriented focus at the intersection of behavioral health, social justice, and human rights is critical to our ongoing work championing mental health and well-being. But how does that play out on the international stage? As the world recognizes Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Day, a day that mobilizes stakeholders to call for strong, equitable health systems that leave no one behind, we wanted to share what we have been working on in 2021.

Meet an AJO Researcher, Lauren Hindt: “Ecological disruptions and well-being among children in foster care"

Our Meet an AJO Researcher series spotlights recent research published in the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry and the researchers behind this work.

Speaking Up & Speaking Out: Using Our Voices for Meaningful Change

In my experience as a Ph.D. student in clinical health psychology, it is common knowledge in the field that homosexuality was “dropped” from the Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) in 1973. It’s a decision that, in 2021, sounds like a no-brainer. It seems almost inconceivable today that a respected scientific organization would consider homosexuality to be a mental illness and treat it as such. Yet nearly 50 years later, the sociopolitical context and key players involved in this decision are rarely discussed and therefore, not widely known.

Supporting Mental Health for All: The Importance of Community Engagement

What does supporting mental health for all really mean? A difficult and complex question that I have reflected on, and while there is not one simple answer, at its core it involves a commitment to person-centeredness. Our World Mental Health Day discussion focused on the development, implementation, evaluation, and implications of How Right Now – a national, research-based communications campaign aimed to promote and strengthen the emotional well-being and resiliency of high-risk populations adversely affected by COVID-19 - related stress, grief, and loss.

Moving from Crisis to Continuum: Nurturing Veteran Well-being

As a graduate student researcher and practitioner in clinical psychology, discussions about how to meet the unique mental health needs of veterans and service members arise frequently. However, these conversations often center on responding to crisis situations, rather than envisioning how we might prevent them. I believe that by understanding what veteran mental health looks like across a continuum, we can better understand how to support veteran well-being.

Meet an AJO Researcher, Sophia Fantus: “Promoting a positive school climate for sexual and gender minority youth through a systems approach: A theory-informed qualitative study”

Our Meet an AJO Researcher series spotlights recent research published in the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry and the researchers behind this work.

Meet an AJO Researcher, Gretchen Snethen: “Welcoming places: Perspectives of individuals with mental illnesses”

Our Meet an AJO Researcher series spotlights recent research published in the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry and the researchers behind this work.

Meet an AJO Researcher, Elan C. Hope: “Black adolescents’ anticipatory stress responses to multilevel racism: The role of racial identity”

Our Meet an AJO Researcher series spotlights recent research published in the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry and the researchers behind this work.

Global Alliance at the UN High Level Meeting for HIV/AIDS and Side Events

The United Nations High Level Meeting (UNHLM) for HIV/AIDS and side events were held virtually from June 8-11 2021.  During the HLM, world leaders in the General Assembly adopted the Political Declaration which pledged urgent, transformative action to stop the global AIDS epidemic.  

Integrating Mental Health is Critical to Overcoming Inequities and Ending AIDS

Now is the Time: Ending Stigma Around Mental Illness and Improving Mental Health 

An Intern’s Experience at the 2021 UN High-Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS

I could have never imagined that I would be able to attend an official United Nations High-Level Meeting as an undergraduate. 

During Mental Health Month, the Global Alliance co-sponsored Youth Well-Being in a Digital World: The Roles of Schools and Communities along with:

It’s that time of year where longer days and warmer weather means summer is here. Have you been spending time outdoors?

When COVID-19 was declared a pandemic on March 11, 2020, disastrous consequences were feared for refugees residing in overcrowded camps. These living quarters make social distancing impossible, in addition to low or non-availability of basic items to maintain sanitization and personal protection. However, agencies acted quickly and redirected their emergency programming to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Owing to the dedicated service of frontline workers, medical teams, volunteers, and refugees themselves, hundreds of thousands of lives were saved.

Meet an AJO Researcher, Robin Kowalski: “Racial differences in cyberbullying from the perspective of victims and perpetrators”

Our Meet an AJO Researcher series spotlights recent research published in the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry and the researchers behind this work.

Prior to the 74th World Health Assembly (held from May 24-June 1, 2021) the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS) Office of Global Affairs hosted a Listening Session on May 13th, 2021, to help provide the U.S. delegation to the World Health Assembly with knowledge, ideas, and feedback from national organizations invested in global health matters. The Global Alliance was represented at the Listening Session by Evelyn Tomaszewski, Gita Jaffe, and Surasya Guduru. In recognition of the urgent need to prioritize individual and community mental health, the Global Alliance was given the opportunity to provide statements on a variety of concerns we have historically advocated for.

On May 13th, 2021, I had the remarkable opportunity to attend the Stakeholder Listening Session hosted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS) Office of Global Affairs. The Listening Session was developed to help provide the U.S. delegation to the World Health Assembly with knowledge, ideas, and feedback from national organizations invested in global health matters, incorporating perspectives from public health and advocacy groups; state, local, and Tribal groups; private industry; minority health organizations; and academic and scientific organizations.

New leadership plays a highly influential role in mapping the future of the Pride Movement and fight for LGBTQ+ rights. Meet 5 young, up-and-coming activists to follow as they lead the next generation of Pride.

As adults who identify as LGBTQ+ age, they face several unique and challenging issues related to older adulthood, leading to social, economic, and health disparities. A recent national study found that aging adults in the LGBTQ+ community face greater levels of depression, loneliness, disability and social isolation, putting this population at increased risk for mental and physical health conditions. These findings are consistent with a growing number of studies demonstrating the health impact of the systemic oppression of the LGBTQ+ community as individuals reach older age. The “shifting contexts” of aging adults identifying as LGBTQ+ leave many older individuals vulnerable to a variety of health and social issues. As the circumstances of daily living, social life, and healthcare change throughout older age, adults in the LGBTQ+ community face fewer opportunities to maintain their health and greater barriers to achieving well-being.