Global Health

Global, Community & Public Mental Health Innovation

I’m committed to finding innovative ways to provide mental health care to communities throughout the world, strengthen health systems, and remove obstacles to care. Working in Rwanda, Haiti, Peru, Chiapas, Malawi, Lesotho, Liberia and Sierra Leone over the past fifteen years has taught me much about how to think about building teams and systems. Since 2010 I‘ve led and supported the implementation and integration of mental health programs as founding Director of Mental Health at Partners In Health, an international health care delivery organization working in ten countries. In this capacity, I’ve supported local teams dedicated to catalyzing comprehensive health system strengthening that is inclusive of mental health. The main focus of this work is to replace institutional care in locked psychiatric facilities with free care delivered by collaborative teams of community members, non-specialist health care providers, and specialists who work in integrated ways close to where people live. I engage in this work because this kind of care is needed in all global contexts, including the US. Working to promote the development of innovative models of delivery of mental healthcare for people without access to services, and learning about ways to strengthen the resilience of communities enhances my practice. My work building teams to develop sustained models of community-based mental health care delivery in places where services are difficult to reach has contributed to an emerging field of global mental health delivery.