ACA Participates in NIH Global Mental Health Workshop

Held on May 8th and 9th at the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland, Transformative Opportunities for Solving the Grand Challenges in Global Mental Health presented priorities and innovative strategies from NIH and the World Health Organization (WHO) for addressing worldwide mental health issues. 

It is estimated that there is one suicide every 40 seconds globally, that 311 million individuals suffer from depression, and that 211 million individuals have an anxiety disorder.

The deleterious mental health effects of forced migration, especially on youth, was highlighted, as was the need for prevention strategies around the world. Other areas of international focus included the use of self-help interventions as a remedy for lack of access to mental health professionals; neuroscience; and alleviating maternal stress along with promoting infant development.

The American Counseling Association will use the NIH workshop to inform our global partnership strategy. ACA has partnered with a number of international counseling associations including the Japanese Association of Counseling Science, the Singapore Association of Psychotherapists, the Asia Pacific Rim Confederation of Counsellors, the Mexican Association of Psychology and Psychotherapy, the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, and the Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy.