Speaker Series Event Report: Dr. Judy Bass on "The Evolution of Global Mental Health Research; Where We've Been and Where We are Going"

On February 8th, 2024, the Global Mental Health Initiative hosted its inaugural event, titled “The Evolution of Global Mental Health Research: Where We’ve Been and Where We Are Going.” The event began with opening remarks delivered by Christopher King, the Dean of the School Of Health. Dean King emphasized the importance of the launch of the initiative, highlighting its selection as one of two winning “Big Idea” proposals due to its dedication to health equity, interdisciplinary collaboration, and innovative approach aimed at catalyzing systemic change to advance equitable healthcare. Dr. Shabab Wahid, Assistant Professor at the Department of Global Health and advisory board member of the initiative, provided further insight into the initiative's objectives, outlining its three primary aims: conducting research, developing pedagogy, and fostering informed activism and advocacy. Additionally, Dr. Wahid introduced the initiative's multidisciplinary advisory board of leaders.

Subsequently, Dr. Mendelhall, Professor at the School of Foreign Service and advisory board member of the initiative, introduced the keynote speaker for the event, Dr. Judy Bass, a renowned professor in the Department of Mental Health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Bass's work revolves around designing and evaluating methodologies for assessing mental health across diverse cultures and examining the efficacy and implementation of innovative prevention and intervention strategies in collaboration with local service providers. During her lecture, Professor Bass delved into the evolution of Global Mental Health research, drawing parallels with her own influential contributions. She highlighted a pivotal moment in 2009 when the National Institute of Mental Health established its first office focused on global mental health. Concurrently, the Grand Challenges in Global Mental Health also set six overarching goals for where research should be prioritized. These include identifying root causes of mental illness, advancing prevention, improving treatments, raising awareness, building human capacity, and transforming health-system and policy responses. In this context, Bass launched a study with female gender-based violence survivors in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in 2010 in collaboration with the International Rescue Committee’s Women’s Protection and Empowerment Program. Through this collaboration, Bass emphasized how root causes of mental health issues are multi-factorial, including factors such as poverty and gender-based violence. 

An engaging question and answer session followed the lecture, allowing attendees to engage with the speakers and deepen their understanding of global mental health research and practice. One notable question raised was about gaining community buy-in for mental health interventions without alienating traditional community helpers. Professor Bass underscored the importance of respecting and leveraging local expertise and resources, drawing from her own experience in Uganda, where she collaborated with World Vision, a Christian humanitarian organization, to implement a group interpersonal psychotherapy intervention for depression. Professor Bass further explained that in this particular community, the faith healers themselves initiated the collaboration as they recognized their limitations in addressing the mental health needs emerging within the community. However, each community is different, and the key is to engage the community in dialogue and work with them to create change. The event concluded with a call for continued collaboration between academics, practitioners, policymakers, and most importantly, people with the lived experience of mental health conditions to take the field into the future so access to effective mental health care can become a reality for millions across the globe.