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Mental health promotion and prevention of disorders
The Challenge
Our Approach and Projects
Our Publications and Products
HHD Projects in the News
The Challenge
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” As the WHO Collaborating Center to Promote Health through Schools and Communities, HHD embraces WHO’s application of this definition to mental health as “a state of well-being, in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively...and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.”
Our Approach and Projects
Based on WHO’s definition, HHD's work in mental health addresses the continuum from mental health promotion to prevention and early intervention to treatment, and reaches people through many systems: schools and colleges, clinics, community agencies, social and mental health services, and the workplace. We also strive to prevent and address disorders that co-occur with mental health issues, including substance abuse and high-risk sexual practices.
Our projects range from creating curricula to running a national resource center, and include:
- Developing curricula for the Teenage Health Teaching Modules (THTM) for students in grades 7-12 to advance social and emotional learning,
- Providing technical assistance to district-wide, multi-sectoral programs (education, mental health and law enforcement) that seek to promote mental health and safety for children and families,
- Operating the Suicide Prevention Resource Center for the United States,
- Improving care for returning war veterans suffering from posttraumatic stress.
Internationally, HHD serves as the secretariat for Intercamhs, uniting policy makers and practitioners worldwide to advance the continuum described above to improve the mental health of children and adolescents.
Six HHD resource centers carry out our work in mental health
promotion and prevention of disorders:
- Center for School and Community Health Programs
The center works to improve the lives of children and adolescents by developing, implementing, evaluating, and disseminating comprehensive health and mental health programs and curricula in schools and communities. The center also works with national, state, and local health and education agencies to improve professional knowledge and skill with those who provide direct services to children and youth.
- Northeast Center for the Application of Prevention Technologies
The Northeast Center for the Application of Prevention Technologies
(NECAPT), one of five regional centers funded by the federal
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, works with state and local agencies to prevent alcohol, drug abuse, and co-occurring disorders across all age groups. NECAPT conducts cross-center workgroups with school health representatives to address substance abuse and mental health issues, produces papers and bibliographies, conducts focus groups and workshops, and provides technical assistance on co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders to state prevention teams and other experts. Specific
projects related to co-occurring disorders include:
- Center for the Study and Prevention of Injury, Violence, and Suicide
The center assesses the complex social and behavioral factors that underlie physical trauma, including suicide, and develops prevention programs, trainings, and educational materials with and for state and local health agencies, schools, community-based organizations, state coalitions, criminal and juvenile justice systems, and social service agencies. The Center houses the primary resource center in the U.S. for suicide prevention, which provides technical assistance to state agencies, coalitions and stakeholders in each of the 50 states:
- Center for College Health and Safety
The center assists colleges and universities in developing, implementing, and evaluating policies and programs that address a broad range of health and safety issues at institutions of higher education with services including professional development, technical assistance, publications, and electronic communication resources. The center is currently conducting groundbreaking work to investigate, synthesize, and disseminate best practices for promoting mental wellness on college and university campuses.
- HHD Global Programs
HHD is the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Collaborating Center to
Promote Health through Schools and Communities. Working with
ministries of education and health around the world, we encourage
policies and programs that support mental health promotion and
prevention of disorders in many settings: in schools, and by
having schools collaborate with community-based mental health
services; in workplaces; and in community settings. In HHD’s global work on other critical health challenges, such as HIV and AIDS, we synthesize the research and design innovative practices to address the psycho-social aspects related to these problems. HHD
Global Programs houses the following projects related to mental
health:
- Center for Research on High Risk Behaviors
The Center for Research on High Risk Behaviors develops, evaluates,
and disseminates theoretically-sound, empirically-informed
interventions for promoting health and reducing risks for youth
and adults. Much of the center’s work has addressed risk and resiliency factors for suicide among urban youth. Notably, the Center’s
Reach for Health study tests the effectiveness of school-based
interventions for reducing high-risk health behaviors among
African-American and Hispanic youth living in poor urban neighborhoods,
and includes research on risk factors for suicidality. About
3,600 middle school students in Brooklyn, New York have participated
in the project:
Finally, the Center for the Study and Prevention of Injury, Violence,
and Suicide and the Center for College Health and Safety work together
and collaborate with a number of partners, including the Jed
Foundation, to promote mental health and prevent disorders
on college campuses. One such project includes the Pilot
Program to Promote Mental Health and Prevent Suicide, which
works to advance the National
Strategy for Suicide Prevention.
Our Publications and Products
HHD’s centers and projects focused on mental health promotion and the prevention of disorders address a variety of topics across the spectrum.
HHD research findings and publications on mental health promotion and prevention of disorders:
HHD products, including presentations, tools, and websites on
mental health promotion and prevention of disorders:
Presentations:
Communications Tools:
Websites:
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