Global Mental Health Youth Ambassadors Abigail Wang, Linda Han, & Dr. Adam Brown
Mar 2026
Care Festival
Presentation
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Agenda Introduction to Global Mental Health Gaps in Care The Consortium Evaluation of the Program Peer-Led Interventions + Considerations Next Steps & Call to Action 2
Introduction to Global Mental Health 3
OUR VISION
WHO WE ARE
The New School Center for Global Mental Health focuses on the development, adaptation, and testing of mental health and psychosocial interventions that can be delivered globally by non-mental health professionals, and works closely with cross-sector partners to carry out this work. Additionally, the Center has extensive experience in the study of traumatic stress and the identification of factors that contribute to mental health risks and resilience following exposure to trauma and adversity. 4
At TNS CGMH, we… ● ●
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Transform systems of mental health care to assure that those most in need are reached Task-sharing strategies for delivery of psychological interventions by non-specialists embedded in other health and community services Adapting and co-designing mental health strategies in partnership with communities Building a non-specialist workforce to compliment specialized providers
Main GMH Concepts Stepped Care Model 2.0
Raising Awareness
Peter Cornish’s Stepped Care Model 2.0 is a patient-centric and recovery-oriented approach that offers increased access to care at various levels of intensity, with individuals being stepped up or down, as needed. Integration of technology, prevention, and overall promotion–a holistic view
Reducing Stigma Overcoming barriers to care, reducing cultural stigma, and enhancing community-based care
Promoting prevention and early intervention, raising awareness about available resources, encouraging open dialogues and creating safe spaces
Task-Sharing
Approach that fosters equitable and accessible mental health services, it helps bridge the treatment gap in resource-constrained settings by training non-specialists while maintaining collaboration with specialists
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Gaps in Care
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World Health Organization 2021
World Health Organization 2021
The Consortium
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Consortium of Forced Migration, & Displacement (CFMDE) In 2018, Bard, Bennington, The New School, Sarah Lawrence, and Vassar collaborated to create the Consortium on Forced Migration, Displacement, and Education (CFMDE) with the support from the Mellon foundation in the dual goals of: (1) furthering scholarship in the interdisciplinary field of migration studies across institutions, and (2) to provide opportunities to undergraduate students to learn about migration and displacement through faculty-led programming. One of the signature study away programs created by CFMDE, presented opportunities for students to visit and learn about issues and challenges that asylum seekers and displaced populations were facing in Switzerland. Total of 5 cohorts across 2019-2024 visited Switzerland through this program.
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Program Curriculum Psychological First Aid Training Meetings w/Organizations Site Visits Writing Component Workshop Sessions w/Mentors 13
Evaluation of the Program 14
Findings from Interviews Commitment to Fostering Access to Care and Community Resilience “The Bern program fostered my ability to work with people outside of my field and I have used this skill throughout my career as I now collaborate with industry partners outside of academia to help my research have a real world impact.” “In Switzerland I could see how from talking to stakeholders knowing that they've been implementing PFA and knowing that the work I'm doing is visible was very encouraging, seeing how I'm part of this bigger global agenda was really empowering.”
Broader, Community-oriented Perspectives
“As a participant it was really grounding, there was a stark divide between Ukrainians and the rest of the refugees. Institutional systems are broken but there is still hope embedded in these communities at the local level. There was an emphasis on community building that is understudied in psychology, and returning the power of mental health to the people.
Commitment Towards Professional Goals “Prior program me felt like on auto-pilot to go on to higher education, but the program helped shaped more specific, singular goals and stay more centered through meeting professionals with similar goals and interests.” 15
Findings from Interviews “I was very pleasantly surprised by how open and friendly everyone we interacted with was. When visiting the ED in Bern or the UNHCR there was no such thing as a stupid question, everyone was keen to engage with us and help us learn about their work…As a whole the Bern program helped give me confidence as a researcher to interact with people with diverse backgrounds and skillsets. This confidence enabled me to pursue a PhD in mental health research and I am now a postdoctoral researcher working on neurodegenerative disorders.”
Sustainable Support Networks
Emotional Development & Reflective Capacity
“I want to feel like how I was during the program: intellectually challenged, fulfilled, and tangibly creating change/difference in the world.”
“I learned how to find comfort in ambiguity. It was really necessary to have a place in a global setting to think about these issues because in school sometimes you feel helpless. The project brought a lot of excitement because it allowed us to outline a plan of a project that you could work on.” “Presenting to the U.S. Embassy and also feeling like my ideas and contributions were valued by the team made me feel capable and skilled in this area which is why I continued to work with the lab after the opportunity and pursued a career in the field.”
Increase in Self-Confidence & Self-Efficacy 16
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Peer-Led Interventions + Considerations 18
Peer Interventions
to address human resource challenges (Chow et al., 2024)
Peer education & Psychoeducation
Peer-led Psychotherapy & Counselling
4 communities in India: Peer-led, community-based, participatory group intervention led by youth under 30 on social inclusion and mental health via 17 learning modules, participation in community activities, and visits to an addiction rehab center (Mathias et al., 2019)
School in Kenya 4 weekly sessions using didactic sessions on study strategies, group discussions, and writing activities exploring self-growth, gratitude, and values to address depression and anxiety led by youth ages 17-21 (Osborn et al., 2020)
Peer Support Community clubs and schools in South Africa: Peer-group clubs designed to build self-esteem, confidence, life skills, provide supportive peer networks to address social support and mental health, and gender equality (Duby et al., 2021)
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Peer Interventions and its positive effects
Self-esteem
Community
Mental Health Outcomes
Greater confidence in communicating and advocating for oneself.
Formation of new peer friendship networks; Community building activities can alleviate feelings of isolation (Mathias et al., 2019)
Larger decreases in depression and anxiety symptoms compared to control groups (Osborn et al., 2020)
“You never belittled our talk but always built it up. We came because we understood what you said, otherwise we wouldn’t have come. “ (Mathias et al., 2019)
Affirmed a new sense of purpose (Ferris France et al. 2023)
“The programme has taught us to respect ourselves as women… you must respect your own body to show others that they must respect you as a young woman.” (Duby et al., 2021)
Who cares for drug addicts these days? But you showed that you did.” (Mathias et al., 2019)
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What is PFA? ///////////////////
Psychological First Aid Training (PFA) is an evidence-informed modular approach to teach individuals foundational skills in managing stress and uncertainty. is based on an understanding that individuals will experience a broad range of common reactions (e.g., physical, psychological, behavioral, spiritual) to stress and challenging moments. . PFA core skills are intended to provide staff with foundational skills for supporting peers as well as themselves and to know when to seek additional support. Training takes about 3 hours, and can be conducted both online and in-person.
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Peer Interventions Comparison of tMHFA and first aid interventions for increasing help-seeking behaviors and self-confidence (Hart et al., 2018) Goals of tMHFA 1) 2)
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improve mental health literacy increase the quality of first aid actions provided to peers, including those at risk of suicide decrease stigmatising attitudes towards mental illness
“First Aid”
Peer Support
Students are taught to assess for general signs that a person might be developing a mental health problem which is interfering with the usual activities, how to safely intervene, and assess if referrals to professional help are needed.
Community clubs and schools in South Africa: Peer-group clubs designed to build self-esteem, confidence, life skills, provide supportive peer networks to address social support and mental health, and gender equality (Duby et al., 2021)
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Culturally Aware Care ●
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Cross-cultural experiences may help students develop empathy for feelings of displacement, confusion, isolation, and uncertainty certain clients face (Maruszak, 2024) Exposure to individuals in diverse international settings offers firsthand insight into how societal attitudes toward mental illness vary across countries, and how these attitudes can influence mental health outcomes, such as suicide rates (WHO, 2022) Navigating unfamiliar systems and cross-cultural professional environments sharpens organizational and communication skills, which are critical for healthcare leadership and service provision. (Khoury & De Castro Pecanha, 2023). CBPR can improve engagement with mental health research among underserved racial and ethnic groups and how community‑level engagement can reduce inequities in research access and outcomes (Harb & Taylor, 2024) 23
Descriptive Statistics (1 = Not at all true → 4 = Exactly true) Pre Mean = 3.10 SD = 0.61 Post Mean = 3.43 SD = 0.57 Independent Samples t-Test (Welch’s) t = -6.38 / p ≈ 4.06 × 10⁻¹⁰
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Peer Interventions
Considerations to think about (Chow et al., 2024)
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Adherence of peer leaders and long-term sustainability Emotional toll placed on youth to self-disclose and bear emotional weight of others’ concerns Integration of youth-led interventions into stepped care models Paucity of research on collective community impact of engaging youth leaders in global mental health science
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Next Steps
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Considering Next Steps What do we need?
Peer-Led Interventions ● Scalable, accessible, and cost-effective approach to reducing the mental health treatment gap ● Promote reciprocity and mutual benefit, enhancing self-esteem, wellbeing, and mental health literacy Curriculum Development Framework ● Engages high school students in identifying community-specific wellbeing challenges ● Integrates implementation science, social determinants of health, and applied workshop design ● Creates space for reflection on lived experiences, barriers to care, and intervention scaffolding Student Impact ● Cultivates interdisciplinary collaboration and problem-solving skills ● Encourages global citizenship and systems thinking prior to field specialization 29
Potential Next Steps Needs Assessment & Pilot Development ● Conduct student listening sessions and map existing school mental health resources ● Identify targeted community wellbeing challenges ● Launch a pilot with measurable pre/post outcomes (mental health literacy, self-efficacy, help-seeking attitudes) Strategic Partnerships ● Partner with high schools (administrators, counselors) for implementation ● Collaborate with university departments for mentorship and evaluation ● Engage community mental health organizations and public health departments
Funding Pathways ● Education innovation and SEL grants (district/state level) ● Federal mental health funding ● Private foundations ● Hospital community benefit funds and corporate social responsibility initiatives Scalability & Sustainability ● Develop a train-the-trainer model and standardized curriculum toolkit ● Establish a clear evaluation framework and logic model ● Explore long-term integration into school curricula, university service-learning, or nonprofit structures 30
Thank you! Abigail Wang | ajw9837@nyu.edu Linda Han | kims5@newschool.edu Adam Brown | brownad@newschool.edu Illustrations by Chevonne Attinger
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References Chow, D., Matungwa, D. J., Blackwood, E. R., Pronyk, P., & Dow, D. (2024). A scoping review on peer-led interventions to improve youth mental health in low- and middle-income countries. Global mental health (Cambridge, England), 12, e1. https://doi.org/10.1017/gmh.2024.149 Duby Z, Verwoerd W, McClinton Appollis T, Jonas K, Maruping K, Dietrich JJ, LoVette A, Kuo C, Vanleeuw L and Mathews C (2021) In this place we have found sisterhood”: Perceptions of how participating in a peer-group club intervention benefited south African adolescent girls and young women. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth 26(1), 127–142. 10.1080/02673843.2021.1898423. Ferris France N, Byrne E, Nyamwanza O, Munatsi V, Willis N, Conroy R, Vumbunu S, Chinembiri M, Maedziso S, Katsande MA, Dongo TA, Crehan E and Mavhu W (2023) Wakakosha “you are worth it”: Reported impact of a community-based, peer-led HIV self-stigma intervention to improve self-worth and wellbeing among young people living with HIV in Zimbabwe. Frontiers in Public Health 11, 1235150. 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1235150. Harb, C. A., & Taylor, M. J. (2024). The utility of community-based participatory research: Increasing research engagement among minoritized ethnoracial groups. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 47(1), 22–29. https://doi.org/10.1037/prj0000558 Khoury, B., & Pecanha, V. D. C. (2023). Transforming psychology education to include global mental health. Cambridge Prisms: Global Mental Health, 10, e17. Maruszak, P. (2024). Professional Growth in Mental Health Clinicians Through Lived Experiences Abroad: A Qualitative Study (Doctoral dissertation, Adler University). Mathias K, Singh P, Butcher N, Grills N, Srinivasan V and Kermode M (2019) Promoting social inclusion for young people affected by psycho-social disability in India – A realist evaluation of a pilot intervention. Global Public Health 14(12), 1718–1732. Osborn TL, Wasil AR, Venturo-Conerly KE, Schleider JL and Weisz JR (2020a) Group intervention for adolescent anxiety and depression: outcomes of a randomized trial with adolescents in Kenya. Behavior therapy 51(4), 601–615. World Health Organization. (2022). World mental health report: Transforming mental health for all. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240049338 32