Perspectives in Mental Health: Week 1 - Research

Last week, I took to Instagram and consulted those in my network about whether or not I should do another series of articles around mental health. I’ve always been cautious about how much I share online, however, the beauty of being young in the field is that we get to share a fresh outlook on this global topic.

Similar to the five-week series that I did this past summer, every Monday, for the next ten weeks (until the end of the year), I will be coming out with a series of articles and posts addressing different topics in mental health. All of these topics were things that people requested — and for this first week, I’ll be sharing a brief overview of the research I do. I’ve always introduced myself as a mental health researcher and yet have shared details about what that entails. I’ll share a little about what I do to set up the conversations that will happen in the next ten weeks.

I began working in research back in October 2020 when I spoke on a global panel with the ex-Chief of Health of UNICEF, Dr. Stefan Peterson. On this panel, other young leaders and I talked about the state of adolescent mental health with Dr. Peterson. It was exciting to have a conversation with individuals from different cultures, perspectives, and experiences.

At the end of that call, I felt inspired to replicate the conversation with other young people across the world. As someone that comes from a mixed-cultural family, I knew the importance of sharing stories and perspectives. I spent the rest of 2020 organizing a network of people to interview, detailed an outline, and came up with the research question. In the brief conversation I had with the other youth leaders in that call, it hit me that we all talk about mental health differently across the world. In 2021, I consulted some professionals that I worked with and talked to old teachers, mentors, and friends. I followed up with Dr. Stefan Peterson who encouraged me to pursue youth voices. And lastly, I reached out to the film director Rick Stevenson asking him how to capture stories. He told me that the key was to listen - not to help.

That became the catalyst for how I approached the research. In the spring of 2021, I began conducting interviews with some young people in my network. In June I was awarded the mPower Award from Mental Health America with a nomination from citiesRISE.

citiesRISE assisted with my initial outreach through their extensive network of individuals in the mental health field. In my first set of interviews, I reached individuals from five different countries. By August 2021, Dr. Peterson offered me a position as a research assistant for a new study that was being conducted by The Karolinska Institute, Johns Hopkins University, and other institutions on “The Political Economy of Adolescent Mental Health”. In October of 2021, Mental Health America invited me to speak on a panel hosted by Youtube, this event got me connected with more individuals from five new countries. By the end of 2021, I interviewed individuals from at least 10 countries, while assisting the study through The Karolinska Institute. At the beginning of 2022, I began working with citiesRISE on their extensive research in the Seattle, Washington, and Sacramento, California areas.

Actually, as we speak, representatives from The Political Economy of Adolescent Mental Health research project are in Bogota, Columbia, for The 7th Global Symposium on Health Systems Research presenting preliminary findings and sharing quotes from some of the young people that we were able to hear from.

And as I continue all these research projects, I have learned that global mental health is a fragmented field of NGOs, institutions, and individuals that claim to have “solutions” to the “problem” that is mental health. Yet in all the conversations that I have had, people have talked about two things: the hope they have for the future, and the need to listen. From stories about the need for policies in Japan to support counselors to webinars on mental health education in Nigeria to funding and programs in Malaysia, I can promise you that work is being done. I can confidently say that there are countries carving the path toward mental health. Countries like India and Kenya are pushing for mental health conversations to occur in their cities, and of course, countries like The United States and the U.K. are growing the field more and more.

I often get asked, “what are you going to do with all these interviews?” And I used to think I was going to find the framework for a great solution. But I’m realizing that the solution to many of our world issues rests in the stories of the people from each of these countries. No single policy, program, nor solution will be perfect in every country or even every person. Mental health is talked about differently across the world. While some talk about it strictly in policy, others are investing in wellness, and some see it as a spiritual matter. Culture affects our understanding of mental health too. Sometimes, people see the lack of involvement in one’s culture as the core reason why their mental health is low, some see their culture’s perspective as a hindrance, and some people’s culture is their crutch toward good mental health.

I’ve shared a few interviews online as a podcast so that others can listen in. Frankly, I have been so caught up in everything that I haven’t had the time to post them - but hopefully, this helps me do that! In the future, I hope to write up detailed conclusions and reflections about each interview. And through the research I do independently, I can assist larger projects around youth mental health. For example, I’m co-leading the creation of The Global Youth Council on Mental Health with citiesRISE so that we can have a more unified field in mental health.

And while this is more of a “meta” conclusion that I have drawn out so far, I have realized that no large-scale “solution” will work for mental health. What this world requires is the inner change of each and every individual. I’m an advocate for the people - not for a program or policy. If our conversations with the people we interact with can be rooted in genuine interest and listening then I truly believe that our approach toward mental health will look different. This is not to say we should stop working towards better policies and programs - however, I do believe that alongside the global push for change, we should begin pushing ourselves (and those close to us) towards an inner change.

While it is cliché, true change comes from the heart. And I have found myself extremely moved and inspired by the unseen work that is being done by individuals across the world. From community change to global campaigns, someone from each country is beginning to see mental health as an important factor in life. And if I have learned anything from my research thus far, it is that change is coming, and change is here. We simply must take the step forward to pursue it.