Programs
Education & Outreach
May Is Mental Health Month
Since we established May as Mental Health Month in 1949, MHA and our affiliates across the country have led the observance of Mental Health Month by reaching millions of people through the media, local events and screenings. We welcome other organizations to join us in spreading the word that mental health is something everyone should care about by using the May is Mental Health Month toolkit materials and conducting awareness activities. Download this year's Mental Health Month Toolkit by clicking here.
BIPOC Mental Health Month
MHA understands that mental health issues may need to be addressed with a unique lens when working with individuals and families with diverse values, beliefs, and sexual orientations, in addition to backgrounds that vary by race, ethnicity, religion, and language. That's why we've put together information to help various communities and promote awareness through public education campaigns each July.
Mental Health America Conference
Each year, the Mental Health America Conference brings together affiliates, consumers, providers, family members, and advocates from across the country to talk about important and emerging mental health issues. The 2023 Mental Health America Conference will be taking place in Washington, DC and online from June 6-10, 2023.
Clifford Beers Society
The Clifford Beers Society connects leaders within the national mental health advocacy community who share a belief that we must all fight to improve conditions for those affected by mental health disorders. Members are committed to prevention for all, early identification and intervention for those at risk, and comprehensive integrated health and behavioral services with recovery as the goal.
Back to School
MHA’s Back to School Toolkit - developed each year and released in mid-August in anticipation of the start of the new school year - provides free resources, tools, tips, and information for parents, teachers, and youth on early identification themes and Before Stage 4 messaging.
Life on Campus
Mental health issues are on the rise on college campuses across the country. In response, MHA created Life on Campus. Life on Campus is a year-round program MHA actively promotes in the fall and spring semesters as an education effort with web-based information for college-aged youth.
IDONTMIND
IDONTMIND is an awareness campaign and lifestyle brand with a mission to inspire conversations about mental health. Since its launch in 2017, IDONTMIND has raised over $350,000 for mental health organizations across the nation. It’s now an official program of Mental Health America, and 100% of their proceeds support the non-profit.
IDONTMIND is the start of a sentence that leads to a bigger discussion, like "IDONTMIND talking about my mental health" or "IDONTMIND going to therapy." Their minimalist collection of tees, hats, sweatshirts, and more are designed to fit in with your relaxed weekend wardrobe but, most importantly, spark curiosity from friends and even strangers about the phrase IDONTMIND. A compliment – "I like your shirt, what does it mean" – suddenly turns into an opportunity to discuss mental health out in the open.
Their website, idontmind.com has become a modern destination for all things mental health, offering resources, articles, and a sense of community for people who are struggling and afraid to speak up. Your mind matters. Talk about it.
Mental Health in the Media
Mental Health America is changing the way that the media talks about mental health. Mental health conditions affect one in five adults in the United States every year, and there should be more emphasis on early intervention to ensure that they can enjoy the highest quality of life possible. One of our main priorities is to encourage conversations about mental health and foster an environment free from stigma and discrimination. MHA proactively works to provide comprehensive, accurate information about mental health by cultivating media relationships and working to share mental health news via traditional and new media channels.
Research and Innovation
MHA Screening
Understanding your mental health and learning about where you are in your mental health is essential in ensuring you stay mentally healthy. One of the quickest and easiest ways to determine whether you are experiencing symptoms of a mental health condition is to take an anonymous screen. MHA has online screening tools for depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), alcohol and substance use, early psychosis, work health, as well as screenings that are youth-focused and parent-focused. After completing their screening, individuals receive immediate results, education, resources and linkage to affiliates. Along with the results of their screens, individuals provide MHA with valuable demographic and survey responses that allow us to further support our mental health policy and education efforts.
To date, depression screens account for nearly half of the screens completed. Of all respondents, 74 percent scored moderate to severe for any of the conditions, and of those, 57 percent report they had never received any mental health treatment or support. These statistics demonstrate the need to promote early education and intervention. As MHAScreening.org expands, MHA will continue to explore ways to best respond to the needs of screeners by adding public education and treatment information in collaboration with national partners. Our goal is to get every American screened and aware of their mental health as a way to promote recovery and reduce the time of untreated mental health problems.
Screening-to-Supports (S2S)
Over 5 million individuals have explored their mental health concerns using our nine screens for mental health conditions including depression, bipolar, anxiety, substance and alcohol use, psychosis, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Of the over 3,000 screens that are completed daily, 74 percent score moderate to severe but, of those, 57 percent have never received any mental health treatment or support. We see that many individuals are struggling but are not yet connected to resources. MHA's Screening to Supports (S2S) is an interactive online space for individuals to find tools they can use after screening to better their mental health. S2S provides customized results, drawing from resources in each of four domains identified by screeners: information and resources (“Learn”); information about and referrals to care, services, and supports (“Treatment and Help”); do-it-yourself tools (“DIY”); and online engagement with peers (“Connect”).
Workplace Mental Health and Wellness
MHA’s workplace efforts explore meaningful changes in company and managerial practices that impact employee mental health. Millions of employees spend a large part of their day, and lifetime, at work, increasing the effect that workplace environments can have on overall psychological well-being. MHA’s research is part of an ongoing commitment to uncovering workplace disparities and addressing the psychological needs of the workforce.
The Bell Seal For Workplace Mental Health
In 2019, MHA created the Bell Seal for Workplace Mental Health, a national certification program to recognize employers committed to creating mentally healthy workplaces.
With 40 years’ experience in workplace mental health, MHA developed a comprehensive set of standards to assess an employer’s policies and practices that support employee mental health and well-being. The Bell Seal considers both the 1 in 5 employees who will experience a mental health condition each year and the 5 in 5 employees who benefit from a worker-friendly, highly productive, and psychologically safe workplace.
An organization with Bell Seal certification will be recognized nationwide as a workplace that values mental health and a mentally healthy work environment for all employees.
The State of Mental Health in America Report
MHA’s annual State of Mental Health in America report identifies a common set of data indicators for mental health that gives a more complete picture of mental health status in America. The report provides data on prevalence rates of mental health problems for youth and adults, and data on access to care.
Learn more about The State of Mental Health in America Report
MHA Mapping Project
For years, MHA has been providing free, anonymous, clinically-validated mental health screens on our website, MHAScreening.org. To empower communities across the country with this information, MHA created a publicly accessible dashboard where individuals can find detailed state and county data about suicidal ideation, severe depression, trauma, and psychosis.
The MHA Mapping Project also includes information for stakeholders on opportunities to make meaningful changes through policy, programs, and research using the data, and an option to partner with us.
The Collegiate Mental Health Innovation Council (CMHIC)
With an understanding of the power of peer support and community, MHA's Collegiate Mental Health Innovation Council (CMHIC) is dedicated to highlighting innovation on-campus that utilizes new approaches to resources and supports available to students. The members are elected every year to have monthly meetings to discuss major challenges and solutions, share their knowledge and experience with MHA's broader network, and develop an annual report highlighting trends and guides to their programs and work.
The Young Mental Health Leaders Council (YMHLC)
Our new Young Mental Health Leaders Council (YMHLC) promotes young leaders and the unique ways they are driving change for their peers. YMHLC identifies young people (18-25) who have created programs and initiatives to fill gaps in mental health support and resources in their communities. YMHLC brings together young leaders from around the United States to connect and share their work and ideas with the countless advocates working to improve youth and young adult well-being around the country.
Policy and Advocacy
Federal Policy
Since 1909, Mental Health America (MHA) has been the lead organization to prioritize the individual over interest groups as we advocate for legislation that affects the lives of people with mental health conditions and their families. That priority continues today, at a time when we focus on prevention, early identification and intervention, access to integrated care, and insurance parity for people with mental health conditions. Our expert staff and Public Policy Committee members produce well-researched policy statements on a wide range of issues – from civil liberties to children’s mental health – for public use. We work with policymakers to advance federal legislation, regulations, and agency activities that promote these priorities and position statements.
State Policy
MHA is the national headquarters for a network of more than 200 affiliates around the country. Our affiliates work with state and local policymakers to develop and pass laws, regulations, and policies to promote mental health. MHA and our affiliates meet through the Regional Policy council to exchange ideas about best practices and barriers to regional, state, and local policy efforts and agency activities. Our state advocacy priorities include Medicaid expansion, integrating primary and mental health care services, and building peer supports, including recovery-oriented curricula. A full list of our priorities can be found in the Policy & Advocacy section of our website.
Regional Policy Council
The Regional Policy Council, or RPC, has connected national and state policy and advocacy on mental health since its inception in 2009. MHA transformed the program in 2016 and 2017 by connecting our work through the RPC to the work of the leading state health policymaker organizations – National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), National Governors Association (NGA), American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), and the Council of State Governments (CSG). RPC meetings are now held four times a year, generally at the same time as national meetings of these groups, and cover areas of interest to both state policy leaders and state-level advocates.
Virtual Hill Day
Ensuring people with mental health conditions are heard, MHA hosts a Capitol Hill Day each year to bring advocates to Congress to meet with the key decision-makers. Beginning with an in-depth training session on how to advocate to members of Congress, the day culminates with in-person visits to federal legislators on Capitol Hill.
Information and Referral Services
The MHA National Certified Peer Specialist (MHA NCPS) Certification
The MHA National Certified Peer Specialist (MHA NCPS) certification recognizes peers with the lived experience, training, and job experience to work alongside healthcare teams. The certification is designed to exceed the standards used in public behavioral health around the country. A major purpose of the certification is to meet the needs of private health insurers and private practitioners. Expansion of peer support into the private sector will open up new career paths and opportunities, which have been previously unexplored, for thousands of peer supporters.
Learn more about The MHA National Certified Peer Specialist (MHA NCPS) Certification
The Center for Peer Support
MHA's Center for Peer Support has the latest information and promotional materials on peer support, certification, peer-run programs, support groups, and current research on the efficacy of peer support.
It's My Life - Social Self-Directed Care
MHA developed a highly innovative intervention called It’s My Life Social Self-Directed Care that combines the evidence-based practices of Peer Support and Psychiatric Rehabilitation and the emerging best practices of Self-Directed Care and Life Coaching into an integrated skill and support strategy to help people build networks of friends and intimate relationships.
The MHA Network
With over 200 affiliates in 41 states, MHA is committed to bringing direct services and advocacy to communities around the country. MHA affiliates bring together mental health consumers, caregivers, advocates and service providers for collaboration and action to inform, support and enable mental wellness, and emphasize recovery from mental illness. They provide public education, information and referral, support groups, rehabilitation services as well as socialization and housing services to those confronting mental health problems and their loved ones. Affiliates provide family advocate services to parents of children with serious emotional disturbances, mentorship or peer support for adults recovering from mental illnesses, and professional education to those working in the mental health field. They also strive to influence public policy to assure access to fair and effective treatment for the millions of Americans suffering from mental health conditions. As the national organization, Mental Health America provides technical assistance and other resources to assist affiliates in their service efforts around their communities, ensuring that Before Stage 4 (B4Stage4) efforts reach every area of the United States.
Consumer Advocacy
Mental Health America provides technical assistance to other community organizations, specifically consumer groups. MHA staff members advise these organizations on best practices, including how to form a nonprofit board of directors. Additionally, MHA on an ongoing basis releases white papers to help consumer advocates in their work.