Our Work In
Africa
GHANA
Expanding Access to Community-based Mental Health Care
Led by Dr. Rick Wolthusen, this initiative aims to foster collaboration between religious leaders and mental health professionals to expand access to community-based mental health care. Dr. Wolthusen also serves as a lecturer at the University of Ghana, where he teaches, mentors trainees, and supports research capacity building. Each year, he facilitates exchange programs that bring students and staff from universities in Ghana to the Technical University Dresden in Germany to design, implement, and evaluate community-based mental health interventions while strengthening collaborative research capacity.
Rapha Global Initiative
Founded by Dr. Rahel Bosson, the Rapha Global Initiative is a faith-rooted initiative partnering with churches and faith leaders to build capacity to address mental health needs and cultivate greater wholeness and flourishing. Rapha integrates biblical principles, evidence-based science, and clinically informed, culturally responsive approaches to equip churches and faith leaders with the knowledge and skills to address mental health gaps and foster human flourishing within their communities, beginning in Ghana and Ghanaian diaspora communities in the United States, with a broader global vision.
KENYA
Strengthening Mental Health Systems in Kisumu
Led by Dr. Rick Wolthusen, this project focuses on strengthening mental health systems through partnerships with government, academic institutions, and community organizations. Dr. Wolthusen serves as a Mental Health Consultant to the Kisumu County Government, contributing to policy development and service planning. He works closely with local NGOs to integrate mental health into their programs while strengthening their capacity in research, grant writing, and program evaluation. In collaboration with local universities, he lectures in psychiatry courses, mentors students, and conducts collaborative research. Each year, he also facilitates exchange programs that bring Kenyan students and staff to Germany to design, implement, and evaluate community-based mental health interventions while strengthening research capacity through long-term international collaboration.
STAIR Coach to Treat PTSD
Led by Dr. Kristina Korte, the STAIR Coach pilot study aims to examine the feasibility and acceptability of a low cost, low intensity treatment, called Skills Training in Affective and Interpersonal Regulation (STAIR), delivered through a smartphone-based application (app), called STAIR Coach for use in Kenya. Participants with probable PTSD receive 10 weeks of treatment delivered through the STAIR Coach app and have five bi-weekly video sessions with a facilitator trained in the use of STAIR. Participants complete baseline, mid-treatment, and follow-up assessments. Currently, we are working to expand STAIR Coach to other low and middle-income countries and in low-resource settings in Boston.
LESOTHO
Continuum of Mental Health Care in Berea and Butha–Buthe districts
Drs. Raviola and Smith support articulation of a continuum of mental health care at health facilities and in communities across four areas of focus: multidrug resistant tuberculosis, maternal health, psychiatric treatment, and psychosocial support. Lesotho is a remote and mountainous country without a local psychologist or psychiatrist.
LIBERIA
J.J. Dossen Memorial Hospital and Pleebo Health Center
Drs. Raviola, Smith, and Chemali support the NGO, Partners in Health, in developing a continuum of mental health care in Maryland County, Liberia, bridging hospital-based care with community health and social support to people living with severe mental health conditions. The team conducts daily rounds J.J. Dossen Memorial Hospital and Pleebo Health Center to support evaluation, provision of comprehensive treatments, crisis response, and psychoeducation to people in the community.
MALAWI
Integrated Chronic Care Clinics in Neno District
Drs. Raviola and Smith support an integrated mental health care program in Neno District that includes depression care in non-communicable disease and HIV services, serious mental health conditions, and youth mental health in secondary schools. This work has included a National Institutes of Health grant to test the integration of a stepped care model for depression treatment that combines group psychosocial support and antidepressant medication in chronic care clinics for HIV and other conditions, known as The Integrated Chronic Care Clinics Depression Model (IC3D).
RWANDA
University of Global Health Equity
This is a multiple year pathway to train medical students and residents in neuroscience, neurology, and psychiatry at the University of Global Health Equity (UGHE) in Rwanda. Team members from the Division of Global Psychiatry train second year medical students in neuroscience and third year residents in their psychiatry clerkships, and are in the process of developing a psychiatric residency program. Division of Global Psychiatry members are also supporting the development of the neurology curricula as part of the residency program and ensuring all components align with Rwanda’s guidelines for education in healthcare specialties.
SIERRA LEONE
Sierra Leone Psychiatric Teaching Hospital
This collaboration is focused on strengthening clinical capacity for psychiatric and neurological care at the Sierra Leone Psychiatric Teaching Hospital (SLPTH), the oldest psychiatric hospital in sub-Saharan Africa. Leaders from the Division of Global Psychiatry and partners in Sierra Leone have worked together to establish SLPTH’s first psychiatry residency program. Alongside in-person training provided by visiting international psychiatry and neurology experts, Mass General Brigham fellows and faculty participate in weekly didactic sessions with SLPTH residents, supporting ongoing education and mentorship. Mass General Brigham residents also do rotations at SLPTH.
SOMALILAND
Capacity Building for Neurology and Psychiatry
From 2014 – 2021, the Division of Global Psychiatry collaborated with the Somaliland Ministry of Health, the University of Hargeisa, and the Hargeisa City Council to establish a groundbreaking dual residency program in neurology and psychiatry. By treating mental illness through a unified brain-health curriculum, the program successfully trained and graduated three practicing psychiatrists, the only psychiatrists in the country.
SOUTH AFRICA
Brief Transdiagnostic Treatment for Anxiety Disorders and PTSD in South Africa: A Hybrid-Effectiveness Trial
Led by Dr. Kristina Korte, this study is evaluating whether a brief transdiagnostic treatment provided by nurses can help people with anxiety and PTSD in primary care clinics in South Africa. In collaboration with Stellenbosch University Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, researchers are using qualitative and quantitative methods to understand how well the treatment works and what makes it easier or harder to implement in community healthcare settings. The goal is to find novel ways to expand access to effective mental health care in communities with limited resources.