Mental health
Our vision is a world in which no one is held back by mental health problems.
Our vision is a world in which no one is held back by mental health problems.
Mental health problems are holding back people of all ages, in all parts of the world. They are predicted to be the main cause of global mortality and morbidity by 2030.
Today, one in four people will experience a mental health problem in any given year. While some treatments work for some people, some of the time, we urgently need to find better approaches that can help more people globally.
Wellcome has a vital role to play. By bringing together expertise across science, innovation and society, we’re speeding up research to understand mental health better, and to develop treatments and approaches that are more effective and more personalised.
Over the next 30 years, we will help find the next generations of treatments and approaches to help prevent or treat mental ill health.
Right now, we are supporting the mental health science community to align around common goals, foster creative research, and involve people with lived experience every step of the way. And we are developing a portfolio of innovations and building scientific evidence around how they work.
Wellcome also funds discovery research into a broad range of disciplines, including mental health. Insights and tools from this research will contribute to solving this health challenge, as well as increasing broader understanding of life, health and wellbeing.
Read more about our current focus and what we want to achieve in the mental health space in the next 30 years.
We are organising three webinars to talk about the principles that underpin Wellcome’s work on mental health. You will hear from a panel of speakers discussing what we mean by these principles, why they are important, and how they can be implemented.
Anyone is welcome to attend, and there will be a chance for questions during the events.
- Putting lived experience at the heart of policy and practice – Wednesday 2 June 2021, 15:30 – 16:30 BST. Register on Eventbrite to attend.
- Positioning local innovation as a basis for learning and funding – Monday 7 June 2021, 12:00 – 13:00 BST. Register on Eventbrite to attend.
- Envisioning mental health as larger than healthcare – Monday 14 June 2021, 12:00 – 13:00 BST. Register on Eventbrite to attend.
We’re doing this through research, policy, advocacy, public engagement and innovation.
We want the broadest range of people to contribute to and benefit from equitable solutions to mental health problems. That’s why we work with researchers, people with lived experience, policy makers, activists, community leaders and businesses in all parts of the world.
We’re currently working on:
- active ingredients for anxiety and depression: we’ve commissioned research into what makes a difference in preventing and treating anxiety and depression in young people worldwide
- workplace mental health: we’re collaborating with businesses and researchers to understand what type of approaches could support employees’ mental health
- mental health databank: we’re developing a global databank to collect rich data about which approaches could help people better manage their mental health
- transforming how we understand, address and talk about mental health: Mindscapes is our international cultural programme of artist residencies, exhibitions and events in different cities around the world.
Read more about our work.
Grant funding: If you’re looking for funding to support your research ideas, have a look at our discovery research funding schemes. These are open to applicants based in the UK, the Republic of Ireland and low- and middle-income countries, and coapplicants from the rest of the world if applying as part of a team.
Commissions: We often have calls for specific projects as part of our mental health work, for applicants and teams in any country. There is currently one active call on workplace mental health – find out how to apply.
- Professor Miranda Wolpert, Director of Mental Health
- Dr Kate Martin, Lived Experience and Public Engagement Lead
- Dr Cat Sebastian, Evidence Lead
See everyone who's in our mental health team, or contact us at mentalhealth@wellcome.org.