Experts must work together to power mental health science

Mental health research has seen remarkable advances in recent decades. We’ve improved understanding of mental health problems and progressed new interventions – from an app that could transform understanding and treatment of schizophrenia to the use of CBD to treat psychosis. 

However, while breakthroughs are coming, mental health science is yet to reach its full potential.  

Mental health research is often driven by speciality or ideology and can lack focus and coherence. As a result, it's not meeting the urgent needs of people with mental health challenges and innovation can be slow. For example, KarXT is the first new potential pharmacological treatment for schizophrenia in over 50 years. 

To make a real impact, we must break down research barriers, empower researchers across fields to work together, and foster collaboration that will lead to new ways to intervene earlier. 

Mental health research is divided. Researchers often work within specialised areas, like psychiatry or neuroscience. This can limit knowledge sharing and create an incomplete understanding of the social, biological and psychological factors that influence mental health.  

Moreover, a lack of lived experience expertise adds to research silos. Lived experience is vital for developing relevant and meaningful mental health research. Without it, research may not focus on what’s most important to those affected.

The field also doesn’t have an agreed set of systems, tools and concepts. For example, there are over 280 different tools for measuring depression alone. This makes it hard to compare results across studies or combine findings into a coherent body of knowledge.  

Mental health research also lacks consistent focus. Some topics may receive a lot of attention and funding for a period, while others may be overlooked. This can direct resources away from important research questions and slow the search for new interventions.  

While mental health science has come a long way, what could be achieved if we remove these barriers – and what discoveries await?

We know mental health is influenced by biological, psychological and social factors. But we don’t know enough about how these factors interact.

By working with the research community and lived experience experts, we want to close this gap, break down silos and foster a more coherent, collaborative and focused field of mental health science.

Coherent  

For researchers to work together, they need consistent methods and measures. 

We want to create a shared understanding of concepts, definitions and metrics to improve communication and innovation in mental health.  

One way we’re supporting this is through the Common Measures in Mental Health Science project. Common measures are tools that the research community agrees to use to ensure they are measuring the same thing. The International Alliance of Mental Health Research Funders created a group of global funders and journals, co-chaired by Wellcome, to establish common measures in mental health science. This group has agreed on seven measures so far to improve how researchers communicate, compare and combine results across studies.  

We also promote the use of common metrics in the research we fund. For example, in our funding call on the impact of sleep on anxiety, depression and psychosis, we gathered a list of preferred measures for sleep and circadian science from researchers and encouraged the use of consistent measures across projects to help data sharing and analysis. 

We have also funded the History of Causes project, which explores the evolution of biological, psychological and social theories in mental health. This context is essential for developing a shared understanding of mental health, building on existing theories and creating new ones. 

Focused  

A focused field is a productive field. That’s why we want to help researchers identify and pursue the most promising areas of mental health based on evidence and impact. 

In particular, we want to focus efforts on areas that will make the biggest difference in anxiety, depression and psychosis. 

One example of this work is The Global Alliance for Living Evidence on Anxiety, Depression and Psychosis (GALENOS) project. GALENOS creates 'living' systematic reviews on mental health research topics. These reviews are continuously updated with the latest evidence and embed lived experience throughout. This project aims to unite and focus research on anxiety, depression and psychosis to uncover opportunities for breakthroughs.

These are just some of the people and projects we're supporting to strengthen mental health research. But we know we don't have all the answers. 

We will continue to work with and listen to the research community to better understand the biggest gaps, barriers and opportunities in mental health science and facilitate change.  

However, to create a cultural shift, more collaboration is needed across organisations and sectors. 

We’re committed to furthering this work. For example:

• Our Mental Health Data Prize in partnership with Social Finance supports researchers to uncover new insights and create digital tools for studying anxiety, depression and psychosis in young people. The latest prize will fund teams in Africa in partnership with The African Population and Health Research Center. 
• The International Brain Research Organisation will increase capacity for neuroscience research on anxiety, depression and psychosis through new funding with Wellcome. 
• United for Global Mental Health is driving the global conversation on mental health and field-building through its new strategy, launched in January 2024.