Global Mental Healthcare for Low-Resourced Communities: Boosting Capacity byTraining Non-specialists

This webinar is proposed to address an increasingly popular method of closing the treatment gap
in mental healthcare for low-resourced communities by training non-specialists. This event
aligns with the United Nation Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development Agenda target 3.4,
which intends to reduce mortality from non-communicable diseases and promote mental health
and wellbeing by 2030. One solution to this treatment gap is to train non-specialist health
workers (NSHWs) in resource-poor communities worldwide. Experts in this area will discuss
this issue. An important question is why this model, which has been shown to have a positive
impact, has not been more widely adopted. The panelists are experts who are involved in policy
as well as furthering research and applications of this model and other related training models, to
identify successful evidence-based modalities being implemented on the ground.
● Judy Kuriansky, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist, humanitarian, author, and adjunct professor of psychology at Columbia University Teachers College who teaches the course on “Psychology at the United Nations.” at Teachers College Columbia University where she also established the Global Advocacy and Applied Psychology Lab. At the United Nations for over 20+ years, she has represented two NGOs with consultative status with ECOSOC and associated with the DGC. She partnered with the Ambassador of Palau in successful advocacy to ensure that mental health and well-being were included in the UN 2030 Agenda and also for the Political Declaration for Universal Health Coverage and the Global Compact on Migration. She also co-founded the UN Group of Friends of Mental Health and Well-being during the SDG negotiations. She is also currently an Advisor to the Mission of Sierra Leone to the UN and a Policy Advisor to the Ambassador in Washington, D.C.
● Eva Kiegele, MA is a Technical Officer of the World Health Organization Office at the
United Nations. Eva’s role at the WHO is to support better positioning of healthrelated issues in the debates and decisions of the UN intergovernmental bodies, specifically those related to non-communicable diseases, disabilities and mental health, environmental determinants of health and climate change, food security, injury prevention, aging and maternal, child and adolescent health. Before joining WHO, Eva was the Head of the President’s Office at the premiere health-centered university in Latvia, Riga Stradiņš University. She has also experience in journalism and media relations, as well as non-governmental organizations. Eva holds a Master of Arts degree in Diplomacy and International Relations from Seton Hall University with a specialization in Global Health and Global Negotiation and Conflict Management.
● Sarah Taha, MS, is a Research Assistant IV for the Mental Health for All Lab at the Harvard Medical School. She has been working on the EMPOWER initiative for 4 years. She is from Beirut, Lebanon, and has graduated with a BS in Neuroscience from Emory University and a Master of Science in Global Health and Population from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She has engaged in research projects encompassing health system strengthening, the prevalence and incidence of intimate partner violence, interventions for ongoing trauma, the association between parental stimulation and early childhood development, neural correlates of autobiographical memories, factors influencing refugee health, and the quality and accessibility of mental health services. She has spent years volunteering at refugee camps, public low-resourced hospitals, and
mental health centers for autism and cerebral palsy in Lebanon and the US.
● Lena Verdeli, Ph.D., MSc is Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology and, Director of Clinical Training at Teachers College, Columbia University, and the Founder and Director of the Teachers College Global Mental Health Lab. Over the years, she has received funding from governments (US-NIMH; Canadian government -Grand Challenges Canada; UK- Medical Research Council, Economic and Social Research Council); intergovernmental agencies (WHO, UNHCR); and foundations (NARSAD, Eleanor Cook Foundation, etc.) to test psychotherapy for prevention and treatment of mood disorders. In the past fifteen years, she has played a key role in landmark studies involving the adaptation, training, and testing of psychotherapy protocols used by both specialists and non-specialists around the globe (psychologists, psychiatrists, primary care staff, community health workers, and others). She collaborates internationally with academic groups, ministries of health, local NGOs and international agencies to alleviate the suffering of adults locally defined as depressed.