Securing Mental Health Systems: Preparedness, Innovation, and Policy for Global Resilience
Depression is a central marker in mental health issues due to its widespread prevalence, significant disability burden, and extensive social and economic impacts. The COVID-19 pandemic, ongoing conflicts, natural disasters, and the climate crisis have exacerbated mental health challenges across populations, necessitating robust and adaptive policy responses, particularly affecting youth and individuals with pre-existing conditions linked to e.g., genetic, biological, medical, psychological, social and environmental factors. These global events highlight the need for comprehensive mental health strategies that can withstand and mitigate such polycrises. The European Commission has recognised this urgency through its political guidelines for 2024-2029, with a renewed commitment to mental health as a key component of its preventive health strategies and social policies. It issued a Comprehensive Approach on Mental Healthe on June 7th, 2023, to address the urgent need for action on mental health and depression.
In line with President Ursula von der Leyen's strategic priorities, the Commission's approach integrates mental health into broader socio-economic initiatives, including anti-poverty, social rights, affordable housing, and health plans aimed at fostering resilience and inclusivity.
This report draws on scientific knowledge and insights from transdisciplinary healthcare professionals alongside lived experience experts, gathered during the scientific workshop “Crowdsourcing Knowledge on Depression Mechanisms: From Risk Factors to Treatment” held at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre in April 2023, and further refined in a co-editing workshop in June 2024, “Decoding Depression: A Life Course Exploration of Vulnerabilities through Transdisciplinary Inquiry”. It emphasises the complex, environome-driven nature of depression, where personal, social, natural, and built environments converge to shape mental health outcomes.
Central to our approach is embracing the advancements from various disciplines, including life sciences, environmental studies, education, and technological innovation. The report champions a One Health Governance and transdisciplinary collaboration to address the multifaceted challenges of depression, integrating insights from a broad spectrum of scientific and societal perspectives. It identifies seven key areas essential to tackling depression: healthcare and social inclusion, education, arts with an emphasis on cultural sensitivity and equity, technology and digital tools, labor market and economics, humanitarian considerations alongside local and global welfare, urban planning and environmental health. These categories, underpinned by the Commission's framework, are integral to formulating comprehensive policies that apply the multifaceted evidence-based scientific nature of depression.
An evolving Interactive Depression Dashboard (InDepDash) has been created as a dynamic, centralised information hub, offering a comprehensive navigation and synthesis of the extensive and evolving scientific literature on depression. It supports the strategic vision of the European Commission by providing an evidence-based digital platform for policy-makers, helping to guide decision-making processes and fostering a culture of Open Science. We focus on identifying essential policy interventions that span prevention, the spectrum of supportive resources —both conventional and alternative— and recovery processes.
COECKE Sandra;
PANZARELLA Giulia;
FIRTH Joseph;
SARRIS Jerome;
BUCKMAN Joshua;
TOCZYSKI Piotr;
VAN RIJN Elaine;
QUETEL Christophe;
KEPHALOPOULOS Stylianos;
BRIQUET-LAUGIER Veronique;
VIGNES Maguelone;
KOURTI Naouma;
BOBACH Claudia;
PLADUNOVA Safiya;
SOLMI Marco;
VAN KAMP Irene;
RONCHI Francesca;
PEVERE Margherita;
GALLO Stefania;
DE BERNARDI Francesca;
SACHANA Magdalini;
LAUREYS Steven;
TORRES Felipe;
PALACIOS-SANCHEZ Leonardo;
CAIRNEY Scott;
YO Kaihsiang Morton;
CHARVERIAT Celine;
PANG Camilla;
VERNETTI Christine;
BAGGIO Marianna;
KOVACIC Matija;
DI GIOIA Rosanna;
MUNOZ PINEIRO Amalia;
PUERTAS GALLARDO Antonio;
TAKKI Marianne;
PETRILLO Mauro;
GALLO Alessandro;
ALCARO Stefano;
GAWLIK Bernd Manfred;
TAVAZZI Simona;
LOMBARDI Italo;
HUPONT TORRES Isabelle;
ROMEO Pietro;
SCHADE Sven;
BARREDA ANGELES Miguel;
BAKOGIANNI Ioanna;
MARAGKOUDAKIS Petros;
CERESA Mario;
QUERCI Maddalena;
CALDEIRA Sandra;
WIESENTHAL Tobias;
2025-02-11
Publications Office of the European Union
JRC139918
978-92-68-23701-4 (online),
1831-9424 (online),
EUR 40185,
OP KJ-01-25-006-EN-N (online),
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC139918,
10.2760/9190776 (online),
