Mental Health
Continuing the legacy of the late former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, a longtime champion for the rights of people with mental illnesses, the Carter Center's Mental Health Program works to promote awareness about mental health issues, inform public policy, achieve equity for mental health care comparable to other health care, and reduce stigma and discrimination against those with mental illnesses.
Mental illnesses are among the most common health conditions in the United States and around the world. Around one in five American adults experience some form of mental illness.
Even the most serious mental health conditions can be treated, however, allowing people to better contribute to their families and communities.
The Mental Health Program uses the Center's convening power to bring together health leaders and organizations to discuss important public policy issues facing mental health and substance use care systems nationwide and at the state level. In addition, the Mental Health Program is part of an international effort to reduce stigma and discrimination against people living with mental health and substance use conditions. The Center works with key partners at the government and community levels to help build sustainable mental health care infrastructure in post-conflict Liberia.
On July 10, 2007, Rosalynn Carter testified before a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee in favor of the Wellstone Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, calling for mental illnesses to be covered by insurance on par with physical illnesses. (Photo: The Carter Center)
Using its unique position in Georgia, the Carter Center’s Mental Health Program works to advance evidence-based public policy at the state level while identifying best practices that can inform policy change in other states and at the federal level. A key focus of our work is to implement and enforce parity laws so that people can access behavioral health treatment.
During the 2022 state legislative session, the Georgia General Assembly voted unanimously to pass the Mental Health Parity Act, ensuring for the first time that the state will enforce parity in insurance coverage for behavioral health care.
The Mental Health Parity Act () will help Georgians access affordable mental health and substance use disorder treatment for themselves and their children by ensuring that public and private health insurance plans cover behavioral health equitably with physical health.
Health care policy is shifting from a focus solely on the management of illnesses toward one that proactively creates health and well-being in individuals, organizations, and communities, otherwise known as population health. Population health focuses on building “cultures of health” to reduce the burden of disease and maximize overall health and well-being. Evidence shows that behavioral health plays a major role in the successful completion of these efforts. Therefore, the Mental Health Program has undertaken a multiyear endeavor to help ensure that the consideration of behavioral health and well-being is at the center of efforts to manage the health of populations. To ensure success, the Mental Health Program develops tools and strategies that utilize evidence-based approaches to prevention, treatment, and health promotion.
The Carter Center Mental Health Program is engaged in a collective effort to strengthen, expand, and sustain school-based behavioral health, prevention, early intervention, and services and supports in the state of Georgia.
The coronavirus pandemic and the resulting economic recession have negatively affected many people’s mental health and exacerbated conditions for people already suffering from mental illnesses and substance use disorders.
The Mental Health Program continues work to ensure access to behavioral health services in Georgia and nationally, with a special focus on vulnerable populations, through: 1) implementation and enforcement of parity, or equity in insurance coverage for mental health and substance use conditions, 2) improving access to school-based behavioral health services and supports for youth, and 3) increasing access to care for older adults with mental illness.
Radio reporter Deborah Wang discusses her experience as a journalism fellow at The Carter Center. Each year, a class of journalists receives training and support to help them accurately report on mental health issues. (Photo: The Carter Center)
As part of an international effort to reduce stigma and discrimination, the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism provide stipends and training to journalists to support reporting on topics related to mental health and substance use issues. Fellowships currently are awarded to journalists from the United States, Colombia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates; previously they were awarded to journalists in Romania, South Africa, and New Zealand. The fellowships develop a cadre of better-informed professional journalists to more accurately and sensitively report information and influence peers and important stakeholders to do the same.
In efforts to expand national and international dialogue on stigma against people with mental illnesses and substance use conditions, the Mental Health Program works with organizations and leaders in the stigma-reduction field providing expertise in media and mental health. The program has worked closely with organizations such as the World Psychiatric Association, California Mental Health Services Authority, Global Anti-Stigma Alliance, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. Results from these collaborations have included significant conferences related to stigma reduction, a media guide for journalists, and a national report on the evidence that supports ending discrimination against those with behavioral health conditions. Visit for more information on this project.
The Carter Center’s Mental Health Program partners with the government of Liberia and other local and international stakeholders to strengthen public mental health. It facilitates training of a mental health workforce, assists the Ministry of Health in implementing national mental health policies, supports anti-stigma programming, builds capacity of civil society organizations, and empowers mental health service users and family caregivers.
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– Rosalynn Carter"We have to get the word out that mental illnesses can be diagnosed and treated, and almost everyone suffering from mental illness can live meaningful lives in their communities."
Meet people whose lives have been changed by the Carter Center's Mental Health Program.
