03Aug 2026 by Preeti Shakya
On the Shelf: CGMH’s Summer Reading List

On the Shelf: CGMH’s Summer Reading List

News, News & Events
 We are pleased to introduce On the Shelf: Duke CGMH’s Summer Reading List 2026, a curated collection of books that explore mental health, well-being, and the many ways we understand the human experience across cultures, disciplines, and lived experiences. The books featured here span disciplines, cultures, and lived experiences, offering diverse perspectives on mental health, well-being, equity, and social change. Some are foundational texts, while others introduce emerging ideas or challenge conventional ways of thinking. Together, they encourage us to learn across contexts, question our assumptions, and consider how knowledge can inform action. More than a collection of recommended books, this reading list reflects the conversations shaping our work and the values that guide our research, education, practice, partnerships and engagement around the world.  We also recognize that no single reading list…
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29Jul 2026 by Preeti Shakya
Lessons from Kigali: Advancing Mental Health Capacity Across Rwanda and East Africa

Lessons from Kigali: Advancing Mental Health Capacity Across Rwanda and East Africa

News, News & Events
This summer, The Duke Center for Global Mental Health convened partners in Kigali, Rwanda, to strengthen long-standing collaborations, advance mental health capacity-building efforts, and lay the groundwork for new research and implementation initiatives across East Africa. Participants gather in Kigali for a workshop centered around mhGAP, part of a growing partnership between Duke, UGHE, and Rwandan mental health leaders The Duke Center for Global Mental Health (CGMH) brought together clinicians, researchers, educators, and health leaders in Kigali, Rwanda for a series of meetings focused on strengthening mental health systems and expanding regional collaboration. Supported by two Duke Global Health Institute (DGHI) grants, the gathering included workshops exploring implementation of the World Health Organization's Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) in Rwanda, grant-writing workshops for Rwandan mental health professionals, and the…
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07Apr 2026 by Ryan Parker
Distinguished Lecture in Global Mental Health Recap: Addressing Syndemic Problems in HIV: A Global Program of Psychosocial and Structural Intervention Research

Distinguished Lecture in Global Mental Health Recap: Addressing Syndemic Problems in HIV: A Global Program of Psychosocial and Structural Intervention Research

News, News & Events
Written By: Lauren Lloyd, MsGH Candidate '27In a recent Distinguished Lecture hosted by the Center for Global Mental Health (CGMH), in collaboration with the Duke Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) and the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Dr. Jasper Lee explored how syndemic theory can help address persistent barriers to HIV treatment and prevention across global settings. Introduced by Dr. Eve Puffer, Director of CGMH, the lecture highlighted how co-occurring psychosocial and structural challenges can interact to worsen health outcomes—and how multilevel interventions can respond.Dr. Lee, a clinical psychologist in the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, described his work developing behavioral medicine interventions in the United States, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. He noted that while HIV prevalence in the United States is more concentrated among specific populations,…
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04Mar 2026 by Ryan Parker
Think Global Recap: Community-Engaged Approaches to Global Suicide Prevention

Think Global Recap: Community-Engaged Approaches to Global Suicide Prevention

News, News & Events
Written By: Julius Mwimo, MsGH Candidate 27'In a recent Think Global event hosted by the Duke Global Health Institute (DGHI), a panel convened by the Center for Global Mental Health explored community-engaged approaches to suicide prevention across diverse settings, from U.S. hospitals to the Pacific Islands, Kenya, and Tanzania. The panel was moderated by Dr. Brandon Knettel, Associate Professor of Nursing and Global Health at Duke and Associate Director of the Center for Global Mental Health.The first panelist, Dr. Marissa Marcini, Associate Professor of School Psychology at UNC Chapel Hill, presented her team’s virtual reality intervention, PRESSER (Practice Experiences for Social and School Reintegration), designed for youth hospitalized following suicide-related crises. The VR tool allows adolescents to learn and practice coping skills in immersive, lifelike scenarios while still in the…
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27Feb 2026 by Ryan Parker
Think Global Recap: Menstrual Health Equity: Global Perspectives and Local Innovations

Think Global Recap: Menstrual Health Equity: Global Perspectives and Local Innovations

News, News & Events
Written By: Mary Ann Fahmy, MsGH '27 At the first Think Global event of the Spring 2026 semester, an interdisciplinary panel of faculty and trainees shared expertise about cultural, clinical, and community-based aspects of menstrual health equity. Dr. Megan Huchko, Director of the Center for Global Reproductive Health and OB/GYN at Duke, moderated the discussion and highlighted the many layers of stigma, structural barriers, and social norms that influence menstrual experiences across the lifespan. Dr. Huchko opened the session and emphasized the recurring theme of “menstruation rhetoric” or the ways language, beliefs, and cultural narratives contribute to society’s understanding and response to menstruation. Dr. Hannah Taylor, Senior Lecturer in Duke’s Thompson Writing Program, examined how the cultural narratives influence menstrual stigma and identity. Through interdisciplinary research and rhetorical analysis, Dr.…
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19Nov 2025 by kmitch@duke.edu
Think Global Recap: Climate Resilience in Practice: Addressing the Mental Health Impacts of a Changing Climate

Think Global Recap: Climate Resilience in Practice: Addressing the Mental Health Impacts of a Changing Climate

News, News & Events
Written By: Ryan Parker, CGMH Research Analyst I In a recent Think Global event hosted by the Duke Global Health Institute (DGHI), a panel of researchers from the Duke Global Mental Health topical working group on climate explored how climate change is affecting mental health, particularly in communities already living on the margins. In her introduction, Dr. Chris Gray, a CGMH affiliate and Assistant Research Professor of Global Health, highlighted the dual nature of climate-related effects. While climate change can manifest in acute events such as floods and hurricanes—often followed by heightened rates of PTSD, depression, and anxiety—it also involves what has been described as “slow violence”: a gradual accumulation of environmental exposures that drive displacement and disrupt livelihoods over time. The first panelist, Dr. Qudsia Shah, Senior Research Officer…
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22Oct 2025 by Ryan Parker
Breaking Cycles: Intergenerational and Community Approaches to Youth Mental Health

Breaking Cycles: Intergenerational and Community Approaches to Youth Mental Health

News, News & Events
Written By: Colleen Mader, MsGH Candidate '27This past October, the Duke Center for Global Mental Health (CGMH) and Duke Global Health Institute held a Think Global event focused on community and family-based mental health interventions, with a particular emphasis on three projects addressing the mental health of adolescents and families in Kenya. Dr. Eve Puffer, Director of the CGMH and Associate Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience moderated the discussion.Dr. Ali Giusto, psychologist and Assistant Professor at Florida International University, opened the event by highlighting the often-overlooked role of fathers’ mental health in family well-being. She shared findings from LEAD (LEarn, Engage, Act, Dedicate), an intervention in Eldoret, Kenya designed to reduce depression and alcohol use among fathers while strengthening positive family engagement.Dr. Florence Jaguga, psychiatrist and Director of Mental Health…
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06May 2025 by kmitch@duke.edu
Do Not Harm Yourself, for We Are All Here

Do Not Harm Yourself, for We Are All Here

News
"Paul’s cry to the Philippian jailer is a model for the church to respond to suicide in an America plagued by deaths of despair." Essential reading from Christianity Today: Kinghorn, W. (2025, May 6). Do not harm yourself, for we are all here. Christianity Today. https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/05/do-not-harm-yourself-suicide-church-community-acts-apostle-paul/
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22Apr 2025 by kmitch@duke.edu
Global Health Research on Display at Bass Connections Showcase

Global Health Research on Display at Bass Connections Showcase

News
"Students explore global health themes in interdisciplinary projects around the world — and closer to home." Essential reading from Duke Global Health Institute: Duke Global Health Institute(2025, April 22). Global health research on display at Bass Connections showcase. https://globalhealth.duke.edu/news/global-health-research-display-bass-connections-showcase
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