About us
Objectives
The Institute has the ambition of generating innovative knowledge, building capacity and providing technical collaboration to governments and non-governmental organisations in the areas of:
1
Mental health and social determinants
2
Mental ill health and chronic diseases
3
Mental health policy and services organisation
4
Mental disabilities and human rights

The activities of the Institute will be driven by a public health approach. Scientific evidence and public interest will represent the two main driving forces of its moral and technical commitment. The Institute will rely on funding from sources that have no commercial interests.
The main activities of the Institute will consist in:
- Developing epidemiological and services research
- Offering training to individuals and institutions
- Providing technical assistance to countries and non-governmental organisations
- Promoting or joining international collaborative networks for research, training and technical cooperation
ACTIVITIES
- Gulbenkian Global Mental Health Platform, with projects in Brazil, Georgia, India, Cape Verde, and Portugal
- EU Joint Action on Mental Health and Wellbeing
- EU JA MH-WB Work Package on Transition to Community-based Mental Health Care
- EU Mental Health Policy Consortium, funded by Consumers, Health, Agriculture and Food Executive Agency (in collaboration with Trimbos Institute & Finnish Association for Mental Health)
- International Master in Mental Health Policy and Services (in collaboration with NOVA Medical School)
- Summer Course on Global Health and Health Diplomacy (in collaboration with Gulbenkian Chair on Global Health, NOVA Medical School)
- MH Crisis Impact Project, funded by EEA Grants (in collaboration with NOVA Medical School)
- EU-Compass for Action on Mental Health and Well-being (in collaboration with the Trimbos Institute, the Finnish Association for Mental Health and EuroHealthNet
- Implementation in Portugal of the 2nd phase of the “WHO Project on adults with mental disabilities living in institutions in the European Region” (using the Quality Rights tool and with the support of World Health Organization/Europe)
- National Project “Innovation in mental health and social inclusion” (in collaboration with Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa)
- Lisbon Learning Program on Mental Health Policy and Services (in collaboration with NOVA Medical School, and Swiss School of Public Health, and with the technical support of the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, World Health Organization)
- Course “Innovation and Implementation of Mental Health Policies and Care Delivery” for health professionals in Bahamas, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname e Trinidad e Tobago (in collaboration with PAHO)
- Course “Mental health and psychosocial support. Policy, plans and service organization: management and supervision” (in collaboration with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East - UNRWA)
Founding Members
Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation
The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation is a Portuguese private institution of public utility whose statutory aims reside in the fields of arts, education, and science. Established in 1956 as a Portuguese foundation for the whole of humanity, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation stands out as one of the most important European foundations.
The Foundation undertakes a vast range of activities structured around its headquarters in Lisbon (Portugal) and its delegations in Paris (France) and London (the United Kingdom). It grants support to projects and programmes both in Portugal and abroad.
NOVA Medical School/Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, Universidade Nova de Lisboa
The Department of Mental Health of the NOVA Medical School/Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, Universidade Nova de Lisboa is one of the most active university departments in Europe in mental health policy and services research, development, evaluation and training. The Department conducted a significant number of studies on the epidemiology of mental disorders and on the evaluation of policies and services, and participated in important European projects (on prevention of depression and suicide, effectiveness of treatment for people with severe mental disorders, and quality of mental health services, among others).
At the policy level, the Department had a key role in the implementation of the national mental health policy, plan and legislation in Portugal and has extensively collaborated with WHO, European Union and other international organisations in global mental health initiatives.
It has a leading role in the Gulbenkian Global Mental Health Platform and the EU Joint Action for Mental Health and Wellbeing.
Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública (ENSP)/National School of Public Health
Established in 1966, Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública (ENSP) is a pioneer institution in public health education in Portugal and in Europe. ENSP provides post-graduate teaching and research in health related areas, namely in public health and health policy and management.
Faculty at ENSP cover many different disciplines such as Epidemiology and Statistics, Environmental and Occupational Health, Health Promotion, Health Policy, Management of Healthcare Organisations, Health Economics, Sociology of Health and Health Law. ENSP receives annually about 170 new students for courses with one or more years duration, including doctorates, masters and specialisations. Additionally, about 200 other students attend short courses. ENSP students have diverse educational backgrounds, which include medicine, nursing, pharmacy, health technologies, economics, management, law, psychology and others.
Governing Bodies
Executive Board
José Miguel Caldas de Almeida – President
Benedetto Saraceno – Secretary-General
Manuela Silva – Secretary
General Meeting Board
Joaquim Gago – President
Manuel Gonçalves Pereira – Vice-President
Maria Eduarda Costa – Secretary
International Scientific Committee
Jorge Soares – Chairman of the Scientific Committee Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon, Portugal
Aart Schene – Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Alberto Minoletti – School of Public Health of University of Santiago, Chile
Alvaro de Carvalho – National Program of Mental Health, Portugal
Angelo Barbato – Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research, Milan, Italy
Angelo Fioritti – Mental Health Services, Bologna, Italy
Antonio Leuschner – University of Porto, Portugal
Crick Lund – University of Cape Town, South Africa
Dainius Puras – University of Vilnius, Lithuania
Emiliano Albanese – University of Geneva, Switzerland
Francisco Torres González – University of Granada, Spain
Gabriel Ivbijaro – World Federation for Mental Health, London, UK
Graça Cardoso – NOVA Medical School, NOVA University of Lisbon, Portugal
Grayson Norquist – Emory University , USA
Harry Minas – University of Melbourne, Australia
Helen Killaspy –University College London, UK
Itzak Levav –University of Haifa, Israel
Joaquim Gago – NOVA Medical School, NOVA University of Lisbon, Portugal
John Mahoney – University of Melbourne, Australia
Jordi Alonso – Institute of Public Health, Barcelona, Spain
José Luis Ayuso – Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain
Julian Eaton – Basic Needs, Togo
Julian Perelman – National School of Public Health, Lisbon, Portugal
Lakshmi Vijaikumar – Sneha Suicide Prevention Center, Chennai, Índia
Manuel Gonçalves Pereira – NOVA Medical School, NOVA University of Lisbon, Portugal
Michael King – University College London, UK
Miguel Xavier – NOVA Medical School, NOVA University of Lisbon, Portugal
Nasser Loza – Behman Hospital, Cairo, Egypt
Nino Makashvili – University of Tblisi, Georgia
Pedro Gabriel Delgado – Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Rafael Sepúlveda – Ministry of Health, Chile
Rangaswami Thara – Schizophrenia Research Foundation, Chennai, Índia
Ricardo Araya – London School of Hygiene and Tropical Diseases, UK
Roberto Mezzina – Department of Mental Health, Azienda Sanitaria, Trieste, Italy
Ron Kessler – Harvard Medical School, USA
Sandra Saldivia – University of Concepción, Chile
Sérgio Gulbenkian – Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon, Portugal
Shekhar Saxena – WHO, Geneva
Soumitra Pathare – Center for Mental Health Law and Policy at the Indian Law Society, Pune, India
Stelios Stylianidis – EPAPSY, Athens, Greece
Victor Aparicio Basauri – Servicios de Salud, Asturias, Spain