About Us
About Us
The Centre for Mental Health, Human Rights, and Social Justice was founded in 2020 as a response to the work of Dr. Dainius Pūras during his time as United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard physical and mental health, where he used a right to health framework to advocate for a paradigm shift in how we understand and respond to mental health.
We are an independent and multi-disciplinary global community of scholars and activists dedicated to the study of rights-based approaches to mental health law, policy, and practices.
Building on Dr. Puras’ legacy, we aim to promote a transformative and decolonised vision of mental health that centers the lived experience of directly-impacted people.
As a policy and research hub, we challenge status quo policies and practices in the mental health field while actively providing solutions for reform. We collaborate and work with individuals who have lived experience and/or identify as having a psychosocial disability.
View or download a PDF of our Centre Mission Statement & Project Overview
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OUR MEMBERS
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Julie Hannah
University of Essex
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Julie Hannah
University of Essex
- Email:jhanna@essex.ac.uk
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Lisa Cosgrove
University of Massachusetts
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Lisa Cosgrove
University of Massachusetts
- Phone:+1 (859) 254-6589
- Email:lisa.cosgrove@umb.edu
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Dainius Pūras
Vilnius University
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Dainius Pūras
Vilnius University
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Cristian Montenegro
University of Exeter
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Cristian Montenegro
University of Exeter
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Alberto Vasquez
Center for Inclusive Policy
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Alberto Vasquez
Center for Inclusive Policy
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Ann Carolina Florence
Columbia University
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Ann Carolina Florence
Columbia University
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Akriti Mehta
London School of Economics
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Akriti Mehta
London School of Economics
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China Mills
London City University
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China Mills
London City University
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Damon Barrett
Gothenburg University
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Damon Barrett
Gothenburg University
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Faraaz Mahomed
Wits University
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Faraaz Mahomed
Wits University
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Lee Edson Yarcia
University of the Philippines
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Lee Edson Yarcia
University of the Philippines
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Artin Mahdanian
McGill University
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Artin Mahdanian
McGill University
OUR GLOBAL COMMUNITY
We partner with universities and organizations around the world to advance mental health policy and research that centers human rights.