Want a safer, more prosperous world? Invest in mental health

August 18, 2015

Consider that one in four people on our planet suffer from depression, anxiety or some other mental illness over their lifetimes. In 15 minutes—the time it might take you to grab a cup of coffee at Starbucks—25 people will end their suffering by taking their own lives.

Dr. Kathleen Pike is professor of Psychology, Departments of Psychiatry and Epidemiology; executive director and scientific co-director of the Global Mental Health Program at Columbia University; and a Public Voices fellow with the OpEd Project.