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Mental Health

In Focus

Mental Health

The Harvard community is exploring how we cope with, manage, and understand mental health and how it impacts our lives.

Last updated: May 2022

If you are experiencing a mental health crisis or you think you may have an emergency, call your doctor or 911 immediately. Please reach out to our student and employee University mental health resources if needed.

People sit in a circle outside on a lawn

Mental health at Harvard

Intellectual growth and academic achievement should not come at the expense of wellbeing. Together, we can create a culture at Harvard that embraces the importance of mental health and wellbeing.

Learn more about the initiative on wellbeing at Harvard

Managing mental health

Mental health impacts each person differently. Harvard experts share ways to care for ourselves and for others.

Learn more from the Center for Wellness and Health Promotion

A young boy plays on a swing set
  • Early childhood

Building resilience through play

Far from frivolous, play contributes to sturdy brain architecture, the foundations of lifelong health, and the building blocks of resilience.

Building resilience through play
  • Health care workers

Increasing investments in mental health benefits everyone

Increasing investments in mental health benefits everyone
  • College Students

Creating a culture of success—for all college students

Creating a culture of success—for all college students
  • Employees

Ways managers can support employees’ mental health

Ways managers can support employees’ mental health
  • Spiritual communities

Cultivating a contemplative practice

Cultivating a contemplative practice
  • Adolescents

What do anxious teens need?

What do anxious teens need?

Is a mobile app as good as a therapist?

Mental health apps claim to treat depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses without therapy appointments. Do these apps actually work, or are they too good to be true?

Read more from The Harvard Gazette

The toll of a global pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a rise in mental health concerns, including anxiety, stress, and feelings of isolation.

Research and new discoveries