Mental health is at a fascinating crossroads.
On one hand is the ever-louder noise around the rise of AI-based platforms that claim to 'replace human therapists'. Flush with venture capital, tech startups are positioning themselves as the cure for everything that's broken in the mental health care system, their 'move fast and break things' ethos raising critical questions about their clinical efficacy and the safety of sensitive patient data.
On the other hand, human networks are more important than ever. Peer support groups and grassroots-level community mental health initiatives promise to help people left behind by mainstream mental health services. And more loudly than ever, persons with lived experience are asserting their expertise and their right to get a seat at the table where mental health policies and priorities are decided.
Throw into this mix the growing psychological toll of climate change and conflict, the youth mental health crisis, debates around the pharma-psychiatric system, and regulators racing to keep up with emerging forces, and you get an industry in tremendous flux.
In this session, we will make meaning of this complex landscape and identify the most critical mental health themes you need to watch out for in 2025.
Lived experience experts, caregivers, policymakers, funders, entrepreneurs, researchers, students, journalists, and anyone else who has a stake in the future of mental health