IUPsyS Statement for World Mental Health Day 2025
This World Mental Health Day, the International Union of Psychological Science (IUPsyS) joins the global community under the World Health Organization’s theme: “Mental Health in Humanitarian Emergencies: Access to Services for All.”
Across the globe, communities face conflicts, displacement, climate-related disasters, and public health emergencies. These crises fracture lives and erode hope. IUPsyS reaffirms that mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) are essential components of humanitarian action, central to upholding human dignity, promoting recovery, and fostering resilience. When disaster strikes, it is not only structures that must be rebuilt, it is the human spirit. Through understanding, compassion, and connection, psychology helps individuals and communities restore safety, trust, and meaning.
Psychology’s Global Voice in the Service of Humanity
As Psychology’s Global Voice, IUPsyS exists to advance psychological science and practice in the service of humanity. Our Union comprises ninety-five National Members, seven Regional Members, and twenty Affiliate Members, representing psychologists from all continents and diverse domains.
IUPsyS holds official relations with the World Health Organization (WHO), is a founding member of the Psychology Coalition at the United Nations (PCUN), and is a member of the International Science Council (ISC), the umbrella organization for the world’s scientific bodies. Through these partnerships, IUPsyS ensures that psychological science informs global policy, humanitarian response, and sustainable development.
To operationalise this commitment, IUPsys works closely with its membership; established the Work Group on IUPsyS Response to Crises, mobilising psychological expertise for preparedness, response, and recovery; established the Presidential Task Force on Psychological Science Diplomacy, which advances dialogue, cooperation, and multilateral engagement to address shared global mental-health challenges; and our Standing Committee on Capacity Building works closely to strengthen National and Regional Members response to crises.
Key Messages from IUPsyS on WMHD 2025
Integrate Mental Health into All Humanitarian Responses
Mental-health and psychosocial support must be embedded at every stage of emergency planning and recovery, following the WHO-endorsed layered support model, from psychological first aid to specialised care.
Ensure Inclusive and Equitable Access
In keeping with WHO’s call for mental health for all, IUPsyS urges that care reaches those most vulnerable – children, older adults, displaced populations, people with disabilities, and those with pre-existing mental conditions – through culturally grounded, rights-based interventions.
Support Those Who Serve
Humanitarian and health workers bear immense emotional burdens. They, too, need structured psychological support to sustain their well-being while caring for others.
Build Capacity and Resilience Globally
IUPsyS promotes training, workforce strengthening, and adoption of the Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Minimum Service Package (MHPSS MSP) to ensure quality, continuity, and sustainability of care, even in fragile settings.
Advance Research, Evidence, and Innovation
Psychological science underpins an effective response. IUPsyS champions rigorous research, dissemination of best practices, and the ethical use of digital technologies to expand reach and impact.
Promote Multilateralism and Dialogue
Today’s challenges transcend borders. Through science diplomacy and partnerships with the WHO, UN, and ISC, IUPsyS strengthens cooperation, empathy, and collective action for global mental health.
Cultivate Hope and Shared Humanity
Hope is both a psychological necessity and a collective responsibility. Psychology reminds us that this world belongs to all of us and that our well-being is interconnected.
Conclusion
On this World Mental Health Day, IUPsyS stands with all who experience trauma, displacement, and loss, and with those who bring healing, science, and compassion to the world’s most fragile places.
IUPsyS remains unwavering in its mission to serve humanity through the advancement of psychological science, multilateral collaboration, and diplomacy.
Through partnerships with WHO, the United Nations, and the ISC, as well as the IUPsyS Work Group on Response to Crises, the Standing Committee on Capacity Building, and the Presidential Task Force on Psychological Science Diplomacy, the Union continues to advance integrated, evidence-based approaches that rebuild lives and nurture hope.
In every crisis, we are reminded that our futures are bound together. Through understanding, dialogue, and solidarity, we can restore both minds and meaning, because in every crisis, how we care for minds matters: for recovery, for resilience, and for the shared humanity that connects us all.
This statement aligns with the World Health Organization’s 2025 World Mental Health Day campaign theme, “Mental Health in Humanitarian Emergencies: Access to Services for All.”
#WorldMentalHealthDay
#WMHD2025
#MentalHealthInHumanitarianEmergencies
#connectwithyourcommunity