Dr. Elie Karam, president of IDRAAC attended the the Milken Institute MENA SUMMIT 2019 in Abu Dhabi on February 12, 2019 and participated in a session titled: From Stigma to Treatment: Tackling the Global Mental Health Crisis.

During this session, leading experts in mental health discussed the local and worldwide causes of mental health disorders, as well as the most effective treatments currently available as well as the best ways to tackle the mental health crisis and its growing physical, emotional and financial costs.

The session was moderated by LaTese Briggs, Senior Director, Center for Strategic Philanthropy, Milken Institute and included interventions from Dr. Elie Karam, Ms. Lynne Goldberg, Co-Founder of Breethe, Ms. Annalisa Jenkins Chair of the Board, YouBelong and Mr. Colin Lawlor, CEO, SleepScore Labs.

During the session, the speakers discussed the global mental health crisis from different angles and its severe emotional cost to individuals and communities as well as the importance of adapting models which are used to assess mental health issues to the MENA cultures and experiences.

Dr. Karam discussed mental health stigma, the role of technology in mental health, the current treatment options, mental health in the MENA region, mental health challenges and barriers, the relationship between mental and physical health and the lessons learned from mental health research done at IDRAAC and internationally.