1. Overview
  2. A large and neglected problem
  3. Effective treatments
  4. Mental health vs other life-improving interventions
  5. Mental health interventions vs life-saving charities
  6. Should you prioritise mental health?
Author: Michael Plant​

Overview
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Few people consider mental health to be one of the world’s most pressing problems. However, on closer examination, there is a strong case it should be considering on a par with global poverty and physical health. Given the variety of options for improving mental health, and the lack of prioritization research on the topic, the value of further investigation into the best ways to improve mental health seems very high. 

Key points

  • Mental illness causes a huge amount of worldwide unhappiness. It's hard to compare this exactly to that cause by poverty, but mental illness seems far more neglected.
  • Effective mental health interventions exist. They have been improving over time and we can expect further improvements.
  • We claim these facts alone are sufficient for individuals who want to do the most good to consider high-impact careers in improving mental health.
  • We attempt a back-of-the-envelope charity cost-effectiveness comparison between a potentially high-impact mental health charity, StrongMinds, and GiveDirectly, a poverty-alleviating charity recommended by GiveWell, a charity evaluator. We estimate StrongMinds is about 4 to 13 times more cost-effective at increasing subjective well-being (self-reports of life satisfaction and happiness).
  • It's unclear whether StrongMinds is more cost-effective than GiveWell's other life-improving recommendations (due to issues around potential negative spillover effects from wealth increases) or its life-saving recommendation
  • It is unclear if StrongMinds is better than other life-saving charities recommended by GiveWell due to methodological issues about where on a 0-10 life satisfaction scale is the ‘neutral point’ equivalent to being dead.
  • While mental health has the most obvious appeal for those who believe we ought to be maximising the happiness of people alive today, that belief is not necessary to conclude it is of the highest priority. The following series of articles sets out some considerations for and against prioritising this (and related) areas.
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A large and neglected problem

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The Happier Lives Institute (“HLI”) is operating through a fiscal sponsorship with Players Philanthropy Fund (Federal Tax ID: 27-6601178), a Maryland charitable trust with federal tax-exempt status as a public charity under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions to HLI are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.