APA Foundation Expands Messaging of Mental Health Care Works Campaign

That’s the message at the heart of the APA Foundation’s multiyear, multimedia public service campaign, Mental Health Care Works, which entered its second year at the Foundation’s annual benefit at APA’s 2024 Annual Meeting last month in New York City.

Since its launch, the campaign has received over 242 million impressions across TV, radio, social media, and print publications. Using personas that represent people with lived experience of mental illness, Mental Health Care Works seeks to redefine what it means to be whole and well by encouraging individuals to seek mental health services when needed.

In the campaign’s first year, the primary goals were to raise awareness of mental health care resources and to increase literacy about mental health conditions. As the campaign enters its second year, the APA Foundation is empowering the general public to take an active role in their well-being and work with a psychiatrist to create a care plan at mentalhealthcareworks.org.

Mental Health Care Works employs the power of storytelling to reach people where they are. In 2023, the APA Foundation introduced Lizzie, who struggles with anxiety; Diego, who is dealing with depression after the loss of his wife; and Simone, who is experiencing postpartum depression. Now, there are three additional faces in the campaign: Robert, whose family has inspired him to confront what triggers his alcohol use disorder; Sarah, a middle-aged woman who finds strength through support from her community while struggling with obsessive-compulsive disorder; and Marcus, a young man learning to manage his adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. All campaign images and stories emphasize the importance of relationships in overcoming and learning to live with mental health difficulties.

“The Mental Health Care Works campaign sits at the center of our strategic plan,” said Rawle Andrews Jr., Esq., executive director of the APA Foundation. “The message that mental health care works when you make the call is more important than ever at this watershed moment for mental health services and supports. As the campaign continues to evolve, we are committed to weaving the Mental Health Care Works messaging into every area of our work ‘to meet you where you live, learn, work, worship, and play.’ ”

During the campaign’s pilot year, messaging was concentrated in Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; Denver, Colo.; and the D.C.-Baltimore metro area. The second year of the campaign primarily targets Houston/Harris County, Texas; the Boston metropolitan area; and Salt Lake City, Utah.

Additional enhancements include the expansion of the campaign to include research. The research will include a survey of 3,200 adults, primarily in Houston and Boston, whose answers will be used to inform development of the next stage of the campaign’s messaging and personas. This two-way flow of information will not only help ensure that the campaign messages resonate with the individuals who are exposed to them but will also provide the APA Foundation with updated information about public perceptions of mental wellness and psychiatric care. ■