Articles on finding therapy and crisis help, preparing for appointments, understanding screening tools and terms, and checking mental-health claims and research before acting on them. This page lists all 23 Global MH Summit guides on the topic, each with its opening lines so you can pick the one that matches your question.
Global MH Summit is an independent publication. These guides are for education and do not replace care from a qualified professional.
Guides in this section
How to Make a Safety Plan for a Difficult Mental-Health Day
A safety plan for a difficult day is a short written list you make while you are steady, so you are not figuring everything out when you are overwhelmed. Mostly it comes down to three things: who you will contact, what practical help you will line up, and when you will move to urgent help.
What to Bring to a First Therapy Consultation
For a first therapy consultation, bring a short written list: what you have been noticing and when it started, what you hope to get from therapy, your questions for the provider, everything you take (including supplements), any family mental health history, and your insurance details.
Reading Mental-Health Research Headlines: A Plain-Language Evidence Checklist
By GlobalMHSummit.com Research Team Short answer: a study finding describes what researchers saw in a specific group of people, under specific conditions, over a specific stretch of time. A treatment promise says what will happen to you. Headlines often slide from the first to the second without anything in the study changing.
When a Mood or Focus Claim Needs Urgent Help Instead of More Research
If you are in immediate danger, or someone else is, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room . If you or someone you know is struggling or having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 , or chat online at 988lifeline.org . The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is free, confidential and available 24 hours a day.
Medication and Supplement Questions to Ask a Pharmacist
By GlobalMHSummit.com Research Team If you take a prescription medicine and are thinking about adding a supplement, or you already take several products at once, a short, prepared conversation with your pharmacist or prescriber is a practical step. This guide gives you a question list and explains what to bring.
How to Prepare for a Mental-Health Appointment After Seeing a Supplement Ad
If a supplement ad made you stop and think about how you have been feeling, the most useful next step is to write down what you have noticed and bring it to a health care provider. Record what the symptoms are, when they started, how often they happen, and everything you take, including supplements.
How to Read Mental-Health Supplement Claims Without Self-Diagnosing
By GlobalMHSummit.com Research Team Short answer: an ad can describe how you feel, say what a product is "for," and hint at proof, all in a few seconds. Your job is to pull those three things apart. A symptom list in an ad is not a diagnosis.
Preparing for a Mental Health Conversation: Goals, Questions, and Follow-Up
Preparing for a mental health conversation means deciding what you want from it before you sit down to have it: a clear goal, a short list of questions, a plan for what stays private, and a sense of what should happen next.
A Study Reports Better Well-Being: Which Measure Was Used
By GlobalMHSummit.com Research Team. Last updated September 2026. When a headline says a study found "better well-being," the study almost always means one specific thing: people scored higher on a short questionnaire they filled out themselves. That questionnaire is called a self-report measure.
A Digital Mental Health Tool Makes a Claim: Privacy and Evidence Questions
When a mental health app claims it can track your mood, predict a crisis, or work "as well as therapy," the honest answer is: it depends, and you can check. Most mental health apps are not required to prove their claims before going on sale, and there is currently no official body that reviews them for accuracy.
Mental Health Advice Online: Checking Who It Was Written For
Before acting on mental health advice you find online, check who wrote it, who reviewed it, and who it was written for. A page written for the general public reads very differently from one written for clinicians or for people with a specific diagnosis.
Mental Health Support Across Countries: Why Service Names Differ
Mental health services are called different things in different countries because each country builds its system on its own health-governance structure, funding model, and workforce rules — not because the underlying need for care differs.
Peer Support and Clinical Care: Different Roles, Different Limits
Peer supporters and licensed clinicians both help people through mental health struggles, but they are not interchangeable. A peer supporter shares lived experience with mental health or recovery and offers encouragement, connection, and practical guidance.
Mental Health Statistics in Headlines: Prevalence, Risk, and Time Frame
A headline like "970 million people worldwide live with a mental disorder" is only as reliable as the details behind it. According to the World Health Organization, that figure describes 2019, measured against the global population, with anxiety and depression the most common conditions.
Stress Versus a Mental Health Condition: Why Self-Labels Have Limits
Stress and a diagnosable mental health condition are not the same thing, and the difference usually comes down to two questions: how long symptoms last and how much they disrupt daily functioning.
Workplace Mental Health Programs: Reading Outcome Claims Carefully
A workplace mental health program's outcome claim is only as strong as what it actually measures. A high participation number tells you people signed up, not that their symptoms improved. A real outcome claim names what changed, for whom, and over what time period, backed by a source you can check.
Mental Health Research Uses a Symptom Scale: What a Score Change Means
A symptom scale turns feelings like sadness or worry into a number that can be compared over time. A "score change" means comparing today's score to an earlier one — usually the first score taken, called the baseline.
Therapy Terms Explained: Format, Privacy, and Informed-Consent Questions
Starting therapy often means encountering unfamiliar terms before the first session even begins — words like "informed consent," "confidentiality limits," "teletherapy," or "intake form." This guide explains what these terms mean in plain language, separates common myths from reality, and offers a…
Finding Crisis Help: How to Verify a Local Emergency and Support Resource
If there is any risk to someone's life right now, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. If the crisis involves thoughts of suicide or a mental health emergency, you can also call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, or chat online at 988lifeline.org .
Mental Health Screening Tools: What a Score Can and Cannot Establish
A mental health screening tool — like the PHQ-9 for depression or the GAD-7 for anxiety — produces a number based on how you answered a short set of questions about your recent thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
How can I support someone with suicidal thoughts?
Disclosure: This article may contain affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a commission at no additional cost to you. All opinions remain our own. Understanding and addressing suicidal thoughts in a loved one is an emotionally challenging and delicate process.
What is cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)?
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What are the most common mental health disorders?
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