StrongMinds
Treating Depression at Scale in Africa
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
The World Health Organization estimates that 280 million people globally are living with depressive disorders. For African women – who are affected at approximately 1.5 times the rate of men – depression is a leading cause of disability. Yet, due to the lack of investment in mental health services, approximately 85% of people in low-income countries receive no treatment. An African woman with depression, compared with her healthy peer, suffers greatly: She is less productive, has a lower income, and has poorer physical health. If she is a mother, the negative impact extends to her entire family. Research shows that children of depressed mothers are more likely to have poor health, struggle in or miss school, and suffer from depression themselves. StrongMinds is the only organization working to rapidly scale a solution to the depression epidemic in Africa.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Group Interpersonal Psychotherapy to Treat Depression
StrongMinds treats depression using group interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT-G), delivered by lay counselors. This manualized, time-bound talk therapy model emphasizes relationships as the root of – and source of recovery for – depression. IPT-G is well-studied in low- and middle-income countries and is recommended by the WHO as a first-line depression intervention in resource-poor settings.
Where we work
External reviews

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Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Evaluation documents
Download evaluation reportsPercentage of people that are depression-free immediately after therapy
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Adolescents, Low-income people, Internally displaced people, Refugees and displaced people
Related Program
Group Interpersonal Psychotherapy to Treat Depression
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Depression-free scores from 2014 were inflated by a social desirability bias during data collection. Since 2015 external evaluators collect end-line depression scores to avoid bias.
Percentage of people that are depression-free six months after therapy
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Adolescents, Low-income people, Internally displaced people, Refugees and displaced people
Related Program
Group Interpersonal Psychotherapy to Treat Depression
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Participants are assessed for depression using the PHQ-9. Our 2019 data for this metric is carried over from 2018, as COVID prevented our 6-month follow-up assessments.
Number of people treated for depression with StrongMinds Talk Therapy per year
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Adolescents, Low-income people, Internally displaced people, Refugees and displaced people
Related Program
Group Interpersonal Psychotherapy to Treat Depression
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Total number of participants treated through StrongMinds Therapy Groups and Peer Therapy Groups Total treated includes StrongMinds launching new Teletherapy groups due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
StrongMinds' ultimate goal is to end the depression epidemic in Africa. Over the next three years, we will treat 300,000 depression sufferers, bringing our cumulative number of patients to more than 400,000 people.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
StrongMinds treats depression using group interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT-G), delivered by lay counselors. This manualized, time-bound talk therapy model emphasizes relationships as the root of – and source of recovery for – depression. IPT-G is well-studied in low- and middle-income countries and is recommended by the WHO as a first-line depression intervention in resource-poor settings.
Our group therapy is available in person or by phone. In groups, members find a safe space to open up with peers about their worries and struggles. Over 8-10 sessions, counselors guide structured discussions to help participants identify the underlying triggers of their depression and examine how their current relationships and their depression are linked. Together, they strategize solutions to their problems, learn coping mechanisms, practice interpersonal skills, and identify support structures that they can continue to lean on after therapy has ended.
Members work together to strategize solutions for overcoming their challenges, forming strong social bonds in the process. Since depression is episodic and recurrent throughout most people’s lives, these newly acquired skills have both immediate and long-term preventive impacts for the individual.
PHASES OF THERAPY
The sessions are divided into three phases, each with distinct objectives:
Initial Phase: This phase focuses on building trust and rapport among group members so they feel comfortable opening up with one another.
Middle Phase: This phase ensures that all members are actively engaged in discussion and collective problem-solving. Participants learn to fully understand the symptoms and triggers of depression.
Termination Phase: By this stage, most participants have experienced a substantial reduction in the severity of their depression symptoms. As they prepare for the end of formal sessions, each will make a plan to identify and mitigate triggers in the future, so that they can prevent recurring depressive episodes.
SUSTAINABILITY AND SCALING
We achieve sustainability by identifying and training former clients and local health workers to facilitate StrongMinds therapy groups in their communities, spreading the seeds of good mental health widely. We also work with governments and NGOs to layer mental health services into existing livelihood, food security, healthcare, and education programs in order to scale our reach and enhance outcomes for program participants.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
StrongMinds is operated by a dedicated team, led by CEO and Founder, Sean Mayberry, Uganda Country Director, Christina Ntulo, and Zambia Country Director, Frank Harle.
Sean Mayberry's experience includes more than a decade of work in Africa and Asia where he designed, planned, and successfully implemented a variety of community-based health and anti-poverty programs for USAID, DFID, The Global Fund, and other donors, all with strong monitoring and evaluation components. He was the Population Services International country director for both the Democratic Republic of Congo and India, during which he was responsible for implementing health programs with an accumulated budget of more than $50 million. He is also the former COO of VisionSpring and CEO of FXB International.
Christina Ntulo is a mental health and development worker with 23 years of professional experience in mental health, human rights, gender, economic empowerment, management, and organizational development. Christine also possesses skills in strategic and program planning, implementation, monitoring, research, evaluation and analysis, evidence-based advocacy, and organizational and national-level policy development and analysis. Prior to joining StrongMinds Uganda, she held consultant and director-level positions for several organizations including Network for Africa, BasicNeeds, and GOAL Uganda.
Frank Harle possesses nearly 15 years of international development experience and is keenly adept at operating country programs focused on improving the well-being of impoverished populations. He has strong experience working with INGO and MOH partners in South Africa, Tanzania, and Ethiopia. Before joining the StrongMinds team in 2019 as the Country Director for Zambia, he spent four years as a Country Director in South Africa and three years as Deputy Director in Tanzania for Restless Development. Frank holds a bachelor's in Arts in History from the University of Sheffield.
StrongMinds' Mental Health Advisory Panel also provides expert technical oversight with representatives from diverse backgrounds in psychiatry, psychology, academia, and global mental health. Additionally, StrongMinds receives technical guidance and support from Dr. Lena Verdelli and Dr. Myrna Weissman. Dr. Verdelli is an, Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology and Director, Global Mental Health at Columbia University. Dr. Weissman is a Professor of Epidemiology and Psychiatry at Columbia University and is one of the founders of Interpersonal Psychotherapy. Group Interpersonal Psychotherapy has been proven and validated by numerous randomized control trials including a 2002 study conducted in Uganda through Columbia and John Hopkins Universities.
Lastly, StrongMinds has developed a solid and diverse funding basis, despite fundraising challenges for mental healthcare in Africa. We have the support of a number of foundation partners, individuals, and multilateral grants that sustain our program and operations.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Since beginning fieldwork in 2014, StrongMinds has treated approximately 160,000 women and adolescents suffering from depression. Our current monitoring and evaluation show that 80% are depression-free at the completion of therapy and these results are sustained for six months. From 2022 to 2024, we aim to treat 300,000 depression sufferers in Africa.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
StrongMinds
Board of directorsas of 06/08/2023
Mr. Dana Ward
Vermont Department of Health
Paul Watford
Music Institute of Chicago
Rehmah Kasule
Harvard Advanced Leadership Institute
Ann MacDougall
Dunollie Fund
James Rude
Graham-Pelton Consulting
Carol Squire
Good Cheer
Annika Sten Pärson
DanFei Holdings
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
No data
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 04/19/2021GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.