Mental illness is the leading cause of disability worldwide. Mental health is the strongest predictor of well-being. WHO’s mission is to promote the highest possible level of mental health for all people. The Global Clinical Practice Network answers WHO’s call to action to realize this goal and reduce the burden of mental and behavioural disorders around the world. The Network brings together global standards and local expertise in training, research and clinical care. Our Network is a meeting place for professionals from around the world with the ultimate mission of improving mental health care and services at the local level, which translates into a healthier population globally.
Learn about GCP.Network from ICD-11 Leaders.
The Global Clinical Practice Network was established as a multidisciplinary and multilingual platform by the World Health Organization’s Department of Mental Health and Substance Use. Since 2011, clinicians have joined with a shared mission to advance research, training, and treatment initiatives and to improve the quality of mental health care worldwide. Notably, GCP.Network members have led and participated in rigorous field studies that informed the Clinical Descriptions and Diagnostic Requirements for Mental, Behavioural or Neurodevelopmental Disorders in the Eleventh Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), a global standard for reporting and defining health conditions. Through the ICD-11 revision process, GCP.Network became a platform for unprecedented data collection and research dissemination on a global scale.
GCP.Network closes the gap between research and clinical practice. It is a powerful platform for mental health professionals to participate in international research initiatives and to share new findings and innovative practices in evidence-based clinical care. With more than 16,000 clinicians from more than 160 countries, GCP.Network is the largest interdisciplinary and multilingual practice-based research network that has ever been established. GCP.Network actively serves as a vehicle for international collaboration, linking clinicians on the ground and around the globe to improve clinical care and health systems for mental and behavioural disorders.
GCP.Network has an ongoing commitment to advancing training and implementation of the ICD-11 Clinical Descriptions and Diagnostic Requirements (CDDR) for Mental, Behavioural or Neurodevelopmental Disorders around the world. GCP.Network also is uniquely positioned to serve as a direct window into clinical practice and is expanding to realize its broader potential. In response to the global health emergency in 2020, GCP.Network is engaging in research that examines the longitudinal impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health professionals worldwide. By building international research capacity, GCP.Network has the ability to take priority issues into the field and to serve as a catalyst for scientific and clinical research collaborations.
GCP.Network aims to promote community and increase connectivity among mental health professionals worldwide. Members of GCP.Network have the opportunity to participate in research, exchange ideas with one another, and share strategies for practice and leadership initiatives that enhance mental health care around the globe. With a far-reaching network and the collective expertise of clinicians, GCP.Network serves as a foundational platform to inform research methodology and clinical standards of care around the world.
If you are a health professional working in mental health or primary care, we invite you to register for GCP.Network. You will be part of a global community committed to improving how mental and behavioural disorders are perceived, screened, diagnosed and treated worldwide.
In collaboration with the Columbia University WHO Collaborating Centre
