At the Centre for Urban Mental Health, researchers from different fields use the tools of complexity science to identify new pathways to improve mental health in the city.
Our mission is to find new pathways that can be targeted with interventions to improve urban mental health that take into account the complexity and dynamics of mental health problems and mental health disorders in an urban environment.
Urban Environments
Urban living is on the rise: for the first time in history, more than 50 percent of the world’s population lives in urban areas. And this number is expected to rise to 66 percent by 2050.
Urban environments are economically attractive and exciting, but can also be more challenging and stressful than rural environments (‘urban stress’).
Research Priority Area
Urban Mental Health (UMH) is one of the Research Priority Areas of the University of Amsterdam. The Centre for Urban Mental Health is embedded within three faculties.
It is unified by the emerging knowledge and skills from the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, the Faculty of Medicine, and the Faculty of Science, together with the Institute for Advanced Study. This collaboration brings together unique multidisciplinary research teams and stakeholders from the Amsterdam region.
Complexity Science
At the Centre for Urban Mental Health, we use state-of-the art complexity science to understand the dynamics of mental health problems in an urban environment. Why do some groups or individuals thrive in an urban setting, whereas others are more vulnerable and develop mental problems? We pay special attention to common mental health problems: depression, anxiety and addiction.