Description

Welcome to Mind the Kids, the podcast where we explore global innovations and stories in youth mental health. Your host is Clara Faria, a child and adolescent psychiatrist in training and research scientist at the University of Cambridge. In this episode, Clara sits down with Tom Osborn—community mobilizer, entrepreneur, research scientist, and founder of the Shamiri Institute in Kenya. Tom shares his inspiring journey from rural Kenya to Harvard, and how his passion for community-driven change led him to pioneer scalable, evidence-based mental health interventions for young people in low-resource settings. We dive into the origins of the Shamiri Institute, the power of peer-to-peer support, and the lessons learned from adapting community health worker models to mental health care. Tom also discusses the unique challenges facing youth in Kenya, the importance of South-South collaboration, and why building on local strengths is key to sustainable impact. If you’re passionate about mental health, innovation, and making a difference for young people worldwide, this episode is for you. Tune in and be inspired by stories of resilience, creativity, and hope from the frontlines of global mental health. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts from.

Learning Objectives

1. Community health workers play a crucial role in delivering mental health support.

2. The evolving mental health landscape in Kenya including increasing pressures on youth.

3. Funding sustainability as a significant challenge for mental health initiatives.

4. Translating research into practice as essential for effective mental health interventions and the importance of collaboration and sharing best practices for scaling mental health solutions.

5. The impact of climate change on mental health as an emerging area of concern.

6. The importance of understanding local contexts for the success of mental health interventions.