ARLINGTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nonprofit Sapien Labs announces the launch of the Mental Health Million Project to map the evolving mental wellbeing of the global population. Using the unique Mental Health Quotient (MHQ) assessment tool, collected data will assess how individuals stand on a normal spectrum of wellbeing and identify those at risk of a clinical disorder. It will also identify drivers of mental wellbeing that can guide more effective policy and intervention.
The existing national mental health crisis has been exacerbated by the current COVID-19 pandemic. A recent American Psychiatric Association poll reported 36% of Americans identified the pandemic as seriously impacting their mental health. Understanding the evolving state of mental wellbeing is imperative now more than ever. The MHQ therefore specifically probes individual experience of the COVID-19 pandemic such as illness, losing loved ones, isolation or lost employment to understand how the pandemic and its repercussions are impacting mental wellness.
Sapien Labs hopes many individuals will participate in the Mental Health Million Project by taking the MHQ, and also help spread the word by sharing the assessment link at sapienlabs.org/mhq/. The MHQ can be completed anonymously and takes less than 15 minutes. An overall mental health score is provided at the end and those who provide an email after completion receive a detailed report providing their scores in six categories giving insight into an individual’s cognitive abilities; emotional regulation and outlook; the perception of self; the nature of relationships with others; and the connection between mind and body.
“The MHQ is not an assessment of happiness or life satisfaction, but of the ability to cope with life and its challenges,” stresses Dr. Jennifer Newson, Sapien Labs’ Lead Scientist for Mental Health and a Ph.D. in Psychology from Oxford. “It can however evolve with circumstance and Individuals should take the assessment at different time intervals.”
Sapien Labs also invites partnerships from local governments and other mental health organizations to help build a deeply insightful view of our evolving collective mental wellbeing.
About Sapien Labs
Sapien Labs, a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization founded in 2016 with the mission to understand and enable the human mind. A primary goal of the organization is to understand the impact and consequences of changing environments and technology on the function of the human brain, particularly in the context of rising mental health concerns and growing inequality. Sapien Labs is based in the Washington, D.C. area. More information can be found at sapienlabs.org.
