Our Story
1980
Founded as the International Association on the Political Use of Psychiatry (IAPUP), a volunteer human rights organization aiming to end the incarceration of dissidents in psychiatric hospitals.
1988
Soviet psychiatric association admitted to systematic abuse and promised to release political prisoners during the World Psychiatric Association congress.
1980-1990
Led the global campaign against the abuse of psychiatry in the former Soviet Union (USSR).
1991
Renamed the Geneva Initiative on Psychiatry, later Global Initiative on Psychiatry (GIP).
1990s
Incubated numerous national psychiatric associations.
1990s
Founded the Network of Reformers in Psychiatry.
1990s
Regularly organized Regional and World Congresses of the World Psychiatric Association.
1990s
Trained thousands of mental health professionals across various countries.
1990s
Established a publishing house to disseminate modern mental health care literature in Eastern Europe.
1991-2000
Initiated reform processes in Central & Eastern Europe’s mental health profession.
2000s
Initiated reform processes for psychiatric hospitals in Sri Lanka.
2000s
Developed mobile psychiatric care teams for remote communities in Sierra Leone.
2000s
Opened nine Expert Centers on Mental Health in the Caucasus and Central Asia.
2000s
Established independent mental health organizations in Bulgaria, Georgia, and Lithuania.
2000-2015
Promoted a new approach to mental health care focused on community integration.
2011
Became a federation uniting independent member organizations across several countries.
2011
Prioritized rehabilitation, trauma care, and addressing psychiatric abuse for underserved populations.
2015 onwards
Conducted assessments of social care homes, prison mental health care services, and forensic psychiatry worldwide.
2015 onwards
Developed programs to combat social isolation due to COVID-19.
2015 onwards
Launched social media campaigns against mental health stigma for Ukrainian and Russian speakers.
2015 onwards
Created online mental health and trauma support programs for victims of state abuse and violent conflict.
2024
Leading the Veteran Mental Resilience Center of Excellence in cooperation with Taras Shevchenko National University and Kings College.
Present
Continues to advocate for ethical mental health care and against psychiatric abuse in Russia.