In 2019, at a conference in Germany, neuroscientist Wendy Ingram shared her experiences with a grass-roots project focused on mental health support for researchers in the United States. As she spoke with attendees, it became clear that these mental health challenges were not isolated—they were systemic, affecting academics across disciplines and countries.
Recent studies highlight a growing mental health crisis in academia. Depression and anxiety are especially common among early-career researchers. These individuals often face unstable job prospects, are forced to relocate frequently, and operate under the constant pressure to publish. This intense environment contributes to high stress and burnout.
With limited support from institutions, many graduate students and postdoctoral researchers have started organizing their own initiatives to address the issue. In response, some research centers are now offering evidence-based mental health services. These include clinical support and educational workshops. Experts say these programs are beginning to question and challenge the structures that have long supported what many call a toxic academic culture.
“There are proven tactics that work, and they are already being used,” says Ingram, who is now the founder and CEO of Dragonfly Mental Health, a non-profit organization based in Bradenton, Florida. “Everyone in academia can benefit from them.”
Karin Jensen, a faculty mental health researcher at the University of Michigan, agrees. “The real challenge is changing the culture. We need to shift from just surviving in academia to actually thriving. That can only happen through collective action,” she says.
Bridging the Gaps
At the 2019 conference, Ingram noticed that many well-intentioned efforts to improve mental health were isolated. Researchers from different fields were struggling to apply psychology-based strategies on their own.
In response, Ingram helped launch Dragonfly Mental Health. The goal was to unite these independent efforts and create organized, research-backed solutions. The organization now includes more than 450 volunteer academics around the world. They provide workshops, training, and awareness campaigns to support mental health in research communities.
To date, Dragonfly has delivered over 375 programs to around 60,000 academics in 32 countries. Ingram says 96% of participants recommend the programs to others.
Dragonfly focuses on five key goals: reducing stigma, increasing mental health awareness, improving support skills, promoting peer-support networks, and helping institutions take responsibility for mental well-being.
The organization collaborates with universities such as the University of California, Berkeley, and science funders including the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the Pew Charitable Trusts.
Backed by Science
Dragonfly’s initiatives are rooted in research, Ingram emphasizes. “These are not just surface-level ideas. We back everything with data. Where evidence is missing, we help conduct studies to find answers.”
In 2024, Ingram co-authored a study showing that a short film about mental health in academia helped reduce stigma for 92% of the 149 academic viewers. The film featured senior faculty members sharing personal stories about mental health and neurodiversity.
Kevin Mark, who watched the film as a postdoctoral researcher at UC Berkeley, said it was the first time he had seen senior academics speak openly about their struggles. Now a cell biologist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Mark says the film helped him become a better mentor. “Dragonfly encourages trainees to talk with faculty about shared challenges and to seek support,” he says.
Peter Hinshaw, a psychologist at UC Berkeley, adds that simply raising awareness can break the “vicious cycle of stigma and non-recovery”—not just for individuals, but for academic communities as a whole.
A Call for Cultural Change
While progress is being made, experts agree that lasting change will require a shift in academic culture. That means moving beyond short-term fixes and rethinking how institutions treat mental health.
Initiatives like Dragonfly Mental Health show that collective action and evidence-based approaches can make a difference. But for a true transformation, researchers say, the entire academic system must adopt new values—ones that prioritize well-being as much as productivity.
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