This unique title richly tells the stories of partnership and collaboration. The narrative voice of each chapter derives from the people who tell their story -- immigrants, survivors of torture, mental health experts, urban people, rural people, teachers, doctors, attorneys, students and international leaders. These authors provide emotionally powerful tales that move, affect and encourage readers.  The collection of narratives is inspired by these individuals, who believe that collaboration can bring authentic mutualism, promise-keeping and innovation to address the hardest problems we face as a world community.Partnerships for Mental Health: Narratives of Community and Academic Collaboration is about the stories of innovation and collaboration occurring between community and academic partners who have undertaken among the very hardest of problems such as the care of veterans with ravaging posttraumatic stress disorder; the care of homeless individuals with HIV, addictionand mental illness; the care of caregivers for Hispanic family members with Alzheimers disease; the prevention of illness in impoverished vulnerable youth; and the rescue of profoundly mentally ill earthquake survivors. In addition, this title not only also tells the story of identity formation of early-career physicians with a calling to work with distinct populations for whom suffering and stigma are immense, but also the stories of the special bonds that develop and are strengthened between community members and academic colleagues and ultimately, between friends. A truly indispensable contribution to the literature, this captivating and novel title illustrates and inspires collaboration in order to bring about better health outcomes for people affected by mental health issues in communities throughout the world.

Laura Weiss Roberts, MD, MA

Katharine Dexter McCormick and Stanley McCormick Memorial Professor and Chairman

Stanford University School of Medicine

Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Stanford, CA, USA

Daryn Reicherter, MD

Clinical Associate Professor

Stanford University School of Medicine

Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Stanford, CA, USA

Steven Adelsheim, MD

Clinical Professor

Stanford University School of Medicine

Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Stanford, CA, USA

Shashank V. Joshi, MD

Associate Professor and Director of Training in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,

Stanford University School of Medicine

Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Stanford, CA, USA

Acknowledgements.- Dedications.- Foreword. Partnerships Between Academic Medical Centers and Community-Based Organizations Enhance the Mission and Impact of Each.- Preface.- Introduction. Beginning with a Single Step.- Narrative 1. The StanfordSanta Clara County Methamphetamine Task Force.- Narrative 2. Building Relationships with At-Risk Populations: A Community Engagement Approach for Longitudinal Research.- Narrative 3. The Center for Youth Wellness: A Community-based Approach to Holistic Health Care in San Francisco.- Narrative 4. The Cambodian Lotus Thrives under a California Sun: Partnership between a Mental Health Clinic and a Khmer Buddhist Temple.- Narrative 5. Kombis, Brothels and Violence Against Women: Building Global Health Partnerships to Address Womens Health and Empowerment.- Narrative 6. Creating a National Native Telebehavioral Health Network: The IHS Telebehavioral Health Center of Excellence.- Narrative 7. The Program of Assertive Community Treatment and the University of Wisconsin Department of Psychiatry.- Narrative 8. Laughing at the Rain.- Narrative 9. From the Ivory Tower to the Real World: Translating an Evidence-Based Intervention for Latino Dementia Family Caregivers into a Community Setting.- Narrative 10. Implementing a Peer Support Program for Veterans: Seeking new models for the provision of community based outpatient services for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Substance Use Disorders.- Narrative 11. A Journey of Mutual Growth: Mental Health Awareness in the Muslim Community.- Narrative 12. The Intercultural Psychiatric Program at Oregon Health and Science University.- Narrative 13. Engaging Schools in Mental Health Partnerships.- Narrative 14. The Earthquake.- Narrative 15. Voices of Experience: Questions and Answers.