Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University

The Central Institute of Mental Health (Zentralinstitut für Seelische Gesundheit, ZI) is one of the leading institutions in Europe for mental illness, which affects every year around 30 percent of all adults in Germany. The ZI encompasses four clinics (Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Addictive Behavior and Addiction Medicine, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapeutic Medicine, and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy) as well as the outpatient’s facility and adolescent centres. At the ZI, research and healthcare are closely linked. The aim of the research is to better understand the causes and mechanisms of mental illness (mechanism research), to develop and improve effective, individualized therapy approaches (therapy research) and to strengthen prevention (public health and prevention research).