Ask an Expert: Mental Health Policy and Public Health with Ben Druss

Mental health care in the United States sits at the intersection of clinical care, public policy, and population health. Few people are better positioned to speak to all three than Benjamin Druss, MD.

Druss is the Rosalynn Carter Chair in Mental Health and Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Rollins School of Public Health. He is one of a handful of psychiatrists in the country based in a school of public health. His research and career have focused on integrating mental health, physical health, and public health, with a particular emphasis on improving care for populations with serious mental illnesses.  

In this Ask an Expert feature for Mental Health Awareness Month, Druss explains how Rollins prepares the next generation of public health leaders to address mental health challenges, how public health policies have shaped the field, and his latest work to improve mental health care delivery. 

How do you define mental health? 

In my department, we particularly focus on mental disorders—conditions like depression, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders—and how they're treated. We consider whether individuals with those conditions can access care, the quality of that care, and their clinical improvement.  

But you can also zoom out to view mental health from a public health perspective.  From this vantage point, we ask about how to promote mental health in the general population, and if and how we can lower the incidence of mental disorders. Public health views mental health as not just the absence of mental illness, but as the ability to flourish, thrive, and be resilient in the face of challenges. 

What makes Rollins unique when it comes to mental health education? 

Our school is one of the few schools of public health nationwide that allows students to focus their work on mental health. Our Certificate in Mental Health is jointly administered through our department, the Department of Behavioral, Social, and Health Education Sciences, and the Department of Epidemiology. In this program, students can focus their elective time, as well as their thesis and their applied practice experiences, around topics and skills related to mental health.

I teach a couple of mental health classes. One that occurs in the fall is a mental health policy class, covering everything from the history of the mental health system to current policy. In the spring, I teach case studies in mental health, which is one of the certificate electives that helps students develop and hone their problem-solving skills in public mental health research and advance their knowledge of current mental health problems. 

What are some of the most significant mental health policies in recent years? 

Since I've been here at Rollins, several meaningful policies have been enacted in the mental health policy space. The Affordable Care Act’s expansion of health insurance coverage for mental health—coupled with inclusion of mental health as an essential benefit—improved access to mental health care in the Unites States. Mental health parity, which required that mental health benefits are provided equally with other kinds of health benefits on insurance plans, helped ensure that patients could afford those services and continue in care after they began receiving treatment.  

What are some potential challenges with AI chatbots in mental health care? 

AI chatbots are a new development in the mental health space. The last four years have seen the rapid growth of general use chatbots such as ChatGPT for emotional support, as well as the development of specialized chatbots designed for mental health treatment. These hold the potential to improve access to support, particularly for individuals at lower risk who do not require formal mental health treatment.  

There are concerns with using AI as a substitute for treatment for those with diagnosable conditions or other at-risk populations. Most chatbots are designed to maximize engagement and may fail to recognize, and may even contribute to, risky behaviors or delusional thinking. Because they aren’t formally linked to the health system, they aren’t able to refer patients to treatment or to effectively intervene for individuals at risk for self-harm. They are so new and are evolving so rapidly that most of what we know about their potential benefits and harms is based on anecdotes rather than solid research.    

How does your work with the Center for Mental Health Implementation and Support (CMHIS) impact the mental health field? 

The CMHIS was funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in 2024. It is a national center whose mission is to support the widespread uptake and adoption of evidence-based mental health services, using principles and tools from implementation science. I direct the East Coast hub that covers 14 states across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions.  

Our hub works with state policymakers, mental health organizations, and SAMHSA grantees to help understand where they may be facing challenges in mental health care delivery, partnering with them to improve the care they provide. We have expertise on topics ranging from community engagement and needs assessment, to quality improvement and program evaluation, to fostering sustainability.  

This role has been an opportunity for me to “walk the talk”—to take what I’ve learned over the years as a mental health policy and services researcher and apply it in the real world. It can be challenging and messy at times, but is immensely rewarding and a chance for me to give back to the field.  

I enjoy working with students across multiple settings—in my classes, on my research and technical assistance projects, and in the public mental health certificate program. Interacting with students gives me new ideas, keeps me current with the field, and fuels my motivation both within and outside of the classroom.