Mexico City Advances Community-Based Mental Health Model

Mexico City is strengthening its community-centered mental health and substance use care model in alignment with federal reforms and a broader human rights-based approach to public health. The city’s Ministry of Health, in coordination with national authorities, convened the Meeting on Comprehensive Mental Health and Substance Use Care to reinforce institutional collaboration and advance an integrated care system.

The event, led by Nadine Gasman, Mexico City’s Minister of Health, and Francisco Gutiérrez, National Commissioner, Mental Health and Addictions (CONASAMA), brought together officials from federal and local health institutions. The discussions focused on operationalizing a care model that emphasizes timely, dignified, and stigma-free attention to individuals dealing with mental health conditions or substance use.

The new federal care guidelines are aligned with the national “Peace and Against Addictions” strategy and the Dale Color a tu Vida (Bring Color to Your Life) campaign. CONASAMA is supporting Mexico City’s efforts to create a new model of community-based and rights-oriented care, says Gutiérrez. These efforts echo the objectives of the 2022 reform in mental health and addiction services, which aims to build inclusive networks of care and integrate emergency response protocols in general hospitals.

Support from national health leadership, including David Kershenobich, Mexico’s Minister of Health, and Ramiro López, Deputy Minister for Health Policy and Population Welfare, emphasize the goal of creating a coordinated, rights-centered system through institutional articulation.

During the event, the city's Institute for Mental Health and Addictions (IAPA) presented updates on its strategy Ciudad con Salud Emocional: Vida Plena, Corazón Contento (City with Emotional Health: Fulfilled Life, Happy Heart). Backed by Mexico City’s Chief of Government, Clara Brugada, and led by Gasman, the strategy is structured around three core areas: community prevention, emotional listening and connection, and primary care. 

Participants in the meeting included representatives from institutions such as IMSS, ISSSTE, IMSS-Bienestar, PEMEX, SEDENA, and SEMAR, as well as the Ministry of Welfare, the Ministry for Women, and the Coordination for Human Mobility Assistance. The program concluded with visits to CECOSAMA México España and the General Hospital “r. Rubén Leñero, where attendees observed the community care model in practice and its interdisciplinary implementation.

This initiative reflects ongoing efforts in Mexico City to implement a community-based approach to mental health and addiction care, aligned with national reforms focused on integrated and rights-based healthcare models, reports Mexico City Ministry of Health.