The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is one of 27 components of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Federal government's principal biomedical and behavioral research agency. NIH is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

NIMH Mission

The NIMH mission is to reduce the burden of mental illness and behavioral disorders through research on mind, brain, and behavior. This public health mandate demands that we harness powerful scientific tools to achieve better understanding, treatment, and eventually, prevention of these disabling conditions that affect millions of Americans.

To fulfill its mission, the Institute:

• conducts research on mental disorders and the underlying basic science of brain and behavior;
• supports research on these topics at universities and hospitals around the United States;
• collects, analyzes, and disseminates information on the causes, occurrence, and treatment of mental illnesses;
• supports the training of more than 1,000 scientists to carry out basic and clinical research; and
• communicates information to scientists, the public, the news media, and primary care and mental health professionals about mental illnesses, the brain, mental health, and research in these areas.

Interested in participating in a clinical research study or know someone who is?

NIMH offers clinical trials for adults and children at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, and at many other locations across the United States.