The Community Mental Health Framework

The Community Mental Health Framework — Counseling Africa
Reference Standard & Gap Analysis Tool

What good looks like, and how to find the gaps.

The Community Mental Health Framework gives stakeholders, government, NGOs, health workers, faith leaders, a structured, evidence-based way to assess what’s working in their community’s mental health system, and where the gaps sit, across eight core pillars.

37 pages · reference + gap analysis tool 8 pillars assessed v2.0 · 2026
The eight pillars this framework scores
01Awareness & Literacy
02Prevention & Promotion
03Early Identification
04Access to Care
05Treatment & Intervention
06Rehabilitation & Recovery
07Crisis Response
08Data & Accountability

Built for stakeholders who want a straight answer

This is the first framework of its kind in Nigeria to assign clearly defined roles to every community mental health stakeholder category, from federal government down to families and persons with lived experience.

It’s a clinical tool, built to be used, not just read. Hold it against your own community and ask honestly: is this present here? Is it working? Is it missing entirely?

  • Session-ready gap analysis matrices that produce a scored profile across all eight pillars
  • Defined roles for 11 stakeholder categories, including hospital, public, and community health workers
  • A prioritisation system for when resources only stretch to one or two interventions
  • An equity lens to check who gets left behind even when a system looks functional on average
  • An honest look at what has actually worked to fund mental health programmes in Nigeria
Free download

Get the framework

Fill in your details below and we’ll send you the link to download the PDF.

Your details are used only to share this resource and occasional updates from Counseling Africa. No spam.

Download the framework PDF
Scroll to Top