Emotional Engagement and Resilience: Addressing Mental Health Challenges in Global Crises

Emotional engagement and resilience have emerged as key determinants of public mental health in the context of escalating global crises, including pandemics, climate emergencies, and political conflicts. Research underscores how collective stress, uncertainty, and loss can exacerbate psychological distress and erode community wellbeing. Advances in digital connectivity, teletherapy, and community-based support models have broadened access to care and introduced new avenues for prevention and response. Yet, significant gaps persist — unequal access to mental health services, stigma around help-seeking, systemic burnout among professionals, and the enduring effects of displacement continue to challenge global health equity. Recent studies emphasize that sustainable improvement in mental health outcomes requires approaches that are both culturally adaptive and systemically integrated, bridging behavioral science, technology, and policy innovation.This Research Topic aims to advance interdisciplinary understanding of how emotional engagement shapes resilience, coping, and recovery amid global crises. Emotional engagement—through empathy, connection, and shared meaning—plays a vital role in how individuals and communities interpret adversity and mobilize adaptive responses. In addition, this collection aims to explore community-based, technological, and policy innovations that can strengthen adaptive capacity and promote equitable access to care. This collection wishes to give particular attention to the influence of cultural context on emotional expression and collective coping, and to the ways digital platforms and public systems can extend support beyond conventional care settings. Through this integrative approach, this collection will connect evidence with practice, fostering scalable and inclusive strategies that reinforce emotional resilience and protect mental health in times of global crises.Submissions addressing, but not limited to, the following themes are welcomed:o Digital innovations: Teletherapy, AI-assisted mental health screening, and mobile interventions for real-time support and early prevention.o Community-based models: Peer networks, social cohesion, and collective coping strategies that promote resilience at the community level.o Culturally responsive care: Contextualized approaches that reduce stigma, foster trust, and enhance the relevance of interventions.o Preventive strategies: Education and early training in emotional regulation, coping skills, and resilience across schools and workplaces.o Policy integration: Incorporating mental health resilience within emergency response, health systems planning, and social policy.o Workforce support and sustainability: Addressing stress and burnout through organizational design, supervision, and systemic reforms. Topic editors: Carlos Laranjeira, Maria Saidel Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/83163/emotional-engagement-and-resilience-addressing-mental-health-challenges-in-global-crises