Vibeke Jenny Koushede

Vibeke Jenny Koushede is a Professor of Mental Health Promotion at the University of Southern Denmark, where she has served as leader of the Faculty of Social Sciences since May 2024. She is renowned for developing 'The ABCs of Mental Health,' a partnership with over 70 organizations that has had significant societal impact across Denmark and internationally. Her work bridges research, policy, and practice to create meaningful interventions for mental health promotion.

Dr. Koushede originally qualified as a midwife at the University of Brighton in 1999 and worked clinically in the UK and Denmark before pursuing her Master of Public Health at the University of Copenhagen in 2006 and her PhD in pharmacoepidemiology at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Copenhagen in 2010. She is fluent in Danish and English, with proficiency in French and basic German.

Her research focuses on interdisciplinary approaches to mental health promotion and wellbeing. She employs diverse methodologies including intervention and implementation research, randomized controlled trials, survey and register-based research, action research, scale validation, qualitative studies, and health economic analysis. Her work emphasizes collaboration across sectors, disciplines, and perspectives to create sustainable, effective solutions for mental health challenges.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals a strong focus on practical mental health interventions, particularly her ABC framework. Her research spans refugee mental health, social media impacts on wellbeing, university mental health programs, and cultural activities' relationship to depression. She frequently employs longitudinal designs and register data to examine mental health trends in the Danish population.

• Folkesundhedsprisen 2022 (Public Health Prize) for ABC for mental sundhed

Professor Koushede is an experienced fundraiser who has secured over DKK 50 million for her research projects. She actively participates in public discourse on mental health through TV, radio, newspapers, and podcasts, and has facilitated workshops for politicians, practitioners, and volunteers. She serves on various government committees including the government's commission on wellbeing, is a board member of the Mary Foundation, and Djøf's Wellbeing Alliance.

She leads the ABCs of mental health initiative, a partnership with over 70 organizations including municipalities and the Region of Southern Denmark. This initiative has influenced Danish Health Authorities' prevention packages and recommendations, and has been implemented in the Faroe Islands, Norway, and partially in Greenland and Sweden. The ABCs of Mental Health has been included in the Finance Act 2024-2026, demonstrating its significant policy impact.