The renowned faith and leadership advocate, Dr. Akinyemi O. Samuel, brings together world leaders, policymakers, and mental health experts to promote healing, resilience, and compassionate leadership on World Mental Health Day 2025.
Sheridan, USA October 10, 2025 Innovation Times Senior Correspondent
In a bold and timely move, Dr. Akinyemi O. Samuel has launched the Global Leadership Mental Health Summit 2025, an international platform dedicated to addressing the silent mental health crisis affecting communities across continents. The summit aims to bridge faith, leadership, and science in finding sustainable solutions that empower nations to prioritize emotional well-being and collective healing. By fostering collaboration among global leaders and experts, Dr. Akinyemi’s initiative signals a new era of dialogue and action toward a mentally healthier world.
Today, on World Mental Health Day, Dr. Akinyemi O. Samuel, known by many as Psalm Ebube, will host a transformative summit gathering leaders, clinicians, faith voices, and advocates from around the globe. His opening message is both urgent and personal: “We are in the middle of one of the biggest pandemics this world has ever seen, but you may not know it. You or someone you know is probably caught in its grip.”
Dr. Samuel is not referring to a viral disease. He is speaking about what he calls the men’s mental health crisis, a silent epidemic affecting millions of men worldwide. With plain honesty, he continues: “Still half of us won’t seek treatment, either because of stigma or because we’re just not aware of its presence and the impact it’s having on us.”
He warns that rising men’s mental health conditions such as schizophrenia, major depression, anxiety, and more are no longer unseen. They are present in families, schools, workplaces, and worship centers. Yet too often, they go unrecognized or untreated.
The summit aims to break this silence. Over the course of today, participants will engage in panels, stories, and strategies focused on awareness, prevention, intervention, and care. Dr. Samuel’s goal is clear: to bring mental health into the realm of public conversation, remove barriers to help, and promote policies that support access to care worldwide.
Several distinguished voices will join him: mental health professionals, faith leaders, community caregivers, and people with lived experience. Together they will explore how to recognize mental health challenges early, how to reduce stigma, and how to build support systems that do not fail those in need.
One of the key topics Dr. Samuel has emphasized is awareness. Many people dismiss changes in mood, motivation, or thinking as stress, fatigue, or moodiness. But these shifts can be the first signals of deeper illness. His summit will offer tools to help listeners distinguish warning signs before crises deepen.
Another core focus is stigma, the silent barrier that keeps half of those suffering from seeking help. Dr. Samuel will challenge cultural, religious, and social myths that label mental illness as weakness or spiritual failure. He believes that healing begins with compassion, not criticism.
He also plans to confront the disparity in access to care. In many regions, mental health services are limited or underfunded. The summit will explore models of community-based care, telehealth, faith-integrated counseling, and partnerships that bring care closer to those who need it most.
Dr. Samuel’s own journey gives him credibility. He has long been a mental health advocate, working across faith communities, mental health networks, and educational platforms. He understands that mental health does not live in clinics alone; it lives in homes, schools, churches, and boardrooms.
The summit’s schedule includes keynote talks, small breakout discussions, and personal testimony sessions. Attendees will hear stories of struggle and recovery, learn practical strategies for self-care, and gain insight into building healthier communities.
One powerful session will focus on youth mental health. Dr. Samuel emphasizes that many silent battles begin in adolescence. Early intervention, training for teachers, and safe spaces in schools can make a difference that lasts a lifetime.
Another panel will examine leadership and mental wellness. Leaders are often expected to carry burdens quietly. Dr. Samuel aims to challenge that model and encourage leaders to be vulnerable, to seek help, and to build cultures of mental care in their organizations.
He also intends to open dialogue on how faith communities can contribute. Many people turn first to spiritual leaders when facing distress, but those leaders may lack training to recognize serious mental illness. The summit will offer frameworks for faith-based mental health ministry that honors theology and supports professional collaboration.
Dr. Samuel has arranged for mental health resources to be shared during the summit, including screening tools, referral networks, and guides to self-help. One goal is that no attendee leaves without a path forward, for themselves or others they care about.
He expects that today’s summit will ripple beyond its immediate audience. Through recorded sessions, shareable graphics, and media coverage, Dr. Samuel hopes the message spreads to remote corners, reaching people who may never otherwise encounter mental health resources.
“This is not just an event,” he told organizers. “It is a movement. A call to wake up. To look inward. To care for one another in ways we have long ignored.” His tone carries urgency, but also hope.
Already, mental health networks around the world are watching. Partnerships, collaborations, and new initiatives may arise from today’s gathering. Dr. Samuel’s summit could become a turning point in how communities approach mental well-being.
For many participants, the summit will be more than professional development. It will be personal. It is expected to help people name what they have struggled with, to see they are not alone, and to step toward healing.
As the world marks World Mental Health Day, Dr. Akinyemi O. Samuel stands at the forefront of a needed awakening. He reminds us that pandemics need not be visible to be deadly, and that healing begins when we name what has long been ignored.
If you care about mental health, spiritual wellness, leadership, or human dignity, this summit is a moment you cannot afford to miss. Join the conversation, listen deeply, and consider how you can be part of the movement that brings light into hidden struggles.
As the world marks World Mental Health Day today, October 10, the global spotlight turns toward a groundbreaking event, the Mental Health Capacity Summit 2025, hosted by the Mental Health Capacity Foundation under the leadership of Dr. Akinyemi O. Samuel (Psalm Ebube). The summit brings together global mental health experts, leaders, and advocates for a transformative virtual conference themed “Breaking the Silence: Men’s Mental Health and Access to Care in Times of Crisis.”
The virtual summit, which begins at 10 AM (PST) and 1 PM (EST), aims to bridge the gap between awareness and action, addressing the pressing need for accessible mental health care for men around the world. In a time when mental illness remains one of humanity’s most silent pandemics, this event is not just a conference. It is a movement of hope and healing.
Dr. Akinyemi O. Samuel, Founder of the Mental Health Capacity Foundation and one of Africa’s most influential voices in mental health advocacy, emphasizes that the time for silence has ended. “We are living in a world where strength has been misdefined,” he says. “Men have been taught to suppress emotions, but silence has never saved anyone. It has buried too many.”
The summit features an outstanding lineup of international speakers, including HRH Dr. Clyde Rivers, President of iChange Nations, who serves as the Special Guest Speaker. Dr. Rivers is globally recognized for his work in civility, peace, and leadership development, and his presence adds immense depth to the summit’s mission.
Other distinguished speakers include Dr. Ira Roach III, Dr. Allen Mallari, Dr. Vince Gomez, Pastor Gary L. Wilkerson, Dejan Stancer, Dr. Cicone Prince, Dr. Rev. Temesgen Fissehaye, Dr. Michael Freeland, Coach Joe Grey, Chad M. Smith, Dr. Veney Cochran, Dr. Jesse Salgado, Dr. R. Harrison Baxter, and Dr. Michael Holland. Together, this diverse panel represents a global tapestry of expertise, compassion, and commitment to mental wellness.
This year’s theme could not be more timely. Around the world, millions of men continue to battle depression, anxiety, and burnout, often in silence. The summit seeks to dismantle the cultural and societal barriers that prevent men from seeking help. “Half of those struggling never seek treatment,” Dr. Samuel notes. “Stigma and ignorance are still the biggest barriers to healing.”
Through interactive sessions and personal narratives, speakers will share both scientific insights and lived experiences. The event promises to address the intersection of mental health and leadership, the psychological toll of global crises, and the power of collective healing.
Dr. Samuel has long advocated that mental health is not a gendered issue. It is a human issue. His foundation has spent years creating programs that foster resilience, emotional intelligence, and community support across continents. Today’s summit represents the culmination of years of advocacy aimed at building a world where emotional wellness is treated with the same urgency as physical health.
HRH Dr. Clyde Rivers’ involvement underscores the importance of integrating civility and compassion into global mental health discourse. His philosophy of recognizing the value of every human life aligns perfectly with the foundation’s mission to ensure no one suffers in silence.
The summit is expected to reach thousands of participants from different parts of the world. Through digital connectivity, this event bridges borders, bringing together mental health professionals, policymakers, faith leaders, educators, and individuals seeking transformation.
According to Dr. Samuel, mental health challenges among men often manifest through withdrawal, anger, addiction, and burnout. “We have celebrated endurance and called it strength,” he says. “But endurance without expression leads to explosion. It’s time to redefine what it means to be strong.”
Each speaker brings a wealth of experience to the conversation. From clinical insights to spiritual guidance, the panel will explore the psychological effects of crises, trauma recovery, and strategies for building mental resilience.
The inclusion of faith-based leaders and coaches reflects a holistic approach, one that acknowledges that mental healing involves the mind, body, and spirit. It also reinforces the belief that hope and science can coexist in addressing global mental health challenges.
World Mental Health Day is observed annually to raise awareness and promote global mental health advocacy. This year’s summit expands that mission by focusing on “Access to Care” during emergencies, a subject especially relevant in a post-pandemic world.
Dr. Samuel’s leadership continues to inspire many across Africa and beyond. As a mental health advocate, author, and humanitarian, he remains committed to building what he calls “a resilient generation,” one equipped with tools for emotional healing and spiritual balance.
The event also sheds light on how men can support one another. It encourages conversations within families, workplaces, and communities, ensuring that emotional struggles are no longer hidden or ignored. “Healing begins with permission,” says Dr. Samuel. “Permission to speak, to feel, and to seek help.”
The summit’s organizers have emphasized that the conversation does not end today. The Mental Health Capacity Foundation will continue to organize capacity-building programs, leadership workshops, and awareness campaigns throughout the year.
Today’s gathering represents a global turning point. It challenges societal norms, redefines masculinity, and empowers men to live authentically. It is a declaration that the days of silent suffering are over.
In his closing message, Dr. Samuel urges the world to act. “We cannot continue to lose fathers, brothers, and leaders to silence. Healing is not a weakness. It is wisdom. When men heal, nations heal.”
The Mental Health Capacity Summit 2025 is more than a conference. It is a call to action. It invites the world to replace silence with empathy, stigma with understanding, and isolation with connection.
As the world watches, this summit stands as a beacon of hope. It reminds us that mental health is not just a personal responsibility. It is a shared global mission.
To be part of this life-changing event, participants can register and join the conversation live at https://streamyard.com/watch/6K6hiEEvBpBR. The journey to healing begins today.
