Through several standardised programmes, psychological crises in school and tertiary education settings are turned into something that can be openly discussed.

Irrsinnig Menschlich was founded on 3 April 2000 by Matthias Claus Angermeyer, then head of the Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics at Leipzig University, and the journalist Manuela Richter-Werling.

[5][6] Despite continuous improvement in treatment options, stigma is one of the biggest obstacles worldwide to ensuring that people seek help early.

[7] The core competence of Irrsinnig Menschlich lies in developing low-threshold universal prevention programmes and in implementing and scaling them on a supra-regional level with the support of numerous partners providing psychosocial care services.

[8][9] The organisation was founded after the publication of the second of two social surveys on attitudes towards mental illnesses and people who experience them conducted by Matthias Claus Angermeyer in Germany in 1990 and 2000.

It was against this background that the World Psychiatric Association (WPA), in 1996 started the global programme Open the Doors aimed at fighting stigmatisation and discrimination against people with mental health issues.

Due to the success of the school programme, Irrsinnig Menschlich started to develop, test and expand this service to colleges, universities and companies in 2016.

Irrsinnig Menschlich is a member of the global BMW Foundation Responsible Leaders Network[16] and contributes to achieving UN Sustainable Development Goals[17] 3 (Good Health and Well-Being), 4 (Quality Education), 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).

[8] As research shows, the combination of information, education and contact with other members of the stigmatised group is the most effective way to reduce stigma.

Good mental health at school is distributed via social franchising in Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

It shows that costs are reduced by 80 billion Euro for every percentage point of ill pupils in any one year group who start an early treatment after participating in the Mental?