MENTBEST is a 5-year, 7 million Euro project led by EAAD with a further 13 partners from across Europe. Two years into the project, important milestones have been reached. The trials for COMBINA (adaptation of the proven 4-Level Approach developed by EAAD to treat depression and prevent suicidality for use in vulnerable groups) and MENTINA (a digital tool allowing people to self-manage their depressive symptoms) have both started!

The COMBINA trial started in autumn 2024 and since then more than 55 public events on depression and mental health have taken place and over 90 training sessions on the diagnosis and treatment of depression have been offered to health professionals and community facilitators. Public campaigns to raise awareness on depression and its treatability have been launched.

The project has been running since April 2023 and is working to improve mental health and well-being across Europe, especially for people facing the greatest challenges—such as migrants and refugees, young and older adults, the long-term unemployed, and those already living with mental health conditions.

At project start, inititially first literature reviews and secondary data analyses identifying mental health challenges in Europe and appropriate interventions with a focus on vulnerable groups were conducted. Next, the proven 4-Level Approach developed by EAAD to treat depression and prevent suicidality was adapted for use in vulnerable groups for a new community-based programme called COMBINA. COMBINA is being tested in five regions across Europe where researchers are evaluating how well it works, how much it costs and how easy it is to use.

In addition, a digital tool allowing people to self-manage their depressive symptoms called MENTINA has been developed. Its effectiveness will now be examined in a clinical trial across three countries.

In May 2025, first participants entered the MENTINA trial. It was exciting for the whole consortium when they downloaded the app after more than two years of dedicated work.

Intervention activities will continue over the next two years before the project will launch a refined version of COMBINA including the MENTINA app in the final stage. The aim will be to share this optimised COMBINA intervention more widely, helping other communities adopt effective mental health strategies - with ongoing support from EAAD. For more information visit the MENTBEST website: https://mentbest.com/.