NEW YORK (Oct. 10, 2026) — On World Mental Health Day, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is proud to announce the launch of its Resilience Program, a new science-based initiative to strengthen the mental health, leadership capacity, and long-term effectiveness of human rights defenders operating under authoritarian regimes.
Democracy defenders routinely face surveillance, imprisonment, threats, smear campaigns, exile, and sustained pressure against themselves and their families. Yet the psychological consequences of confronting authoritarian repression remain significantly understudied. Existing research on trauma and burnout among human rights professionals rarely focuses on those working under dictatorships.
HRF’s Resilience Program seeks to close this gap by bringing together clinical research, direct training, peer support, and access to mental health services. The program applies insights from neuroscience and trauma research to the realities of frontline activism, through four core areas of work:
- Research: HRF is collaborating with researchers at the University of California, San Francisco — including Dr. Elissa Epel — to study the mental health of democracy defenders and evaluate interventions designed for this population.
- Direct training: HRF will continue its flagship Resilience Retreat at Blue Spirit in Costa Rica and expand regional resilience training for activists working under repression.
- Ongoing support: Retreat alumni will have access to facilitated peer-support sessions and additional mental health resources throughout the year.
- Education and access to care: Research findings will be translated into practical training for HRF’s broader activist network, and microgrants will support mental health professionals and institutions providing direct services to activists in repressive environments.
The program builds on HRF’s existing Resilience Retreat, which brings together frontline activists and leading experts in trauma, neuroscience, contemplative practice, and leadership development. Retreat programming focuses on applied neuroscience, nervous system regulation, trauma recovery, peer support, and practical tools that activists can integrate into their leadership and movement work.
Authoritarian regimes understand that repression is not only political or physical,” said Jhanisse Vaca Daza, director of HRF’s Resilience Program. “Fear, exhaustion, isolation, and trauma can weaken leaders and movements over time. Our goal is to bring the best available science directly to the people confronting that pressure and help them remain healthy, effective, and engaged in the struggle for freedom.”
The program is also bringing together a multidisciplinary Resilience Faculty of leading experts in trauma, stress, neuroscience, contemplative practice, and leadership to help guide its scientific integrity and long-term direction.
Over time, HRF aims to expand the program’s research partnerships, regional programming, educational content, and access to mental health support, while building a global network of practitioners and democracy defenders focused on resilience under repression.
HRF is deeply grateful to The Reynolds Foundation and other supporters whose generosity made the launch of the Resilience Program possible and is enabling this work to move from pilot efforts into a sustained institutional initiative.
Resilience Program
To learn more about HRF’s Resilience Program, visit our program website.
About the Human Rights Foundation
The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that promotes and protects human rights globally, with a focus on closed societies. HRF works alongside human rights defenders and dissidents through direct support, advocacy, research, technology, education, and global platforms, including the Oslo Freedom Forum.
