Editor-in-Chief:
Beáta Dávid, PhD
Editorial Office:
Ildikó Danis, PhD – Coordinator of the Editorial Office
Bálint Balázs, PhD
Zoltán Brys
Cinderella Komolafe
Ágnes Lukács, PhD
Zsuzsanna Papp, PhD
Melinda Pénzes, MD, PhD
Szabolcs Török, MD, PhD
Editorial Secretary:
Orsolya Sármásy
Melinda Winkler
Mailing address: H-1428 Budapest, POBox 2, Hungary
Address: H-1089 Budapest, Nagyvárad tér 4., 19. em., Hungary
E-mail: ejmh-editor@public.semmelweis-univ.hu
PROFESSIONAL INTRODUCTIONS
Beáta Dávid, PhD – Editor-in-Chief
Background
I am a professor and the director of the Institute of Mental Health at Semmelweis University since 2013. I am the coordinator of the sociological doctorate program of Mental Health Sciences and a vice-dean of Scientific and Educational Affairs at the Faculty of Health and Public Services of Semmelweis University. I am also a lecturer at the Faculty of Education and Psychology, Eotvos Lorand University. I am the research chair at the Centre for Social Sciences, Hungarian Academy of Sciences Centre of Excellence. Since 2011 I am the president of HUNNET, Hungarian Network for Social Network Analysis, and the board chair of Home Start Hungary since 2016. I hold an MA Degree in Sociology and in English Language and Literature, and graduated at Eotvos Lorand University in 1992. My research interests include social network analysis, social capital, sociology of health, family, and ethnicity; I wrote several books and papers, so far three published in Social Networks, one of the most prestigious journals in social network analysis.
Role at the European Journal of Mental Health:
I was in the Editorial Board of the European Journal of Mental Health since my directorship at the Institute. From 2022, I am the Editor-in-Chief of the journal.
Purpose:
I am determined that the European Journal of Mental Health will be scored higher and reach an IF in a few years. To reach this goal I apply for all kinds of support, in 2022 for the first time I succeeded to get a significant subsidy from Semmelweis University to renew the journal. I believe in teamwork, and I try to encourage it through my editorial decisions to promote the development of the journal
Research interests:
- social network analysis
- sociology of family
- interpersonal relationships
Ildikó Danis, PhD – Coordinator of the Editorial Office
Background
I have an MA and a PhD in Developmental Psychology from Eotvos Lorand University Budapest. At the beginning of my career, I worked on attachment research at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Later I was an expert in EU-co-funded early childhood projects in the fields of health, social and educational sciences. Since 2014, I have been working at the Institute of Mental Health at Semmelweis University in several teaching and research positions. Currently, I am a senior research fellow, and one of my main tasks is the coordination of our doctoral program, and mentoring doctoral students, and another is the coordination of the work of the Editorial Office of the European Journal of Mental Health. I have qualifications in clinical health psychology, parent-infant/young child consultation, couple and family therapy, and relaxation therapy, so I also work as a psychologist with children, adults, couples, and families.
Role at the European Journal of Mental Health:
From the spring of 2022, I coordinate the work of the Editorial Office. As an Associate Editor, I am also responsible for following the manuscripts from submission to publication, but a large part of my job is to define and coordinate tasks related to the strategic planning and development directions of the journal.
Purpose:
In the journal, I encourage the developmental and life span perspectives, the systems approach, and the social-ecological aspects in the background of mental health. I believe in resource-based and resilience approaches to the prevention and promotion of mental health. I would like the journal to be able to publish manuscripts and provide a space for professional discourse that places mental health in a broader, complex context.
Research interests:
- infant and early childhood development and mental health (IECMH)
- transition to parenthood, parenting, couple relationship, and family functioning
- impact of relational trauma on the life course
Bálint Balázs, PhD
Background
After I completed an MA in Sociology at Eotvos Lorand University (ELTE) and an MA in History at Central European University (CEU), I did my PhD in Environmental Sciences at Szent Istvan University (now MATE). As a founding member and Senior Research Fellow of the Environmental Social Science Research Group (ESSRG), I have acted as managing director of the ESSRG Nonprofit Ltd team since 2009.
As an environmental sociologist, I enjoy working on knowledge co-creation in transdisciplinary, deliberative settings with diverse stakeholders. Acting as a Board member of the Environment & Society Research Network (RN12) of the European Sociological Association (ESA), I am an enthusiast of qualitative (participatory, cooperative) research methodologies.
Role at the European Journal of Mental Health:
In the editorial team, I am responsible for optimizing editorial processes, quality assurance of the review process, and pre-screening manuscripts.
Purpose:
Our well-being, mental health, resilience, and natural environment are immensely intertwined. At the European Journal of Mental Health, I am committed to strengthening the journal’s focus on the profoundly complex mental health impacts of climate change and biodiversity extinction. I believe resilience thinking creates a solid conceptual link between mental health and the natural environment.
Research interests:
- sustainable food systems and policies
- participatory methods, cooperative research
- integration of well-being, mental health, resilience thinking with access to nature, complex impacts of climate change and biodiversity extinction on our society’s mental health
Zoltán Brys
Background
I am a PhD-student at Semmelweis University and a Junior Research Fellow at the Centre for Social Science in Budapest. I am a health sociologist using computational methods. My PhD research focuses on the correlates of tobacco-use-free homes, while at the Centre for Social Science, I am involved in various Covid-19-pandemics-related behavioral research.
Role at the European Journal of Mental Health:
In the editorial team, I am responsible for improving the scientific and editorial quality of the journal.
Purpose:
It is long known that mental health is a dynamic and multicausal phenomena, as such, it requires a multidisciplinary approach to understand. I hope that the European Journal of Mental Health will become an important information source about the bio-socio-ecological approach to mental health.
Research interests:
- health sociology
- social psychology of health
- sustainability and ecology
Cinderella Komolafe
Background
I have a bachelor’s degree in nursing (Semmelweis University) and a master’s degree in sociology (Pazmany Peter University). Currently, I am attending the Sociology Program at the School of PhD Studies at Semmelweis University. My main topic in the PhD program is Roma–non-Roma interethnic relationships and integration.
Role at the European Journal of Mental Health:
In the editorial team, I am responsible for the pre-screening of manuscripts.
Purpose:
European Journal of Mental Health provides an opportunity for the publication of research from different scientific fields within the topic of mental health, thereby supporting the scientific dialogue on the topic. Since mental health affects several aspects of human life, we need places like this where we can read authentic, scientific papers on the subject. I believe that as the issue of mental health gains more and more space in scientific life, the role of European Journal of Mental Health will also become more and more integral.
Research interests:
- ethnicities and interethnic relations
- sociology of family
- sociology of health
Ágnes Lukács J., PhD
Background
I am a sociologist, working as an assistant lecturer at the Department of Social Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Semmelweis University. I currently teach sociology of health. I did my PhD in Sociology (Semmelweis University) in 2019. My research primarily focuses on social relations and social support.
Role at the European Journal of Mental Health:
I am an Associate Editor, responsible for screening and following the manuscripts from submission to publication.
Purpose:
European Journal of Mental Health creates a very special and inspiring interdisciplinary forum with the latest research results on well-being from the viewpoint of different disciplines.
Research interests:
- social network analysis
- sociology of health
- ethnicities
Zsuzsanna Papp, PhD
Background
I hold master’s degrees in communication and media studies, Hungarian language and literature, and psychology from Eotvos Lorand Science University. I consider myself a psychologist with an interdisciplinary approach and systemic thinking both in practice and in research. I carried out my Ph.D. studies at the Mental Health Sciences Doctoral School of Semmelweis University. My research is focusing on the effectiveness of psychosocial rehabilitation programs for children with serious illnesses and for their families. Since 2020 I work at the Institute of Mental Health in curriculum development and lecturing in various graduate and postgraduate programs.
Role at the European Journal of Mental Health:
In the editorial team, I am responsible for internal and external communication.
Purpose:
Mental health is in the “zeitgeist”, and is evolvingly present in more and more facets of our societies. The European Journal of Mental Health is committed to supporting and publishing quality research grasping the inter- and transdisciplinary complexity of mental health, contributing to its better understanding. I believe the European Journal of Mental Health has the potential in becoming a lively, diverse, in-depth- and scientifically significant platform for the common cross-sections of various applied sciences.
Research interests:
- psychosocial rehabilitation programs for seriously ill children
- wellbeing of families raising children with chronic conditions
- couple and family interventions from a systemic perspective
Melinda Pénzes, MD, PhD
Background
I hold an MD degree from the University of Szeged, Hungary, and have a postgraduate specialty in preventive medicine and public health. I did my PhD in Health Sciences (Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary), and I am also a trained smoking cessation counselor. Currently, I work at the Health Services Management Training Center at Semmelweis University as an assistant professor. I am involved in national and international research projects in the field of tobacco and nicotine science, adolescent health behavior, and prevention of chronic non-communicable diseases since 2007.
Role at the European Journal of Mental Health:
I am an Associate Editor of the European Journal of Mental Health; responsible for screening and handling manuscripts.
Purpose:
The broad spectrum of mental illness and the changing landscape of threats to mental well-being highlights the importance of interdisciplinary approaches in mental health research. European Journal of Mental Health provides an open-access scientific platform for scientists to share their most recent findings on mental health issues of culturally and socially diverse European populations.
Research interests:
- health behavior related to significant lifestyle risk factors,
- individual and population-level behavior change interventions,
- public health aspects of mental health.
Szabolcs Török, MD, PhD
Background
I am a pediatrician, psychotherapist, family therapist, and associate professor at the Institute of Mental Health, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
Role at the European Journal of Mental Health:
I am one of the editors at the European Journal of Mental Health, who is mainly responsible for international connections.
Purpose:
I am convinced that to find real answers to current challenges to our mental health is to take a systemic approach to the impacts we all face. The European Journal of Mental Health can be an excellent forum for the scientific study of all these impacts and answers.
Research interests:
- connection between adult attachment and romantic relationships
- theory and practice of Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy
- systemic approach to psycho-social rehabilitation of chronic and life-threatening pediatric diseases
Orsolya Sármásy
Background:
I hold a master’s degree in Sociology and English Language and Literature. In my previous positions, I have worked as a coordinator of projects related to humanitarian aid and social inclusion. I also gained experience in the funding-monitoring aspects of project implementation. Visibility of scientific results is another field I have been active in.
Role at the European Journal of Mental Health:
As one of the editorial assistants, my main role is to follow the life of manuscripts from submission to publishing and provide support for authors and editors in the publishing process.
Purpose:
I do hope that my organizational skills will contribute to the smooth workflow of the Editorial Office. I am also keen to develop the publishing process to be more suitable for prospective authors.
Professional interests:
- visibility of organizations active in the field of social sciences
- dissemination of scientific results
- sociology and psychology in general
Melinda Winkler
Background
I hold a master’s degree in Sociology (Pazmany Peter University, Piliscsaba, Hungary) and completed a Mental Health and Organizational Development Specialist Training Course (Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary). For the most part of my professional activities, I have worked in social inclusion programs for adults with disabilities as a social worker. I am interested in a wide range of projects aimed at social inclusion.
Role at the European Journal of Mental Health:
As one of the editorial assistants, my main role is to communicate, organize, and watch the deadlines carefully.
Purpose:
In my opinion, the European Journal of Mental Health provides a great forum for promoting quality research on human well-being, and exploring new ways of tackling ecological problems. The European Journal of Mental Health also offers a good opportunity to support international collaboration between scientists.
Professional interests:
- social inclusion programs for marginalized groups or minorities
- mental health prevention programs
- support schemes for local community programs