Legal
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The Mind Project is a mental health media and resource platform operated by Deep Light Media Limited. Every editorial decision is measured against one question: does this content make someone in distress safer, or does it put them at greater risk? Safety is the foundation of everything we publish. It is not negotiable.
We are not a clinical service, a crisis line, or a substitute for professional mental health care. We use storytelling, clinically reviewed information, and community to reduce stigma and help people feel less alone. That is the whole job.
All editorial decisions are made by The Mind Project editorial team. No funder, partner, advertiser, or institutional donor directs our content. Where funding relationships exist, they are disclosed.
We publish content in five categories, each with its own editorial standards:
We do not publish: unverified health claims, content that romanticises or aestheticises mental health crisis, promotional or advertorial content, or content without the consent of the people it features.
The Mind Project's credibility rests on the quality and accuracy of its content. This section explains how our clinical and condition content is reviewed, who reviews it, and what standards apply — so that readers and professionals can trust what they read here.
The following content is subject to clinical review before publication:
Lived-experience narratives are not clinically reviewed for their content — a person's experience is their own — but they are reviewed for safe messaging compliance and to ensure appropriate content warnings and crisis resources are in place.
Clinical review is conducted by qualified mental health professionals registered with the Kenya Counsellors and Psychologists Board (CPB) or equivalent recognised bodies. Reviewers hold relevant postgraduate qualifications in clinical psychology, counselling psychology, psychiatry, or a related discipline. Every clinically reviewed piece carries a note identifying that it has been reviewed by a qualified professional and the date of review.
The Mind Project's clinical review is led by professionals with verifiable qualifications and current professional registration. We do not publish clinical content reviewed only by non-specialists.
Mental health evidence evolves. Every clinically reviewed page displays its last review date. Content is re-reviewed at least every two years, and immediately where significant new evidence, guideline changes, or safety information emerges. Outdated content is updated or clearly marked as under review.
Nothing on this platform constitutes medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The Mind Project is an editorial and information platform. If you are experiencing a mental health crisis, contact Befrienders Kenya: +254 722 178 177, Childline Kenya: 116, or Emergency Services: 999.
Clinical review ensures our content is accurate and safe — but it does not make our content a substitute for personal clinical care. Every person's mental health is unique. Our condition guides describe conditions in general terms; they cannot diagnose you, and they cannot replace an assessment by a registered professional who knows your specific circumstances. We always encourage readers to consult a CPB-registered practitioner for personal clinical guidance. Verify a practitioner at cpb.go.ke.
How the media reports on suicide and mental illness can save lives or cost them. The Mind Project follows international safe messaging standards rigorously. This section explains exactly what those standards are and how we apply them, so that readers, professionals, and partners can trust our content.
Following the January 2025 High Court ruling that decriminalised attempted suicide in Kenya, we report on suicide as a public health and mental health matter — never as a crime.
The following are prohibited in all Mind Project content, in line with WHO and Samaritans guidelines:
Where we publish content involving suicide, we: focus on the person's life and the broader mental health context rather than the death itself; avoid any detail of method or location; always include help-seeking information; use measured, non-prominent framing; and consider the impact on bereaved families and vulnerable readers. We do not publish suicide notes or speculate on motives.
Content involving self-harm avoids any description of methods, avoids images of injuries or scars, and always pairs the content with support resources. We frame self-harm within a recovery-oriented, non-judgmental context.
Befrienders Kenya (24-hour): +254 722 178 177
Childline Kenya (toll-free): 116
Emergency Services: 999
See our full Crisis Resource Directory.
All editorial staff and contributors complete safe messaging training before producing content on suicide, self-harm, or crisis. This Statement is reviewed annually and updated as WHO and Samaritans guidance evolves. Questions: editorial@themindproject.africa
Some mental health content can be distressing or, for vulnerable readers, potentially triggering. Content warnings give you the information and the choice to decide whether and how to engage with sensitive material. This is a core part of our duty of care.
A content warning (sometimes called a trigger warning) is a short notice placed before a piece of content, alerting you that it discusses a potentially distressing topic. It is not censorship — it is information that lets you make an informed choice about your own wellbeing.
We apply a content warning before any content that includes substantial discussion of:
"Content note: This article discusses suicide and suicidal thoughts. If you are struggling, support is available — Befrienders Kenya: +254 722 178 177. You can choose to continue reading, or return to the homepage."
Content warnings appear at the very top of the content, before any of the substantive material. Where appropriate, sensitive content is placed behind a click-to-reveal so that it does not load automatically. Crisis resources always accompany the warning.
Registered users can set content sensitivity preferences in their account settings. These preferences are stored as a preference cookie (with your consent) and let you choose to have certain categories of content collapsed by default. Your sensitivity settings are never used for any purpose other than displaying content warnings — see our Privacy Policy.
| Category | Applied to |
|---|---|
| Suicide & suicidal ideation | Any substantial discussion; method and location detail is never published |
| Self-harm | Any discussion; methods and graphic imagery are never published |
| Eating disorders | Any discussion; specific weights, calorie counts, and methods are never published |
| Trauma & abuse | Substantial discussion of abuse, assault, or violence |
| Substance use | Substantial discussion of addiction and substance use |
| Grief & loss | Substantial discussion of bereavement, including pregnancy and infant loss |
Community members are asked to add a content note when posting about sensitive topics. Our moderators apply content warnings to community posts where needed, consistent with our Safe Messaging Statement. Posts describing methods of suicide, self-harm, or disordered eating are removed.
Every identifiable person featured in published content on The Mind Project has given informed written consent. This includes:
Anonymous contributions are published under pseudonyms. We never reveal the identity of an anonymous contributor without their explicit, specific, and renewed consent.
"The camera is never neutral. In mental health photography, every decision made before, during, and after the shutter clicks is a moral decision. We treat it as such."
The Mind Project publishes visual stories about mental health across Africa. Photography is one of the most powerful tools for reducing stigma and humanising suffering. It is also one of the most dangerous tools for exploitation, dehumanisation, and harm. The difference is the decisions made before, during, and after the shutter clicks.
Our guiding principle is simple: the dignity of the person photographed comes before everything else. A photograph of a person in mental health distress that serves the story but harms the subject will never be published. No journalistic value and no aesthetic quality justifies overriding it.
This policy applies to all visual content published on The Mind Project, including photo essays, documentary series, individual images in articles, and any images used in social media or promotional materials.
Every identifiable subject in a photograph published by The Mind Project must provide informed written consent before photography begins. Consent obtained after photography, or consent given under pressure, is not valid.
Informed consent means the subject:
Photographers must retain consent documentation and provide it to The Mind Project editorial team before any image is published. We will request this documentation routinely.
Where a subject wishes to remain anonymous, the following anonymisation standards apply:
Anonymisation decisions must be made in consultation with the subject, not unilaterally by the photographer or editor. The subject has final approval of how their anonymisation is implemented.
Photography in psychiatric wards, inpatient facilities, outpatient clinics, therapy rooms, or any formal mental health care setting requires:
No photograph may be taken of a person who is in a state of acute psychiatric crisis, actively hallucinating, in restraint, in a dissociative episode, or otherwise not in a position to give valid consent. These moments may never be photographed for publication.
Photography of people in public spaces, streets, markets, public health facilities, in contexts related to mental health carries additional responsibilities.
While Kenyan and most African jurisdictions permit street photography in public spaces, The Mind Project applies a higher standard than the legal minimum:
The test we apply: Would the person photographed, if they saw this image published, feel their dignity had been respected? If the answer is uncertain, we do not publish.
Photography of minors (under 18) in mental health contexts is subject to the highest level of protection:
The Mind Project does not publish photographs that depict, suggest, or imply:
This prohibition applies regardless of consent. A subject's willingness to be photographed in crisis does not make the photograph appropriate for publication.
These standards are consistent with the WHO/IASP guidelines on media reporting of suicide and the reporting frameworks of Mindframe (Australia) and the Samaritans (UK) Media Guidelines.
Every image published on The Mind Project must include a caption that:
Captions must not contradict or undermine the consent the subject gave. If a subject consented to be photographed as "a person living with anxiety" they may not be captioned as "a schizophrenia patient."
Subjects may withdraw consent at any time before publication. After publication, withdrawal of consent is assessed on a case-by-case basis, but The Mind Project will promptly remove images upon a withdrawal request where:
Withdrawal requests should be directed to editor@themindproject.africa. We will respond within 5 business days.
All photo essays and individual images in articles are subject to editorial review before publication. The review covers:
Photographers submitting work to The Mind Project agree to this policy as a condition of publication. Questions about the policy should be directed to editor@themindproject.africa.
All Therapist's Notes contributors must be registered with a recognised professional body in their country of practice. Their credentials are verified by the editorial team and displayed on every published piece.
Every Therapist's Notes article carries a disclaimer: "Views expressed represent the author's professional perspective and do not constitute clinical advice or establish a therapeutic relationship."
Every entry in the medications guide carries a mandatory disclaimer above the fold: "This information is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Do not start, stop, or change any medication without consulting a qualified doctor or psychiatrist."
Medications guide entries never include dosage recommendations. They are reviewed by a qualified psychiatrist or clinical pharmacologist before publication.
Mental health content carries a special responsibility. The Mind Project's content rests on clinical judgment, human empathy, and lived experience — qualities AI cannot replace. We are transparent about where AI is and is not used.
AI tools play no role in any of the following:
"This article was drafted with AI assistance and reviewed and edited by [Name], [Role], The Mind Project editorial team."
Any content where AI contributed substantially to drafting carries this disclosure beneath the byline. Given the prohibitions in Section 10.1, this applies only to general awareness content — never to clinical, lived-experience, or crisis content.
No personal data of any user, contributor, or community member — and no mental health data of any kind — is ever input into any AI tool. Our agreements with all AI providers prohibit using any input data for model training.
The Mind Project maintains an internal register of all AI tools in use, reviewed quarterly by the Group CEO, available to regulators and partners on request.
This policy is reviewed quarterly. Last reviewed: May 2026. Questions: editorial@themindproject.africa
Inaccurate mental health information can cause real harm. We correct errors promptly, transparently, and prominently. We never silently delete or amend content. This Policy is grounded in the Media Council of Kenya Code 2025 and our Editorial Charter.
| Type | Timeline |
|---|---|
| Clinical or safety error | Reviewed urgently; corrected within 24 hours |
| Other digital content error | Within 48 hours of identification |
| Newsletter | Next scheduled edition |
| Social media | Within 24 hours |
Any error that could affect a reader's safety — for example, incorrect crisis line numbers, or inaccurate medication safety information — is treated as an emergency and corrected immediately, ahead of all other work.
| corrections@themindproject.africa | |
| Response time | Within 2 working days (clinical/safety errors: same day) |
| Include | The article URL, the error, and the correct information with a source if possible |
Unsatisfied with our response? Refer the matter to the Media Council of Kenya at mediacouncil.or.ke.
All community spaces on The Mind Project are actively moderated. Moderation removes content that is harmful, stigmatising, abusive, or that violates the safety of other community members. Moderators are trained in mental health-informed moderation.
Community spaces require users to be 18 or over, or to have parental or guardian consent. See our Privacy Policy for how community participation data is handled.