ABOUT

Our Story

Sanite International was founded by Dr. Jillian Stile on the belief that all human beings deserve access to mental healthcare as a fundamental right, essential for alleviating human suffering.

Amidst a world torn by violence, climate change, political chaos, natural catastrophes, and kidnappings, the need to cultivate psychological resilience has never been more critical. These global crises result in collective trauma, deeply affecting vulnerable populations including children, young people, and women, among others, who are repeatedly exposed to severe stress and adversity. We are committed to bringing community psychoanalysis to extreme trauma zones to help create a world where every human being has access to quality mental healthcare, fostering a society of emotional well-being and resilience.

Sanite International is named after the great Haitian woman warrior, Suzanne (Sanite) Belair, who courageously led the only successful slave revolt in world history. Sanite dedicated her life to fight for the oppressed and universal liberty. She dedicated and sacrificed her life for the cause of freedom and destruction of slavery, to win independence for her people. Sanite International aims to carry forward such consciousness raising in today’s world, providing the women and children of Haiti and throughout the world the opportunity to carry forward the gift and legacy of Sanite’s life and work.

Our Partners

The Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma (HPRT)

The Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma has been caring for the health and mental needs of survivors of mass violence and torture through a combined practice of clinical experience and medical research for the past 40 years.

The Center for Spirituality and Mental Health (CESSA)

The Center for Spirituality and Mental Health (CESSA, the French acronym) is committed to providing a collective healing environment by building a health promotion center for physical, psychological, and spiritual wellness of the nation of Haiti.

Board of Directors

Richard F. Mollica, MD, MAR

 Director, Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma

  • Jillian M. Stile, PhD is a Clinical Psychologist and psychoanalyst. She is Instructor of Clinical Psychology in the Psychiatry Department of Columbia University Medical Center. She serves as Senior Advisor to the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma, Global Mental Health. She teaches PGY-3 residents at the Creedmoor Psychiatric Center, has taught in the School of Human Studies at Ambedkar University of Delhi, and at William James College in Boston. She has conducted asylum evaluations for the Weill Cornell Center for Human Rights. Dr. Stile has attended three annual teachings on the Guide to the Bodhisattva, hosted by H.H. the Dalai Lama at the Namgyal Monastery in Dharamsala, India. Dr. Stile serves as Chair of Programming for the Association for Psychoanalytic Medicine, the Society of Columbia Psychoanalytic. She is a member of the International Psychoanalytical Association and the American Psychoanalytic Association. She has authored articles on the topics of psychoanalysis, culture and identity and presents internationally. She maintains a private practice in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and New York City.

Robert Delaney

Author, Speaker, Internationally respected
authority on trauma and self-care

  • Bob Delaney is an NBA Cares Ambassador, a member of the Sanite Board of Advisors and the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Special Advisor Officiating Development/Performance, and the TAPS Board of Advisors. He served as the NBANBA's Vice President of Referee Operations and Director of Officials, after 25 seasons as an NBA referee. Prior to his career in professional basketball, Delaney was a highly decorated New Jersey State Trooper who went undercover to infiltrate the mafia; causing his post-traumatic stress journey. Delaney's firsthand experiences coupled with a passion to better understand mental health make him an expert on the subject. His efforts to educate and bring attention to the topic of post-traumatic stress have entailed visits to military troops around the world, including multiple trips to Afghanistan and Iraq. Described by retired General Robert Brown, U.S. Army Four Star Commander of the Pacific, as the "person who related to soldiers better than any visitor I have seen in my 36 years in the military," Delaney authored a book on the topic, Surviving the Shadows: A Journey of Hope into Post Traumatic Stress. He is also the author of Covert: My Life Infiltrating the Mob. His most recent book - Heroes are Human...Lessons in Resilience, Courage and Wisdom from the COVID Frontlines shares the emotional toll on our healthcare community as they fought an invisible enemy. He has been the subject of numerous media articles and shows including Dr.Sanjay Gupta CNN. Delaney is with the University South Florida Corporate Training and Professional Education Office as Lead Instructor for Trauma Awareness, Resilience, Selfcare programs.

Jillian M. Stile, PhD

Founder and Executive Director, Sanite International

Senior Advisor, Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma

  • Dr. Mollica is a Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma (HPRT) at Massachusetts General Hospital. Since 1981, Dr. Mollica and HPRT have pioneered the medical and mental health care of survivors of mass violence and torture in the U.S. and abroad. Under Dr. Mollica’s direction, HPRT conducts clinical, training, policy, and research activities for populations affected by mass violence around the world. Dr. Mollica is currently active in clinical work, research, and the development of a Global Mental Health curriculum, focusing on trauma and recovery. The Global Mental Health: Trauma and Recovery certificate program is the first of its kind in global mental health and post- conflict/disaster care. He has published over 160 scientific manuscripts, published his first book called Healing Invisible Wounds: Paths to Hope and Recovery in a Violent World (2006), and his most recent published book is A Manifesto: Healing a Violent World (2018). In 2022, Dr. Mollica received the Equity, Social Justice, and Advocacy Lifetime Achievement Award from Harvard Medical School for his leadership and life-long service to provide and improve health/mental health care for vulnerable populations experiencing healthcare disparities.

Advisory Board

Wismick Jean-Charles, PhD

Bishop of Port-au-Prince, Haiti

  • Wismick Jean-Charles, PhD, priest of the Montfort Missionaries Order, received his Masters degree in Theology from the Urbanianum University in Rome and hisDoctorate in Educational Psychology from Fordham University in New York. He has also received a certificate in Global Mental Health: Trauma & Recovery at the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma.  He is the former Vice-President for Academic Affairs at the Université Notre-Dame d’ Haiti (UNDH) in Haiti. He is currently the Vicar General for his religious Order, in Rome.

    Father Jean-Charles is the founder and the Executive Director of the Center for Spirituality and Mental Health (the acronym CESSA for the French name) in Haiti that blends spirituality with contemporary psychology.  Sanite International, and the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma (HPRT), in collaboration with CESSA, have built in Port-au-Prince, Haiti a health promotion center for women, kids, families and bird under the supervision of Father Wismick.

    On May 31, 2024, Fr Wismick has been appointed by Pope Francis bishop of Port-au-Prince.