There is some confusion and misunderstanding about what mental health promotion is. Although it relates to mental iIlness, it is not solely aimed at people with mental health problems, nor is it about promoting mental health services. Mental health promotion is a wider field of activity with significant potential for contributing to population, community and individual well-being.

Mental health promotion involves any action to enhance the mental well-being of individuals, families, organisations and communities. It aims to increase the factors that promote mental health and reduce those that undermine it. These ‘determinants' of mental health include living conditions, education, income, employment, social support, personal competencies and access to community resources. They have an impact at a number of levels - on individuals, families, communities, organisations and wider society. Mental health promotion therefore involves action at all these levels.

Good mental health is a goal that most of us share, and effective mental promotion can support us in reaching it. Mental health promotion enables people to understand their mental health and develop the knowledge, skills and abilities that will allow them to enjoy mental well-being and recognise and manage mental distress. To be successful however, people need policy and decision makers to create living and working environments that promote mental health and allow them to attain mental well-being.

It is important to recognise that everyone has mental health needs, whether or not they have a diagnosis of mental illness. Mental health promotion is therefore relevant to, and can benefit everyone. For example, mental health promotion programmes that target communities or workplaces will also include and positively benefit people with mental health problems.

Models of Mental Health Promotion

Several models of mental health promotion are available to guide thinking and practice. 'The 10 element map of mental health, its promotion and demotion', below, has been widely used in and outside the West Midlands. Click here for an explanation of the map.

 

Why Promote Mental Health

"There is no health without mental health"

(WHO European Declaration on Mental Health 2005)

Mental health is important. Our mental health affects what we think and feel about ourselves and others and how we understand the world around us. It impacts upon our capacity to communicate and to form and sustain relationships. It influences how well we deal with change and life events such as having a baby, losing a job, becoming a carer, moving house and experiencing bereavement. It also has a strong relationship with the quality of our physical health.

We all have the right to good mental health and the benefits of mental health promotion for individuals, organisations and society as a whole are significant. They include:

• Improved resilience, self-esteem and quality of life
• Stronger family relationships
• Higher attainment and improved behaviour in schools
• Less stigma in relation to mental illness and more socially cohesive communities
• Higher productivity and reduced sickness absence in workplaces