Promotion

8 Concluding comments and the
future of mental health promotion
Introduction
Sylvia Tilford
In the past the promotion of mental health often had lower priority than the promotion
of aspects of physical health. This has changed over the last ten years and mental
health promotion is achieving a much higher profile. Evidence of this has been seen in
the number of effectiveness reviews, national policy statements, a European Ministerial
Conference in 2000, of statements from the WHO and its publication of two major
reports (WHO 2004a, b) and a special issue of the International Union of Health and
Promotion Education (IUHPE) journal in 2005. According to Williams et al. (2005: 7)
international attention is now being devoted to actively creating social and physical
environments that contribute to, and promote positive mental health, while in
the IUHPE special issue Mittelmark (2005) concluded that there is a considerable
momentum for mental health promotion. As explained in the Preface, this book was
written in response to expressed needs for a text which integrated material to inform
mental health promotion practice. In this final chapter we will bring together some
concluding points from the earlier chapters, reflect further on selected themes which
have run through the chapters, and comment on the future needs for mental health
promotion.
The book was organized in accordance with a lifespan approach for the reasons
given in the Preface. The specific divisions of the lifespan which have been used might
be questioned. Phases labelled in some parts of the world, such as ‘adolescence’ and
‘middle years’, may not be recognized in other parts of the world. The meanings
associated with specific phases may also vary. Chapter 4, for example, noted the
differing conceptions of what it is to be a child and the nature of childhood, and
Chapter 7 examined the meanings surrounding the last phase of life. To a great extent
the categories used to divide and describe different points in the lifespan are provisional,
contested and socially created. In most cultures childhood and adulthood are
acknowledged, as is older age, but adulthood may not be subdivided. Adolescence,
also, which is seen as important in some cultures may receive only token, if any,
recognition in others, and a significant transition is from childhood directly to adulthood.
Common sense suggests that there are likely to be some similarities across
cultures in the mental health promotion issues relating to major life events such as
birth and death although there may also be significant differences in the meanings