Mental health policy and practice across Europe: an overview

Foreword by the Minister of Health and Care Services of Norway
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only about people with mental health problems, but also about whether or not
mental health should be seen as a priority issue for public investment.
One very visible experience in Norway can perhaps provide some insight. In
1998, our then Prime Minister, Kjell Magne Bondevik, made public the fact that
he had to take three weeks off work because of depression. Mental health
became a headline issue in the media and was generally received in a positive
and sympathetic way by the general public. Undoubtedly this disclosure acted
as a catalyst for both an improved public understanding of mental health problems
and also the need for action to improve mental health across many sectors,
including in the workplace, school and local community as well as in the health
care system.
Throughout this book there is an emphasis on a holistic multi-sectoral, multidimensional
and evidence-based approach to mental health policy and practice.
While it is argued that there is a growing and increasingly robust evidence base
on effective interventions, too often there remain gaps in service provision. Our
ten-year National Programme for Mental Health, adopted in 1998, called for
major investment, expansion and reorganization of services. Empowering service
users and family members to participate in all levels of decision-making has
been core to this programme. Services should be developed in an appropriate
way to meet the needs of these stakeholders. Other key objectives have been
to improve public awareness of mental health issues through education
programmes; strengthen community-based prevention and early intervention
services; expand specialized mental health services for adults, adolescents
and children; improve the mental health workforce; improve the accessibility
of accommodation and housing for clients of mental health services; and
stimulate education and research.
This book rightly puts an emphasis not just on good treatment and rehabilitation
but also on the promotion of good mental well-being. In Norway, actions
to promote the mental well-being of the population can also be seen, for
instance through initiatives such as the national programme for healthpromoting
workplaces or through the network for health-promoting schools.
In Helsinki, in January 2005, Ministers of Health from all across Europe,
together with the World Health Organization, the European Union and the
Council of Europe, endorsed a Declaration and Action Plan for mental health. In
2006, the European Union also published a Green Paper and launched a public
consultation on its future strategy for mental health. Many actions have already
been taken in Norway and in other countries. In our Government Programme
from October 2005 we prioritize support and services for children and adolescents
with mental health and drug problems. There is a growing acknowledgement
all over Europe that we must put mental health higher on the agenda.
This book provides a valuable insight into many of the most pressing policy
challenges which confront Europe’s mental health systems today. It can also be
of great assistance in understanding the differing contexts for system reform
and will help to bolster efforts to turn recent fine intentions and potential
actions into concrete policy and practice across Europe.
Sylvia Brustad
Minister of Health and Care Services, Norway