The Sixth World Conference on the Promotion of Mental Health and ...

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also significant. Research also shows that these disasters may also profoundly affect relief and aid workers. Dr. Cardozo stressed that more research and evaluation of interventions are needed to ensure best practices in prevention and treatment. Bringing attendees together to close the program on Friday, Professor Margaret Barry (WHO Collaborating Centre, Ireland) provided an historical perspective of what has been done in the past decade to promote equity in mental health. Within the framework of the Melbourne Charter, she reviewed key research and publications that have defined and addressed inequities in mental health. She also provided an overview of the findings and dialogues generated over the three-day conference, touching on aspects of each strategy, and pulling together the threads from the keynote addresses. Prof. Barry emphasized the need to embrace the shift to a population approach in the field, working across all sectors, and bridging the gap with mental health specialists who work on an individual basis. Actions critical to this process, she noted, are including a wider set of partners, reforming the agenda with stakeholders, and pushing ahead with advocacy and communications, particularly for workforce development. “We need to engage people around imagining what a mentally healthy society would look like,” she stressed. To do so, mental health must be put higher on the global policy agenda, moving to the future. She concluded, “We are sailing in the right direction—we need to change the size of the fleet.” <strong>The</strong> conference ended with an address from Dr. Luther Luedtke, President and CEO of EDC, the incountry co-host of the conference. Dr. Luedtke thanked conference attendees and presenters for their participation, and encouraged them to continue the exchange of ideas for mental health promotion and prevention after the conference. Strategies and <strong>The</strong>mes In addition to the overall theme, Addressing Imbalances: Promoting Equity in Mental Health, the <strong>Sixth</strong> <strong>World</strong> <strong>Conference</strong> was organized around five key strategies: 1. Influencing Policy and the Role of Advocacy 2. Reporting on Research on Promotion and Prevention 3. Developing Stakeholder Partnerships 4. Implementing Effective Programs 5. Developing an Effective Workforce for Promotion and Prevention Within these strategies, workshops and presentations were also grouped by specific theme, allowing presenters and participants to create dialogues and share experience and research in topical areas. <strong>The</strong>se major themes echoed the main principles of the Melbourne Charter. 1. Promoting Mental Health and Community Well Being 2. Exploring Social and Economic Connections to Mental Health 3. Protecting Human Rights, Preventing Discrimination, and Promoting Diversity 4. Preventing Mental Health Disorders 5. Healing from Adverse Experiences and Trauma Keynote presentations provided the springboard for the breakout sessions within each strategy. Workshops were further grouped by topics, allowing attendees and presenters to experience a collaborative discussion of the themes. A brief review of the keynote and plenary addresses for each strategy is provided below. <strong>The</strong> full conference program and abstract books are available at the conference website: http://wmhconf2010.hhd.org/program. 6
Strategy 1: Influencing Policy and the Role of Advocacy Former Prime Minister Kjell Bondevik (Norway), Senator Gordon Smith (US), Senator Michael Kirby (Canada), and Dr. Shekhar Saxena (WHO, Switzerland) began the session with a panel discussion focusing on advocacy as a means of effecting policy for mental health promotion and prevention. Mr. Bondevik spoke of his personal experiences with depression during his term as Prime Minister of Norway, and how he learned the value of speaking out about mental health issues to reduce stigma. He acknowledged the effects of stress and grief and the real impact they have on health and well being. Continuing this personal thread, Sen. Smith discussed how the suicide of his 22-year-old son became the impetus for landmark legislation in the US on youth suicide prevention and early intervention , known as the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act. Advocacy, he said, happened one legislator at a time. Most important, he added, was “putting a human face on a cause that affects too many people.” Sen. Kirby discussed the initiatives in Canada to address issues of mental health, particularly for the first national study of these issues. Out of the Shadows at Last, the final report of the study, was released in May, 2006. Sen. Kirby noted that all eleven members of the committee had first-hand experience in their families with the issues of mental health. Even though they had all known each other for a long time, they had never discussed their personal experiences, indicating how strong the silence has been around mental health issues. What is most important, he emphasized, is the need to create a social movement— to rally the troops to this most important cause. Dr. Saxena called for people to stand out and advocate, to become champions to enact change. Mental health is a human rights issue for those who suffer from mental illness and their families. Moreover, the impact of natural disasters, such as the tsunami in Indonesia or the floods in Pakistan, and military conflict create increasing needs as people cope with the consequences of these events. <strong>The</strong>se events, however, can also create the opportunity to advocate for change, bringing these needs to the forefront through media attention and education. Strategy 1 breakout sessions included a symposium on New and Emerging Approaches to Mental Health Promotion. Additional session topics included Interpretations of symptoms of mental health problems by black parents and youth in economically distressed communities, Behavioral health best practices for indigenous populations, Developing and implementing national strategies for suicide prevention, and North-South partnerships for the promotion of mental health. Strategy 2: Reporting on Research on Promotion and Prevention Professor Corey Keyes (US) and Dr. Carl Bell (US) began the session with presentations on research on promotion and prevention. Prof. Keyes highlighted research looking at models of mental health in relation to mental illness as a continuum from “flourishing” to “languishing.” In addition, results from research with college students and a separate study of twins indicate that there is a strong genetic disposition for positive mental health as well as for mental illness. Despite this component, positive mental health is malleable, he noted. Moreover, the absence of mental illness does not equate to good mental health nor does the presence of mental illness equate to poor mental health. <strong>The</strong> implication is that promoting and protecting good mental health is essential to well being. Dr. Bell focused on early prevention, drawing on research from Preventing Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Disorders Among Young People, a 2009 report from the National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine, which indicated that mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders are developmental. <strong>The</strong> report found that risk factors are not predictive factors due to the presence of protective factors in the prevention of mental illness. Based on these findings, Dr. Bell commented on the need for a paradigm shift in approaching mental illness through early prevention and mental health promotion rather than only treating disorders as they manifest later in the life-course. Looking at factors such as resiliency, developmental competence, and social inclusion, early intervention for individuals and families show 7
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