Mental health promotion can be a difficult concept to grasp. Mental health promotion is often seen as public education, as compared to service delivery for people with mental illness. This polarization excludes the many vibrant mental health promotion approaches for people with mental illness.
Mental Health is….
- More than lack of mental illness
- About individual capacity and resilience
- Fundamental to health of individuals and society
- About a sense of control
- Multi-faceted
Mental Health Promotion….
- Aims to achieve positive mental health outcomes
- May focus on promoting the mental health of people with mental illness
- Enhances capacity to take control over life and improve mental health
- Helps people take charge of circumstances that affect mental health
- Focuses on assets rather than deficits; builds on foundation of empowerment
- Involves intersectoral linkages, participation in decisions about life and health, and collective action based on shared values
- Promotes well-being by enhancing access to mental health determinants, strengthening protective factors, and mitigating risk factors
- Requires respect for civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights
Health Nexus Resources
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Mental Health Promotion in Ontario: A Call to Action (PDF) |
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Discussion Paper on Mental Health Promotion (PDF)
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Post-partum mood disorders |
Other Resources
Documents
- Promoting Mental Health: Concepts, Emerging Evidence, Practice (PDF) World Health OrganizationThis report describes the concept of mental health and its promotion. It tries to arrive at a degree of consensus on common characteristics of mental health promotion as well as variations across cultures.