Mind Looks To The Future Of Wellbeing And Mental Health, UK

Main Category: Mental Health
Also Included In: Psychology / Psychiatry
Article Date: 30 Nov 2009 - 0:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions  

Today hundreds of people with mental health problems will attend Mind's annual conference in Brighton to help the charity launch a fresh debate around 'wellbeing' and discuss how we can improve the mental health of the nation.

As public awareness grows for the idea that everyone can do something to improve their mental health, conference delegates will be challenging the experts on how the wellbeing agenda will shape our lives and change the face of mental health care in the future.

Over the last decade the government's plan for mental health care has been set out in the National Service Framework, and this winter the 10-year strategy has come to a close leaving the door open for a rethink on mental health care.

Wellbeing will be at the heart of the Government's New Horizons strategy, due to be published shortly, and will look not just at mental health services but at how wellbeing can be made a priority in other areas of our lives. At this pivotal moment, the Mind conference is calling on delegates to air their views and concerns on how mental health services will be affected, and to help inform Mind's work.

Expert speakers will include Dr Liz Miller, mental health specialist and author whose new book Mood Mapping on managing mood and mental health is quickly becoming a bestseller. Dr Miller's expertise on wellbeing helps her to manage bipolar disorder medication-free. Other speakers include wellbeing advocate and headmaster of Wellington College Dr Anthony Seldon, along with some of his students who will talk about how the school instils young people with wellbeing skills and positive psychology, and author Dr Richard Bentall who is renowned for his work on clinical psychology.

Mind's Chief Executive Paul Farmer will be speaking and chairing at the conference, he said:

Wellbeing is a popular term at the moment that is cropping up in all kinds of places, and we're looking to dig beneath the buzzword and discuss what it means for people with mental distress, and how wellbeing should be integrated into the future mental health agenda.

Mental health issues cost £77 billion a year and investing in mental wellbeing has the potential to not only transform the experiences of millions of people with mental health problems, but to bring wide-ranging benefits to the economy and society as a whole.

We hope to see a shift in focus towards the promotion of wellbeing as a way of preventing mental distress and these conferences will be a great way to inform Mind's future work in this area.

Source
MIND

• Additional
• References
• Citations