Since its inception, WHO has included mental well-being in the definition of health. Three ideas central to the improvement of health follow from this definition: mental health is an integral part of health, mental health is more than the absence of mental illness, and mental health is intimately connected with physical health and behavior. Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. Mental health and mental disorders are not opposites, and mental health is “not just the absence of mental disorder”.
The fields of mental health, psychiatry and public health have a long history of weak interactions, despite the possibilities for a stronger working relationship. The interest has grown recently for two main reasons. First, mental health is increasingly seen as fundamental to physical health and quality of life and thus needs to be addressed as an important component of improving overall health and well-being. The twin aims of improving mental health and lowering the personal and social costs of mental ill-health require a public health approach. Within a public health framework, the activities that can improve health include the promotion of health, the prevention of illness and disability, and the treatment and rehabilitation of those affected. These are different from one another, even though the actions and outcomes overlap. They are all required, are complementary, and no one is a substitute for the other.
In this Research Topic, we introduce the field of Public Mental Health by contributing most recent research from different perspectives such as psychiatry (Somanth Chatterij, Josep Haro, Christian Schmahl), public health (Sandro Galea, minister of Health from Lithuania, Gunnar Tellness), psychology (Rolf Kleber) and public mental health (Jutta Lindert, Johan Bilsen, Marija Jakubaskiene).
Since its inception, WHO has included mental well-being in the definition of health. Three ideas central to the improvement of health follow from this definition: mental health is an integral part of health, mental health is more than the absence of mental illness, and mental health is intimately connected with physical health and behavior. Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. Mental health and mental disorders are not opposites, and mental health is “not just the absence of mental disorder”.
The fields of mental health, psychiatry and public health have a long history of weak interactions, despite the possibilities for a stronger working relationship. The interest has grown recently for two main reasons. First, mental health is increasingly seen as fundamental to physical health and quality of life and thus needs to be addressed as an important component of improving overall health and well-being. The twin aims of improving mental health and lowering the personal and social costs of mental ill-health require a public health approach. Within a public health framework, the activities that can improve health include the promotion of health, the prevention of illness and disability, and the treatment and rehabilitation of those affected. These are different from one another, even though the actions and outcomes overlap. They are all required, are complementary, and no one is a substitute for the other.
In this Research Topic, we introduce the field of Public Mental Health by contributing most recent research from different perspectives such as psychiatry (Somanth Chatterij, Josep Haro, Christian Schmahl), public health (Sandro Galea, minister of Health from Lithuania, Gunnar Tellness), psychology (Rolf Kleber) and public mental health (Jutta Lindert, Johan Bilsen, Marija Jakubaskiene).
