A new vision for mental health

A new vision for mental health is a discussion paper from seven national mental health organisations intended to provoke a debate on the best direction for future mental health policy.

2009 will be a significant year for mental health policy in England.

The government's ten-year plan - the National Service Framework (NSF) for Mental Health - will come to an end, signalling a new era. Important policy choices must be made to ensure both that its achievements are built upon and its shortcomings tackled.

We agree that the underlying aims of future mental health policy must be to:

• overcome persistent barriers to social inclusion that continue to affect those with experience of mental health problems
• improve the whole-life outcomes of those with experience of mental health problems
• improve whole-population mental health.

This will not be easy to achieve, since attitudes have been ingrained over many decades of use, and because medical models of mental health problems have long dominated the debate about the appropriate focus for policy. However, we suggest ways in which we think the vision can be realised.

For the full vision, read the launch press release and the paper below.

Download a New Vision for Mental Health discussion paper (504 KB)