Editorial
| Date | 01 August 2008 |
| Pages | 2-3 |
| Published date | 01 August 2008 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/17465729200800001 |
| Author | Woody Caan |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care |
EDITORIAL
2journal of public mental health
vol 7 • issue 1
© Pavilion Journals (Brighton) Ltd
Woody Caan
Woody.caan@anglia.ac.uk
editorial
It is a privilege to follow Lynne Friedli as editor
of this unique journal. This summer is a
momentous one, as 13 June 2008 marked the
acceptance of the European Pact for Mental
Health (http://www.ec-mental-health-process
.net/). This includes co-operation on mental health
promotion during adolescence and in the workplace,
along with strategic thinking on suicide prevention.
The scope and diversity of public mental health is
well illustrated by the range of articles in this issue.
Across the UK, 5 July 2008 also marks the 60th
Birthday of the National Health Service (NHS).
There was tremendous resistance from some medical
quarters to including the former county mental health
services within the new NHS, but the potential for
integration meant that 60 years on we can lobby
effectively for ‘No health without mental health’.
Autonomy and social participation are central to
human health and flourishing (Marmot, 2004). The
prominence of population mental health, within
national health inequalities, is finally being recognised
at a strategic level (Department of Health, 2008). In
the UK a number of interesting initiatives have
taken off, around the close link between
employment and mental well-being (Black, 2008)
and linking improved capacity for psychological
support in community settings to improving the
equity of access to trained therapists (Care Sector
Improvement Partnership, 2008). As the number of
people with senile dementia is predicted to double
in the next 30 years (Lewis, 2008) a number of
strategies are evolving across Europe to improve the
lives of older people, both in care homes and living
in the community.
Our lifelong capacity for autonomy and social
participation is often determined by early
experiences, during education and during leisure
with our young peers. This was a major theme of the
new Mayor of London’s State of London Debate on
25 June 2008: ‘New opportunities for young
Londoners’. Some 1,800 people attended the debate,
with roughly equal numbers of young people and
parents speaking (and a handful of professionals)
and a live broadcast on BBC Radio London.
Sadly, many of the young people aged 10–14 in
recent research for Girlguiding UK (2008) do not
feel control over their feelings and problems, and are
socially lonely and unsupported. Bullying, self-harm
and drinking too much alcohol are common aspects
of their social landscape. By the time adolescents
reach 15 or 16, of those who drink at all, 42% of
boys and 40% of girls have already experienced
violence whilst drunk (Hughes et al, 2008). This
violence follows a social gradient, with an odds ratio
of 1.45 for boys or girls living in the poorest
neighbourhoods compared to adolescents in the
wealthiest areas. There was frequent concern
expressed about rising ‘knife crime’ in the State of
London Debate. However, the demonising of
‘teenagers’ as criminal (or at least ‘fledgling
psychopaths’: Caan, 2008) is terribly unhelpful.
Current political polemic against ‘gangs’ of young
people shows a total failure to understand the social
ecology and motivations of most adolescent
‘members’ (Aldridge, 2008). It is also
counterproductive in terms of their alienation. It
may be helpful to begin with the first step from the
Health Education Authority’s Positive Steps for
Mental Health:
‘Accepting who you are’
Consider life a present
To unwrap at your leisure.
Hold it up from every angle
And seek to see – with pleasure.
You are your own legend,
Sometimes just to survive.
To learn each new lesson
Is to be alive.
Two important new developments should increase
our evidence base for public mental health. On 10
July 2008 the Department for Children Schools and
Families launched the Centre for Excellence and
Outcomes in Children and Young People’s services
(C4EO) led by the National Children’s Bureau. This
will compile outcome research under the Every
Child Matters framework, including effective
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