“We need to think about a new strategy for addressing community needs, a new workforce that can emerge deep in community by community & for community.”
Dr. Benjamin Miller, president, Well Being Trust
Dr. Benjamin Miller, president, Well Being Trust, recently contributed to a new report from the The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Global Health (APPG) : New Directions for the Mental Health Workforce.
In the report, the AAPG presents recommendations about how the mental health workforce needs to change dramatically both in its composition and in the way mental health specialists work with the wider public and civil society. The report builds on current trends and developments to set out new directions for the workforce and makes recommendations for governments, international bodies, service providers and educators.
The report makes five major points.
- There is a massive and growing need for mental health services and they need to be given greater priority and increased investment.
- There is a need to continue the development and improvement of services for people with chronic and enduring severe mental ill health as well as for those with more common and less severe illnesses.
- The mental health workforce needs to be widened to integrate non-professionals fully and engage primary care and general health services.
- Mental health workers need to develop new ways to work with people, communities, and organizations on care, prevention of disease, and health creation.
- The education and training of mental health workers needs to be adapted to this new approach and to enable them to work as agents of change, leading and facilitating improvements in mental health across society.
