Lessons from the Coronavirus Pandemic and learning from the last 50 years: A Worldwide Campaign For Action to Enhance Peoples Mental Health A Charter for Discovery and Recovery 

This is a moment of possibility for human development to improve mental health around the globe. Many lessons have been learnt from our experiences of the Corona Virus and mental health around the world. Some of these we have known about during the last fifty years, but the pandemic has shone a spotlight on these lessons. We realise that we need a greater effort to address them.

Therefore, we seek to build a common purpose, joint action plan between international, national and local Mental Health organisations. We want to provide an opportunity to share experiences, develop a consensus around the need to implement change and then to work on how to develop the practical responses at a local, national and global level.

To advance this agenda we held an International Online Symposium on the 29th July attended by over 40 people from international, regional and local mental health organisations. At the meeting we set out the terms of the campaign and sought to build consensus and create an Action Plan for practical steps that can be taken by local communities and organisations, national governments and international bodies. 

We will be reporting on progress of this new campaign, if you want to get involved contact us here

International and National Responses to the impact of COVID - 19 on mental health needs and services

We are collating information about the responses of international organisations and national governments. Here you will find reports written by IMHCN Members; briefing documents and articles:

• Australian National Emergency Plan The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic is posing significant challenges for Australia
• Brazil Covid-19 Report Rossana Maria Seabra Sade Ph.D., Professor University State of São Paulo (UNESP), Brazil
• Responding to Covid-19: New Zealand Report by Rob Warriner
• Situation in the Czech Republic in relation to Covid 19 Report by Jan Pfiefer, Psychiatrist, Czech Republic, 04/05/2020 ”
• COVID-19 mental-health responses neglect social realities A diagnosis is rarely a solution to problems caused by poverty and inequality
• UN Policy Brief: COVID-19 and the Need for Action on Mental Health 13 MAY 2020
• Appeal for National Plans for Mental Health during the Coronavirus Global Emergency The World Federation for Mental Health appeals to all countries
• COVID-19 mental-health responses neglect social realities A diagnosis is rarely a solution to problems caused by poverty and inequality.
• Digital Mental Health and COVID-19: Using Technology Today to Accelerate the Curve on Access and Quality Tomorrow Telehealth during the COVID-19 global pandemic
  COVID-19 Corona Virus and Mental HealthMental health services, individuals and the ‘social body’ at the time of the coronavirus
• Mental health and wellbeing during the #COVID19 pandemic From WHO Eastern Mediterranean

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Meeting the whole life needs of a person through
a community whole systems approach

The IMHCN and its partners have been at the forefront of pioneering community mental health services for the last twenty years.

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• • We promote the development and sustainability of community mental health services founded on the whole person and their whole life needs. We believe services must be developed  through a Whole life – Whole Systems Community Approach.

• • The objective is to build an integrated and comprehensive system with widespread community ownership capable of meeting the identified whole life needs of individuals and local communities.

• • In most countries downsizing and closing the psychiatric institutions through a process of de-institionalisation as the main objective.

• • It is widely acknowledged that this will improve peoples quality of life and provide opportunities for recovery from mental health issues. However, closing institutions does not necessarly lead to ending institutional thinking and practice.

• • If these reforms are to be effective we should start by changing the thinking and practices within institutions by creating and applying a whole life recovery approach.

• • This work brings many challenges and opportunities for people with mental health issues, family members, mental health workers, services and communities.

• We have designed programmes to assist people and organisations to make these changes which are being developed and have been implemented across the world.

You can read more about our work here.

We invite you to join us as members (services, individuals and communities) in promoting and developing our work in your country and internationally. For more information about membership go here.

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