MENTAL HEALTH EUROPE CONFERENCE 2007 - WIEN: 31. May - 2. June
13-06-2007

More focus on rights and possibilities for some of those with mental ill health who experience stigmatisation and exclusion from the labour market must not be followed by neglecting and rejecting of those suffering of a serious mental illness that live a life in severe exclusion.

Is it possible that mentally ill persons with severe and complex in the future will be even more forgotten and stigmatised than they are today?   

I think this question is important to ask on background of the presentation and debate at the conference arranged by the European organisation MHE (Mental Health Europe: www.mhe-sme.org) and the Austrian organisation pro mente (www.promente-wien.at) in Vienna from the 31. May to the 2. June 07.

The conference theme was "No health without mental health - From Slogan to Reality". During the conference a number of serious and powerful presentations – given by researchers, users and others - described how mentally ill persons are discriminated and excluded from the many parts of the community, not least the labour market. The focus was on depressions, stress, phobias and anxiety.

These problems are to be taken seriously. Even very seriously. So, what I found problematic was not that this was the theme of the conference, but only talking about this could lead to the conclusion that the matter of mental health is alone a matter of the (white) middle-class citizen’s needs. 

There were no  discussion about mental health and immigrants, about mental health and addiction, about mental health and homelessness, about mental health and long-term need of care or mental health and criminality.

No doubt: it is important also to talk about mentally ill people and exclusion from the working market and stigmatisation in daily life. And to fight for rights, dignity and equal opportunities for all people with all kind of mental health problems. 

Why I am reacting is because of a tendency I see in today’s health and social policy to change focus from the most excluded and their social needs and instead give attention to those, who is not so far from a normal life, those who have a strong resource-full network, those who have an education and before have been into the labour-market.

I am afraid that in the future the focus will be on "mental well-being" and that the process towards this will result in an exclusion of the socially weakest part of the mentally ill. Reading the EC report / Green Paper: “Improving the mental health of the population: Towards a strategy on mental health for the European Union” from oktober 2005 (http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_determinants/life_style/mental/green_paper/mental_gp_en.pdf), give rise to my concern. Nor here is much word left to discus the ways to improve the situation of those persons with mental ill health combined with severe social problems. There is an enormous risk that in the future, there will be a large group of excluded people with severe mental health and social problems left behind with only little attention from the community – and of whom it maybe even will be said that they -like anybody else - did get the chance but never took it.  

Next year (7.-9. August 2008), a similar MHE conference will be organised together with SIND – Danish Association for Mental Health in joint venture with SIND – North Denmark, The Psychiatry of North Denmark Region and the Community-Psychiatry of Aalborg. The theme at the conference will be "diversity in mental health and wellbeing - an opportunity for intercultural dialogue". (You can read more about this conference at www.mhe-aalborg.dk).

I hope this will give an opportunity to discuss as well the possibility of recovery and the need of care – and that rights and dignity is for all.

PBr