Connecting Health Promotion Principles To Mental Health Policies and Programs

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Abstract It is important for any mental health stakeholder to understand how health promotion principles guide the development of mental health policy. This chapter provides the foundation to understand how health promotion principles drive mental health policies, which, in turn, create the programs for mental health clients, families, and the community. Our chapter begins with defining terms such as principles, policies, and programs, followed by a review of nine health promotion policies that reflect individual and community change. Next, there is a discussion of how the different types of policies—from intentional to judicial—influence mental health services and then provide a historical review of key health promotion and mental health policies for the last 200 years. The remainder of the chapter explores international health promotion policy models and reviews five core advocacy strategies describing how to integrate health promotion policies into mental health programs. The chapter concludes with a summary of a focus group discussion held by consumers and family members who responded to the following question: “If you could design a community-based mental health system with all the right services, what would it look like?”