European mental health policy: opportunities for science and innovation, challenges for implementation

Abstract

According to a survey in 2010,1 15% of the population of the European Union (EU) sought professional help for psychological or emotional problems during the previous year. Stigma is also prevalent, with one-third of those surveyed reporting feeling uncomfortable or unsure talking to someone with a significant mental health problem. About 35% of the total burden of disease is attributed to brain diseases2 yet Europe allocates only about 8% of its research investment to mental health. In 2010, the Federation of the European Academies of Medicine (FEAM), as part of its remit to promote cooperation between academies in advising on health policy, published a Statement3 to draw attention to the relative neglect of mental disorders in EU policies for health and innovation. This Statement, together with a synopsis prepared for the professional psychiatry community4 emphasizes that current practice is undermined by insufficient biological understanding of mental ill-health, under-diagnosis, stigmatization and lack of effective therapeutic interventions. While promotion of mental health is increasingly politically visible in consequence of the European Commission’s Pact for Mental Health and Wellbeing and the European …