In Europe, where 1 in 7 people are living with a mental illness, too few people receive the care or support they need. Moreover, too many people with mental health problems continue to face discrimination when seeking help. The result is loss of quality of life, work, home, family and comfort in relationships. Although mental health has risen higher on the agenda of decision-makers in recent years, effective access to mental health care is becoming increasingly difficult due to an alarming decline in the number of mental health professionals, the under-use of new effective approaches and innovations, and the lack of involvement of experts with personal experience in service planning and delivery. For consumers, this means longer waiting times and for professionals, a higher risk of burnout.
The global crises of the past four years - COVID-19, the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, the rising cost of living, multiple natural disasters and extreme weather events - increasingly demonstrate that current approaches to mental health protection are not sufficiently effective and sensitive to the needs of consumers.
Rapid urbanization in many countries in Europe and the world has blurred the boundaries of traditional public spaces. For a large part of the population, these spaces are becoming increasingly digital, separated from the physical, but connected to each other through common interests or knowledge. Investing in and designing new, better systems of mental health care involving experts with personal experience is becoming increasingly important.
Main Themes
16th ENMESH Conference will highlight the following four topics.
Mental health in times of war and trauma
Digitalization and AI in mental health services and research
Discrimination, equality and human rights
Innovations in the Evaluation of Mental Health Services
