Sartorius Norman
Association for the Improvement of Mental Health Programmes (AMH).
Consort Psychiatr. 2021 Mar 20;2(1):3-7. doi: 10.17816/CP63.
Since the Second World War mental health programmes and psychiatry have made significant advances. Countries, as well as the United Nations, have recognized the magnitude and severity of mental health problems, and numerous national programmes have been launched to deal with them. Technology relating to the treatment of mental disorders has advanced and significant progress has been made in terms of knowledge regarding the functioning of the brain. The awareness of the need to protect the human rights of those with mental illness has increased. National and regional programmes against stigma and the consequent discrimination of those with mental illness, have been launched in many countries. Associations bringing together those who have experienced mental illness and their relatives, have come into existence in many countries. While these are great steps forward, more work is necessary to complete these advances. In low- and middle-income countries, the vast majority of people with mental disorders do not receive adequate treatment. Even in highly industrialized countries, a third of people with severe forms of mental illness are not receiving the appropriate therapy. Laws concerning mental health are outdated in many countries. The protection of the human rights of the mentally ill is incomplete and imperfect. The emphasis on economic gain and the digitalization of medicine in recent years has not helped. On occasions, this has even slowed down the development of mental health services, and the provision of mental healthcare. Thus, psychiatry must still deal with the challenges of the past century, while facing new demands and tasks. Among the new tasks for psychiatry are undoubtedly reforms which will allow (i) the provision of appropriate care of people with comorbid mental and physical disorders, (ii) the application of interventions leading to the primary prevention of mental and neurological disorders, and (iii) a radical reform of the education of psychiatrists and other mental health workers, dealing with mental illness. Collaboration with other stakeholders in the field of mental health and medicine, will be of crucial importance in relation to all these tasks.
自第二次世界大战以来，心理健康项目和精神病学取得了重大进展。各国以及联合国都已认识到心理健康问题的规模和严重性，并启动了许多国家项目来应对这些问题。与精神障碍治疗相关的技术有所进步，在大脑功能方面的知识也取得了重大进展。人们对保护精神疾病患者人权的必要性的认识有所提高。许多国家发起了反对对精神疾病患者的污名化及随之而来的歧视的国家和区域项目。在许多国家，将有精神疾病经历的人和他们的亲属聚集在一起的协会已经成立。虽然这些都是巨大的进步，但仍需更多工作来完善这些进展。在低收入和中等收入国家，绝大多数精神障碍患者没有得到充分治疗。即使在高度工业化国家，三分之一患有严重精神疾病的人也没有得到适当治疗。许多国家有关心理健康的法律已经过时。对精神病患者人权的保护并不完整且存在缺陷。近年来对经济利益的强调和医学数字化并无帮助。有时，这甚至减缓了心理健康服务的发展以及精神卫生保健的提供。因此，精神病学仍必须应对过去一个世纪的挑战，同时面对新的需求和任务。精神病学的新任务中无疑包括改革，这些改革将允许：（i）为患有精神和身体共病的人提供适当护理；（ii）应用能够导致精神和神经疾病一级预防的干预措施；（iii）对治疗精神疾病的精神科医生和其他心理健康工作者的教育进行彻底改革。与心理健康和医学领域的其他利益相关者合作，对于所有这些任务都至关重要
