Greens: ‘Shift in current thinking’ on mental health needed
Green Party spokesperson on Mental Health, Ann Walsh said today that if the Government are serious about creating a Mental Health service that truly works for future generations a paradigm shift is needed in current thinking.
Ms Walsh said that until we truly recognise that we are all on a continuum from stress to psychosis and the further along the continuum we find ourselves, the more guidance, support and intervention we may need.
She said: “Mental Health issues arise as much from the political, social and ecological environment we find ourselves in, as they do from our individual coping mechanisms and traumatic life events. Therefore any administration that truly wants to support society through and towards optimum mental health needs to fully understand these challenges. While there is definitely political will in this area, there is a lack of true understanding and foresight regarding what really needs to be done.
“In order to work successively and proactively with the whole area of mental health we need to view at it from four points, which incorporate our current population and future generations, if not we are destined to fail and repeat old cycles.
“We need to have an effective, available crisis intervention services around the clock for those of who need them. We need to have effective intervention available for those of us who feel we are slipping into poor mental health. We need to have early intervention for those of us who are beginning to feel overwhelmed but are still managing. Finally, we need to have clear, cohesive preventative intervention available to all our children from primary school onwards. Our children and grandchildren will face challenges on an environmental and political level that many of us will not experience and we have a duty to, at the very least, offer them ways of finding the individual and collective strength to deal with these.
“Unless we have governance that prioritises the psychological well-being of their citizens, we cannot aspire to have a fair, equal and thriving society that truly cares.”