The MHE conference 2007 will focus on the outcomes of the consultation process of the European Commission’s Green Paper “Improving the Mental Health of the Population” and the upcoming strategy for the next years.

The focus of the conference will be on the connection and the coherence between European policies and the impact they have on the mental health of the population. Lectures, round-table discussions and workshops will give opportunity for sharing information and deepening knowledge but also exchanging best practices.

Participants coming from all European countries will be encouraged to discuss the possibilities of implementing strategies on mental health throughout the whole life-span and to initiate cooperation between the different organisations and institutions working on mental health issues at the national and European level.

The very nice social programme will include a reception at the Vienna Town Hall, an “Art Brut”-Exhibition, etc.

Additionally, MHE’s annual General Assembly will take place at the end of the conference.

You can also contribute by sending us your ideas for workshops you would be interested in.

The conference will be organised by the Austrian Federation of Mental Health – Pro Mente Austria - which is a national umbrella organisation and member of MHE-SME.

For further information please contact: office@promente-Wien.at or info@mhe-sme.org

 

This seminar is organised by MHE on Friday 12 May 2006 (14.00-18.00) in the Conference Centre Amazone, rue du Méridien 10-14, 1210 Brussels.

The seminar aims in the first place to take stock of and discuss the various reactions that Mental Health Europe received from its member organisations and other stakeholders. Mental Health Europe would like the participants to share its belief in the importance of promoting and maintaining good mental health and well being, and to stress the importance of a Public Health approach to positive mental health for populations in the Member States of the European Union.

The seminar second objective is to foster the debate around involuntary treatment in the community. The British government is, indeed, currently examining some controversial proposed amendments to the UK’s 1983 Mental Health Act which include the introduction of “supervised treatment in the community”. This issue has also been or is being discussed in other EU countries, and met fierce opposition as it can be seen as a violation of the patient’s privacy. In addition, evidence from other countries elsewhere will be taken into consideration.

To finish the seminar will provide the participants a general overview of the work and activities carried out by the European Coalition for Community Living, the Europe-wide initiative working towards the social inclusion of people with disabilities by promoting the provision of comprehensive, quality community-based services as an alternative to institutionalisation.

This seminar is open to anyone interested in the mental health of all citizens.

For more information and registration: info@mhe-sme.org – Tel +32 2 280 04 68

 

The annual General Assembly will take place on Saturday 13 May 2006 (9.30 – 13.00), also in the Conference Centre Amazone in Brussels. The General Assembly is of course in the first place organised for MHE’s members but other interested persons are kindly invited as observers.

For more information and registration: info@mhe-sme.org – Tel +32 2 280 04 68

 

At the beginning of the meeting Sogol Noorani, Project Coordinator gave a presentation on the Social Inclusion Process in the EU. The key message was that the current European Social Inclusion Process based on the Open Method of Coordination and the National Action Plans on Social Inclusion (which will be submitted next time in September, for the period 2006-2007) provide an important opportunity for mental health organisations to get their voice heard. It is therefore crucial for individual NGOs to raise political awareness of social exclusion of people with mental health problems and to lobby national governments to include mental health organisations in the preparation of the National Action Plans on Social Inclusion on those areas that directly affect people with mental health problems.

Next, the project partners presented their analysis of the situation of social exclusion of people with mental health problems in their countries. A common point in all reports was the lack of transparent communication, exchange of information and well coordinated cooperation between the different stakeholders in all the partner countries, especially between the users (and their families and carers) and NGOs on the one hand and governmental players on the other hand.

The project partners moreover presented the good practices they had identified so far in their countries. As a result of the presentations several criteria were agreed that shall guide the search for good practices:

• 1)the practices should exist at least for 1 year;
• 2)they should be user-led or provide a high level of user involvement;
• 3)they should bring together stakeholders that are active in the area of care or mental health care with those active in other areas such as education/training, employment, housing etc.;
• 4)the practices should be local initiatives and not large-scale national programmes.

Once the good practices for combating social exclusion of people with mental health problems are identified in each partner country and in each of the areas relevant to the project, they will be evaluated in focus groups. The focus groups will include the users and family members, and they will be held between April-June 2006. Moreover, the identified good practices will be evaluated during a joint meeting with the European Advisory Committee, which will take place on 12 May 2006 in Brussels.

For more information: Sogol Noorani, Project Coordinator, sogol.noorani@mhe-sme.org, Tel +32 2 280 04 68

 

The EMIP (Implementation of Mental Health Promotion and Prevention Policies and Strategies in EU Member States and Applicant Countries) website is finally up and running!

Visit the website at http://mentalhealth.epha.org/

 

Dear Readers,

We are now pleased to inform you that an online edition of our newsletter is now available at:

http://www.mhe-sme.org/en/publication_1.htm (English version)
http://www.mhe-sme.org/fr/publication_1.htm (French version)

 

 

On 29-30 March 2006 Josée Van Remoortel, Senior Policy Advisor, and Sogol Noorani, Project Coordinator, represented MHE at the Conference “Learning together – Lessons drawn from the Community Action Programme to Combat Social Exclusion” which took place in Brussels (Belgium). (see p.6-7)

On 10-12 April 2006 Mari Fresu, Project Coordinator, participated in a training seminar on mental health promotion in Barcelona (Spain).

On 27 April 2006 Mary Van Dievel, Director, Sogol Noorani and Mari Fresu had a meeting in MHE premises with Marcus Roberts and David Stone, two representatives of MIND, the National Mental Health Association for England and Wales.