Rethinking global mental health and its priorities

Abstract

Abstract Global mental health (GMH) seems to enjoy increasing visibility in the global health and development discourse. However, this visibility implies also the urgency of addressing few questions about new priority setting in the domains of policy, care delivery, service organisation and research. Even before trying to answer these questions, rethinking more deeply the notion and implications of GMH seems to be a useful collective exercise. Some unanswered questions should be at the core of this exercise: Is GMH really global or rather Western? Is GMH concerned enough with local context? Is GMH too unbalanced towards a biomedical model? What are the consequences of the predominant emphasis given by GMH on common mental disorders and primary care level on people with severe mental disabilities? GMH is not global but rather it is hegemonised by western institutions. It would be useful to have an independent and very inclusive think tank which should promote a global debate on these issues and offer an unbiased support to WHO.