European Union MH Projects

EU-Compass for Action on Mental Health and Well-being

The Mental Health Policy consortium for MH Compass endeavoured to support the European Commission’s Health and Consumers Directorate-General furthering the mental health agenda in EU Member States and instigating policy dialogue and commitment for it. Conscious of the current EU policy and practice related initiative, such as the Joint Action for Mental Health and Wellbeing, the consortium sought to build on the previous European efforts and to mobilise key stakeholders from mental health and other sectors in view of enhancing the existing EU Compass for Action on Mental Health and Wellbeing and furthering the policy process initiated by the European Pact for Mental Health and Wellbeing.

This was achieved by: 1) collecting information on a wider and more inclusive range of good practices in policy activities related to mental health and wellbeing to be actively used in policy developments and practice; 2) ensuring broad and inclusive stakeholder engagement throughout Member States and among non-governmental actors; and 3) widely disseminating the activities and information in the Compass to reach a greater number of stakeholders which should become an operational tool for stakeholders and the European Commission.

The Mental Health Policy Consortium included the Trimbos Institute (Consortium leader), the NOVA Medical School/Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, the Finnish Association for Mental Health and EuroHealthNet.

You may access here the key documents produced by EU-Compass:

Joint Action for Mental Health and Wellbeing

The Joint Action for Mental Health and Wellbeing (JA MH-WB), launched in 2013, aimed at building a framework for action in mental health policy at the European level.

Funded by the European Agency for Health and Consumers, the Joint Action involved 51 partners representing 28 EU Member States and 11 European organisations, and was coordinated by the NOVA Medical School/Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, Universidade Nova de Lisboa.

The objective of the JA MH-WB was to contribute to the promotion of mental health and wellbeing, the prevention of mental disorders and the improvement of care and social inclusion of people with mental disorders in Europe. This objective was attained by establishing a process for structured collaborative work on mental health and wellbeing, involving Member States, stakeholders in the health and other relevant sectors, and international organizations, in particular the WHO and the OECD. This common framework for action addressed issues related to a) promotion of mental health at the workplaces and schools; b) promoting action against depression and suicide; c) developing community mental health care; and (d) promoting the integration of mental health in all policies.

The strategic relevance of the JA MH-WB and its contribution to the Health Programme was ensured by the attention dedicated to mental health and wellbeing as a public health area which has in the past not always received a level of priority in proportion with its weight in the burden of disease. It was also ensured by the attention dedicated to the promotion of partnerships at EU level and in Member States between health policies and other public policy areas, namely social, educational and economic policies. The JA MH-WB will therefore contribute to sustainable development and the Europe 2020 vision of smart, sustainable and productive growth. The JA MH-WB will create EU added value, because of its contribution to realising EU policy objectives in public health and other fields.

You may access here the key documents produced by the Joint Action for Mental Health and Wellbeing: