“A fundamental shift is required within the field of mental health … There is an overreliance on biomedical approaches to treatment options, inpatient services and care, and little attention given to social determinants and community-based, person-centred interventions…”
The new World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines make sweeping recommendations for change, including recommending psychotherapy over antidepressants for the first line treatment of depression.
Niall McLaren reports for Mad in America:
“After years of work involving hundreds of people in dozens of countries, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) have released their joint production, Mental Health, Human Rights and Legislation: Guidance and Practice (WHO/OHCHR, 2023, referred to as the Guidance. The agenda of the launch event is here, and the full video here).
This outlines in considerable detail the current international legislative framework with which mental health acts in signatory nations need to comply, and provides examples to show how each element of the law can be implemented and tested.”
You can read more from here.
