The Mental Health Foundation
The Mental Health Foundation, which includes the Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities (FPLD), is a UK-wide charity that aims to create a mentally healthy society where individuals and communities can flourish. Through a combination of research, policy development and practical projects we help people survive, recover from and develop resilience to mental health problems. We communicate our findings to a wide range of policy-makers, practitioners and the public.
Showcase
“Up and Running?” is a Foundation research and policy project that looks at the evidence showing that physical exercise is an effective treatment for people with mild to moderate depression. It includes original survey work with GPs to determine how they respond to patients presenting with depression, and makes the case for promoting exercise therapy as a realistic and readily available tool for GPs. Such an approach improves patients' mental health and also improves physical health (including lowering rates of coronary heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes and obesity).
The first report from the project was published in 2005. A follow-up report will be published this summer (2009)Priorities
Our priorities include ensuring that age-appropriate and accessible mental health services are available to everyone who needs help, and that effective national and local public promotion and prevention strategies bring about a reduction in the prevalence and incidence of mental health problems and related physical health issues.
A key priority within this is to demonstrate the connections between mental health and physical health to policy-makers, opinion-formers, health and social care staff and the public. For example:
- an anxious person is up to six times more likely to die of coronary heart disease
- people with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia are at increased risk for a range of physical illnesses, and are twice as likely to die from coronary heart disease as the general population
- cumulative stress at work has been associated with an increased risk of heart disease, cardiovascular death or angina.
It is essential that strategies and policies for people at risk of physical health problems take into account the positive impact of mental health (good mental health is a protective factor). Mental health strategies must take into account the need for good physical health care.
Web: www.mhf.org.uk
Email: s.lawton-smith@mhf.org.uk
Simon Lawton Smith, Head of Policy, Mental Health Foundation
Tel: 020 7803 1106