Citation

Abas MA. Lancet Psychiatry 2021; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/S2215-0366(21)00436-3

PMID

34895478

Abstract

WHO has called for a whole-of-society approach to promote mental health in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Addressing poverty, conflict, and abuse have the potential to prevent and alleviate poor mental health, but such a broad stance fails to highlight effective treatments for depression and other common disabling mental disorders. In contrast, the Wellcome Trust is focusing on the active ingredients of interventions (ie, aspects that drive clinical effect, are conceptually well defined, and link to specific hypothesised mechanisms of action) to improve mental health. Although the Wellcome Trust stance is oriented towards research, this model should be applied to clinical practice and policy to improve lives without delay.

Having depression-informed conversations and using these active ingredients to educate and empower people experiencing depression is everyone's business. The increase in the number of people with depression in the wake of COVID-19 will be too big to be handled by specific experts. We have learnt from low-income countries that people without specialist psychological training can provide effective, affordable, first-level psychological treatment. Health and social care professionals, and those working in charities, should use depression-informed conversations with those who they suspect to have psychosocial difficulties...

Language: en