Author: COTEC
Joint statement on Mental Health
The Executive Committee of COTEC is very pleased to have signed the joint statement on Mental Health for the EU Health Policy Forum with 20 other signatories.
The European Framework for Action on Mental Health and Wellbeing, which gathered together the lessons learned during the Joint Action, provides a roadmap for improving and promoting mental health. The 20 signatories to this joint-statement would like to see a concerted effort to follow on from the Joint Action and Framework, and gather a broad coalition of organisations who wish to support the improvement of mental health through European policies with a specific focus on four areas:
The signatories urge the European Institutions to:
- Ensure parity of esteem, the principle by which mental health must be given equal priority to physical health.
- Take a life-course approach to mental health.
- Pay stronger attention to mental health in the workplace, because – while occupational health and safety policies and legislation have overwhelmingly focused on physical risk factors and physical injury, poor performance due to mental health issues is one of the biggest problems in the modern workplace.
- Improve mental health treatment in primary care
Read the full statement here
A multi-disciplinary consensus on Mental Health in Europe
In all European countries the delivery of mental health activities relies on the cooperation of multiple staff groups in order to offer interventions that address the many psycho-social, economic and biological challenges affecting mental wellbeing and mental disorders. Such challenges are particularly prominent at a time of insecurity, austerity, budget cuts and migration. Multi-disciplinary working is therefore essential, since it cannot be expected that any discipline has the competencies or resources to offer a comprehensive range of interventions.
Representatives of European Mental Health Workforce Associations welcome the opportunity to work in partnership towards an effective and influential mental health workforce in Europe, together with the WHO Regional Office for Europe.
The Council of Occupational Therapy for the European Countries, is committed to work with:
- European Federation of Psychologists’ Associations (EFPA)
- The European Psychiatric Association (EPA),
- Horatio: European Psychiatric Nurses,
- The International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW),
- The European Region of the World Confederation for Physiotherapy (ER-WCPT & IOPTMH)
on the following aims
- Mapping the status of the mental health workforce in the European Region
- Planning shared activities to improve mental health services across Europe
- Advocating for better policy and practice
- Exploring possibilities to improve effective ways of working of mental health staff
- Considering joint actions in response to emergencies.
Read the full consensus statement here: Consensus Statement: Working together towards an effective and influential mental health workforce in Europe Link
Deadlines extended: WFOT congress and EFPC conference
Abstracts for the WFOT congress 2018 in Capetown and the EFPC conference 2017 in Porto can be handed in until 15 May 2017. Click on the images below to visit the respective websites:
WFOT Congress: Abstract submission deadline extended
Abstract submission for the 2018 World Federation of Occupational Therapists Congress in Cape Town was extended until 18 May 2017. You can hand in your abstract on the following website:Reviewer application closes on 27 April 2017, and can be found here.
WFOT Congress: Introducing Keynote Speaker – Dr Karen Whalley Hammell
The WFOT announced in their eNewsletter the introduction of keynote speaker Dr. Karen Whalley Hammell. Visit the WFOT congress 2018 website http://www.wfotcongress.org/keynote-speakers.php to get informed about Dr. Whalley Hammell and other keynote speakers.