Allyson McCollum

Allyson McCollum is the Chief Executive of the Scottish Development Centre for Mental Health.

The vision was very much about broadening the focus of mental health policy and development in Scotland to give more attention to promotion of good mental health and the prevention of mental ill health. The early discussions that took place around 2000 with key stakeholders including the then Scottish Executive were at that stage generating an awareness of the possibilities that might be achieved through a stronger public health focus on mental health, influenced by ideas and research from outside Scotland. Particular attention was focused on stigma and suicide.

A huge amount of work has been undertaken in Scotland since those early days dating back even before the establishment of the National Programme. For me, one of the main achievements of these intervening years has been a greater connecting together of different strands of ideas and different streams of activity as these relate to mental health improvement. A growing number of organisations and sectors are engaging with the discussions, not least because concerns about individual and collective well-being are now much higher on the agenda than previously.

A further important development, which to me is of significance, is the growing awareness and understanding of what research and practice tells us about the influences on our mental health and wellbeing and how we can effect change.

For me, the inspirations have come from the examples of some of the amazing pieces of work that are happening on the ground in local communities to create opportunities, enable people to have more control over what happens in their lives and find a greater sense of meaning and purpose.

The sources of frustration continue to lie in the difficulties we have in the world of mental health in communicating why we feel so passionately that mental health is important to those who do not necessarily share this perspective. This is one of the biggest obstacles we need to address for the future, given what we know about what influences mental health and wellbeing.

A challenge rather than a frustration is the need to look further at inequalities in mental health and do more to redress the associated injustices.

A mentally flourishing Scotland would be where people feel valued and respected, where the social and the physical environments enable people to learn, work, play and live together. It’s a place where people feel secure about their own prospects and hopeful about the prospects of future generations.

Three most important actions:

  • Build on what’s already been achieved by making sure we knit together better the different strands of work that have been initiated over the past five to eight years
  • Continue to work hard at influencing those outside the mental health sphere to raise awareness of the importance of mental health and wellbeing and how it can be improved for the social and economic benefit of Scotland
  • Improve public awareness and understanding of mental health in ways which do not overly emphasise individual responsibility for mental health and wellbeing but enable people to understand what they could do to look out for their own mental health, and that of those around them.

www.sdcmh.org.uk