ABSTRACT
The Information Centre for Health and Social Care (2009) Adult Psychiatric Morbidity in England shows the results of a survey among households, which revealed the prevalence of treated and untreated mental disorders among people in the general population. The broad findings of this study are set out in the Fact File above. This shows that around 15 per cent of people in the general population suffer from common mental disorders,
defined as anxiety and depression. One-quarter of people with these conditions will be receiving treatment, predominantly medication, for them. An equally high proportion of people in the general population had considered committing suicide at some point in their lives, while 6 per cent had actually attempted suicide. This high prevalence rate both for common mental disorders and suicidal impulses demonstrates the need for community-based mental health services and preventative intervention.
