ABSTRACT
Mental health problems are common in adults (CSIP 2006a). It is estimated that at any one time one in six people may have a mental health problem (DoH 1999). Such problems can be very disabling and potentially have both long-and short-term impacts on the individual and their families. Half of all mental health problems last longer than a year (Jenkins et al. 2008). The total economic cost in England alone has been estimated at between £49 and £77 billion through costs of care and losses to the economy (SCMH 2003), while it has been estimated that GPs spend one-third of their time on responding to mental health issues (ODPM 2004). However, mental health problems can often go unrecognised and untreated which may subsequently persist and escalate into seriousness, undermining the quality of an individual’s life, increasing suffering, disability (both physical and mental) and premature mortality. Moreover, left untreated, mental ill-health can lead to problems which can be transmitted from one generation to the next (Jenkins et al. 2008).
