mental disorders are known to be an important cause of disabilities worldwide. despite their importance, about two thirds of mentally ill people do not seek treatment, probably because of the mental health system's inability to decrease the negative side effects of the interaction with the mental health services. the world health organization has suggested the concept of responsiveness as a way...

"No health without mental health" has become a rallying call for the World Health Organization and numerous service providers, training institutions, health researchers, and advocacy groups around the world. It is timely to consider the implications of this call for South Africa. We review key evidence regarding the burden and risk factors for mental disorders in South Africa and crucial challe...

The World Health Organization has made concerted efforts to scale up mental health services in low- and middle-income countries through the Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) initiative. However, an overreliance on scaling up services based on those used in high-income countries may risk causing more harm than good.

Internationally, civil commitment laws have gone through substantial reforms in the past 50 years. Discernible shifts from the medically paternalistic to the excessively legalistic may be giving way to a blending of legislative intent under the rubric of therapeutic jurisprudence. In the light of those international movements, Shao and Xie describe how China's new mental health law shows the im...

To increase the involvement of urban youth and families who need mental health services, child mental health agencies and providers might consider the following: (1) examining intake procedures and developing interventions to target specific barriers to service use; (2) providing training and supervision to providers to increase a focus on engagement in the first face-to-face meetings with yout...