2023-05-16 17:11:12
HM The Queen calls for increased investment in public resources for mental health
The XXII Congress of MENTAL HEALTH SPAIN is held today and tomorrow in Madrid, within the framework of the 40th anniversary of the Confederation.
The XXII MENTAL HEALTH SPAIN Congress began today, with an opening ceremony presided over by Her Majesty the Queen, and that has also had the interventions of the Hon. Mr. Minister of Health, Mr. Jose Manuel Minonesand of Nel González Zapico, President of the SPAIN MENTAL HEALTH Confederation. The meeting, which has the collaboration of the Ministry of Social Rights and the 2030 Agenda and the ONCE Foundation, took place at the Rafaelhoteles Atocha hotel (Madrid).
Prior to the start of the act, Her Majesty the Queen paid a brief visit to the exhibition with which SALUD MENTAL ESPAÑA commemorates the Congress, and which focuses on the history of the associative movement and its contribution to the progress of mental health through large milestones, without forgetting the people who made it possible and the families.
After a performance by the musical group Fetén Fetén, Her Majesty the Queen intervened with a speech in which he congratulated the Confederation for its four decades of work. “Talking about mental health now is somewhat less uncomfortable, but it is something that happened in Spain 40 years ago”, he assured.
His Majesty highlighted the relevance of the report ‘The situation of mental health in Spain’, prepared by SALUD MENTAL ESPAÑA and Fundación Mutua Madrileña, which highlighted that 40% of the Spanish population considers that their mental health is not good. “Mental health goes beyond health: it has to do with the social, with job opportunities, with integration, with education…Her Majesty stated. “We all need to stop at some point, be aware of our vulnerabilities, our weaknesses, be able to express that I can’t, I don’t know, I need to stop”. He also spoke of the importance of prevention to learn to manage emotions and face adversity, and recalled that Spain is far from the European average in terms of the number of professionals in Psychiatry and Psychology in public health.
For his part, Nel González Zapico wanted to emphasize that “Turning forty years old for an entity like ours is a complete success”. González stressed the stigma and discrimination that have historically accompanied mental health, and went through the achievements achieved so far. “We have known how to adapt to all difficulties and contexts, including a pandemic, we have reaped many successes and we will have the strength to achieve many more”the president noted,and we have done it because we have chosen our flag well, that of human rights, with all the consequences that this may have had”.
González took the opportunity to announce that, in the world mental health day This year, the Confederation will follow the demand proposed by the World Federation for Mental Health, which focuses on the defense of mental health as a universal human right.
the journalist macarena berlin was in charge of moderating the conversation in which the results of the Report were discussed ‘The situation of mental health in Spain: analysis of the associative movement’. This study was born from the collaboration and joint work carried out by the Confederation and Fundación Mutua Madrileña. Both entities presented last March the report “The mental health situation in Spain”, with data on the mental health of the general Spanish population. In this second report, the mental health of the associative movement of SALUD MENTAL ESPAÑA is specifically analyzed. In the conversation, they participated Basilio Garcia Copinpresident of Ceuta Mental Health, and Rich Elena BriongosPresident of the Castilla y León Mental Health Federation.
García Copín highlighted the importance of socioeconomic, socio-affective and socio-health conditions when talking about mental health: “Although the general perception is of concern, there are also 94% of us who think that we can recover, we can live together and we can develop an independent life project. And we have to hold on to this thought, because the first step of emotional well-being is hope.
Briongos Rica, for his part, pointed out that “there are more women who cannot access therapy because they cannot afford it financially than men”. Regarding the biologist model and the high consumption of psychoactive drugs reflected in the report, Basilio García commented that it is necessary “distinguish between stabilizing a problem and recovery, which is a much more ambitious concept. We have to believe that all people can contribute something to society”.
The report indicates that 68.2% of the people diagnosed in the associative movement have felt rejection due to their mental health problem, with work being the most common place. “A positive language must be introduced into society, and it is up to us to manufacture that language. The announcement of a diagnosis is not the end, it is the beginning of the recovery”, Garcia Copin said. “There are times when you don’t believe in yourself“, recalled Briongos, and in those moments, he claims, it is necessary”that others give us support”.
By last, intervened the Hon. Mr. Minister of Health, D. Jose Manuel Minoneswho assured that “little by little we are losing our fear of stigma. From the Government of Spain we are aware of the importance of mental health, we knew that we had to put it on the political agenda with a clear roadmap”. Miñones stated that “among all of us we have to ensure that whoever is going through a situation of suffering knows that this is the way out”. The minister recalled available resources such as 024, the hotline for suicidal behaviour, and ended by acknowledging the work of the Confederation over these decades.
International space and cultural space
In the afternoon, the Congress has continued with an international space and another cultural space.
In the international meeting, participated Robert Mezzina, Vice President of the World Federation for Mental Health for Europe (WFMH), Liuska Sanna, COO of Mental Health Europe (MHE), Urs Wuersch, President of the European Federation of Associations of Families of People with Mental Health Problems (EUFAMI) and Nel González ZapicoPresident of MENTAL HEALTH SPAIN.
Mezzina spoke about the Trieste experience and assured that she believes it is possible to replicate it anywhere. «freedom is therapeutic“, he highlighted. He also commented on how social insecurity and loneliness are aspects that impact the mental health of the population, as well as the inequality that affects so many countries.
Sanna denounced that the answers provided so far in terms of mental health have focused above all on the individual as the main problem. “The result is that we have not yet provided the comprehensive response that people need. We have responded from a biomedical perspective«. He proposed to rethink our societies and create others that are inclusive and egalitarian.
Würsch, for his part, focused on the need to help families and caregivers. To do this, he highlighted the PROSPECT program that helps participants feel less afraid and feel less alone.
González assured that, for freedom to exist, there must also be the necessary support and the economic condition that allows the use of that freedom. He also emphasized the paralysis of the Additional Protocol to the Oviedo Convention, and opted for a different way of doing things, providing health with the appropriate means. «No containment is therapeutic“, he concluded.
After this discussion, Pascual Palau, president of Conecta Perinatal, recounted the experience of this organization to achieve a genuine prioritization of public policies that ensure coordinated and excellent health and social care, caring for the perinatal mental health of mothers, fathers, and babies. He explained that perinatal mental health “It covers from gestation until the baby is 3 years old. It serves to favor the emotional, mental and physical life of mothers, babies and the family that surrounds them.«. In addition, he stated that “By taking care of perinatal mental health, we take care of the pregnancy, we take care of the baby, we not only promote mental and physical health but also the evolution of that person and of the next generation”. Palau ended by putting on the table the need to create a National Perinatal Mental Health Plan «that includes the specialization of professionals, that resources are provided, that these midwives are provided, that the resources available in Spain are evaluated, that families know what is available, that perinatal networks are prepared ».
In the cultural space, the theater company La Rueda Teatro Social performed the play ‘We all count, we all act’, whose objective is to discuss the stigma suffered by people with mental health problems. Through three scenes, the public got to know the protagonists of this story. Each one of them recounts a situation in her life in which she must face the stigma surrounding mental health.
Associative movement: past, present and future
Tomorrow, May 17, the congress will continue with a space dedicated to the history of the associative movement of SALUD MENTAL ESPAÑA, which will be divided into three tables.
The first will discuss the past of the associative movement. In it, they will participate carmen garciapresident of the La Rioja Mental Health Association, Rose Ruiz, former manager of FEAFES (currently SALUD MENTAL ESPAÑA), José Mª Sánchezhonorary president of SALUD MENTAL ESPAÑA, Begoñe ArinoPROSPECT facilitator, and Antonio Lozanopresident of Feafes Salud Mental Extremadura.
In the second table, dedicated to the present of the associative movement, will participate Gonzalo Nielfavice president of the Valencian Community Mental Health Federation, Francisco Vincent Rubiomember of Mental Health Catalonia, Adela Montanorepresentative of the State Network of Women MENTAL HEALTH SPAIN, Paula Garcia, technician at AMAFE, expert in suicide prevention and Yasmina Alonsodirector of the Canary Islands Mental Health Federation.
In the third and last table of this space, dedicated to the future of the network, will intervene Mercè Torrentallépresident of the Catalonia Mental Health Federation, Elizabeth Lemosrepresentative of the State Network of Women MENTAL HEALTH SPAIN and Karina Rochatechnical excoordinator of FEAFES (currently SALUD MENTAL ESPAÑA).
After a break, there will be a presentation of the Project “Impulse to the modernization of the associative movement SALUD MENTAL ESPAÑA for the digital transformation”, which will be carried out thanks to the financing of the Ministry of Social Rights and the 2030 Agenda, within the call for support for the modernization of Third Sector entities, under the European Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Fund.
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