Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Comment
  • Published:

The WHO World Mental Health Report 2022: a new standard of care is emerging

Molecular Psychiatry volume 28, pages 4–5 (2023)Cite this article

Subjects

Twenty years after the World Health Report 2001, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recently published a new report designed to promote a transformative process required to ensure better mental health for all people globally [1]. The World Mental Health Report (WMHR) 2022 is written for decision-makers in the health sector, including ministries of health and other partners in the health sector who are in charge of developing mental health policy activities.

Even though not primarily intended to provide guidance to mental health professionals, the report additionally includes a comprehensive range of pragmatic suggestions for clinical practice that, considered as a whole, may help redesign the concept of mental health care in a way that goes far beyond clinical treatment as commonly conceptualized by practicing professionals. The aim of this commentary is to summarize such suggestions to bring out this new concept of care as proposed by WHO, and to stimulate a re-thinking of the role and identity of mental health professionals at a global level.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. World Health Organization. World mental health report: transforming mental health for all. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2022.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Dixon LB, Holoshitz Y, Nossel I. Treatment engagement of individuals experiencing mental illness: review and update. World Psychiatry. 2016;15:13–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Barbui C, Purgato M, Abdulmalik J, Caldas-de-Almeida JM, Eaton J, Gureje O, et al. Efficacy of interventions to reduce coercive treatment in mental health services: umbrella review of randomised evidence. Br J Psychiatry. 2021;218:851–195.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Patel V, Chatterji S. Integrating mental health in care for noncommunicable diseases: an imperative for person-centered care. Health Aff. 2015;34:1498–505.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Liu NH, Daumit GL, Dua T, Aquila R, Charlson F, Cuijpers P, et al. Excess mortality in persons with severe mental disorders: a multilevel intervention framework and priorities for clinical practice, policy and research agendas. World Psychiatry. 2017;16:30–40.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Purgato M, Uphoff E, Singh R, Thapa Pachya A, Abdulmalik J, van Ginneken N. Promotion, prevention and treatment interventions for mental health in low- and middle-income countries through a task-shifting approach. Epidemiol Psychiatr Sci. 2020;29:e150.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Saraceno B. Rethinking global mental health and its priorities. Epidemiol Psychiatr Sci. 2019;29:e64.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Barbui C, Papola D, Saraceno B. The Italian mental health-care reform: public health lessons. Bull World Health Organ. 2018;96:731.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Keynejad R, Spagnolo J, Thornicroft G. WHO mental health gap action programme (mhGAP) intervention guide: updated systematic review on evidence and impact. Evid Based Ment Health. 2021;24:124–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Training in Mental Health and Service Evaluation, Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, Section of Psychiatry, University of Verona, Verona, Italy

    Corrado Barbui

Authors
  1. Corrado Barbui
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

CB developed the concept, critically appraised the World Mental Health Report, and wrote the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Corrado Barbui.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The author declares no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Barbui, C. The WHO World Mental Health Report 2022: a new standard of care is emerging. Mol Psychiatry 28, 4–5 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-022-01788-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-022-01788-0

Search

Advanced search

Quick links