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7 Other comments
7.1 A number of themes arose in the consultation which came from a smaller number of respondents. Many of these may be considered to be general comments on the TAMFS discussion paper. However, as they came from a relatively small proportion of respondents, they were not included in Chapter 3. Nevertheless, it was felt they were significant enough to merit a very brief summary here.
- Readability of TAMFS: A number of respondents commented that they found the TAMFS document difficult to read. These comments came from respondents across all sectors. It was suggested that the final action plan should be written in plain English, avoid the use of acronyms and technical jargon, avoid use of numerous bullet points, and provide a glossary of terms.
- Concepts and definitions: One respondent suggested that the term "mental flourishing" was not a commonly recognised concept. Another felt that terms like "languishing" and "flourishing" were inaccessible to many people. There was a suggestion that work should be undertaken to find out how members of the general public referred to the idea of mental wellbeing.
One respondent argued that the definition of mental illness given in para. 4.1 of the TAMFS document was incorrect. ( "Many mental illnesses do not affect cognitive functioning.") This respondent suggested that the World Health Organisation definition be used instead: "A clinically recognizable set of symptoms or behaviour associated in most cases with distress and interference with personal function." ( WHO 1992). This same respondent felt that some discussion was needed about why mental wellbeing was defined in para 4.1 as having "emotional, social and psychological" components. Furthermore, she questioned the premise in para 4.2 that "someone could experience signs and symptoms of mental illness and still have good or flourishing mental wellbeing" since most conventionally accepted definitions of mental illness include the experience of distress of some kind.
There were a number of comments on the 'dual continua' model presented on page 3 of the TAMFS paper. Some respondents wanted to know upon what evidence this model is put forward. Furthermore, although one individual felt that the model was extremely useful, others argued that it was confusing and simplistic. There was a suggestion that further work should be undertaken (possibly led by Health Scotland) to develop a causal / explanatory model of mental health improvement.
- Need better partnership working: Better partnership working is needed to improve integration of care and planning processes. The mental health and wellbeing agenda is not just a role for health. Agencies need to be encouraged to be more pro-active and less reactive. Local partnerships should include carers, churches, community groups, trade unions and professional bodies, voluntary sector organisations, workplaces and young people.
- Community Health Partnerships: It was agreed that CHPs have a key role in taking forward the mental health improvement agenda, but in some areas, CHPs were felt not to be robust enough.
- Local co-ordination is important: There needs to be an individual at local level whose job it is to make sure things happen. Support is needed for local 'champions' who are committed to fostering mental health improvement in their communities. More local research, evaluation and needs assessment is required to enable local priority setting.
- Pilot programmes: These were perceived by some respondents not always to be useful. Once the pilot ends, the problem recurs. Longer-term funding and consistency of service provision was felt to be needed.
- Get rid of the word 'mental': Comments were received from several respondents across different sectors that the use of the word "mental" was stigmatising, particularly for young people. The suggestion was that the TAMFS action plan should avoid using it in favour of simply using the term "wellbeing" or "health and wellbeing."
- Suggested areas for future research: Several respondents made suggestions for future research:
- Need a national programme of research on how mental ill health affects the lives of deaf, deafblind and deafened people
- Evaluation of social and therapeutic gardening projects for improving mental health and wellbeing
- Evaluation of the provision of services to support mental health service users with communication support needs
- Evaluation of the impact of volunteering on mental health and wellbeing
- Evaluation of mental health-related training for professionals
- More child-specific mental health research
- Longitudinal research involving children and families
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