Mental illness accounts directly for 14% of the global burden of disease and significantly more indirectly, and recent reports recognise the need to expand and improve mental health delivery on a global basis, especially in low and middle income countries. This text defines an approach to mental healthcare focused on the provision of evidence-based, cost-effective treatments, founded on the principles of sharing the best information about common problems and achieving international equity in coverage, options and outcomes. The coverage spans a diverse range of topics and defines five priority areas for the field. These embrace the domains of global advocacy, systems of development, research progress, capacity building, and monitoring. The book concludes by defining the steps to achieving equality of care globally. This is essential reading for policy makers, administrators, economists and mental health care professionals, and those from the allied professions of sociology, anthropology, international politics and foreign policy.

'Encyclopedic, diverse, and thoughtful … Essentials of Global Mental Health is a volume that practitioners, researchers, educators, and policy makers will find themselves turning to often. It offers an incredibly wide array of international voices.'

Source: PsycCRITIQUES

'Global mental health means more than a trendy change from the term international mental health. It means a new approach to delivering mental health services around the world, reflected by shared values of human rights and respect for diversity. Essentials of Global Mental Health, edited by Samuel Okpaku, is an excellent guide to this challenging new world.'

Howard H. Goldman Source: Journal of Clinical Psychiatry