Mental Health Issues
In a recent report from the BBC, Healthwatch UK has acquired information which shows that mental health patients are spending fewer than 6 days in hospital in 2012-13. These figures lend themselves to the idea that mental health patients are often returned home without being sufficiently prepared to cope with life outside hospital. The real difficulty is that there is very little support offered to these patients on the outside and this lack of support effects the prospects of these patients improving.
There is an argument that can be made that mental health is still not treated on a par with physical health. Experts all agree that both elements of human health are required in order for people to thrive. This inequality is not only about how health is seen, but also how it is funded.
In my work as a psychotherapist, I see many clients with varying degrees of mental distress, but the majority of the clients I have do not fall within the range of serious mental illness. Practitioners like me can offer support to those who live with sufferers of severe mental health issues, and can even offer limited support to those who are suffering with more severe mental health issues. I know that professional associations need to continue to exert pressure on the government to redress this unfortunate imbalance between physical and mental health.
There can be no health without mental health!
