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Prior research on relations between mental health and pain has focused on negative mental health aspects (e.g. depression), while the literature is scarce in terms of positive aspects, such as mental well-being. This study aims to investigate prospective associations of mental well-being at baseline with pain and functional impairment due to pain in the following year.

Data stem from a Danish nationally representative survey of 5,000 adults (aged 15+) conducted in 2019 and 2020, which was linked to register data. The Short Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale was used to assess mental well-being, both continuously (range 7–35) and categorically (low, moderate, high). Logistic regressions were conducted to assess associations between mental well-being in 2019 and pain and functional impairment due to pain (among those reporting any pain) in 2020.

In the fully adjusted models, each point increase in mental well-being was inversely associated with pain (OR = 0.97, 95%CI 0.95–0.99) and functional impairment due to pain (OR = 0.96, 95%CI 0.94–0.99). As compared to low mental well-being, moderate mental well-being was associated with an OR of 0.76 (95%CI 0.58–0.99) for pain and an OR of 0.63 (95%CI 0.46–0.87) of functional impairment due to pain, while high mental well-being was associated with an OR of 0.56 (95%CI 0.40–0.77) for pain and an OR of 0.53 (95%CI 0.34–0.79) for functional impairment due to pain.

Higher mental well-being levels may be protective against pain and functional impairment due to pain. Wider mental health promotion may be considered to prevent pain and associated functional impairments in the general population.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the evolution of the field of personality disorder since the publication of “Personality disorder: no longer a diagnosis of exclusion” in 2003.

A review of both the academic literature contained within relevant databases alongside manual searches of policy literature and guidance from the key stakeholders was undertaken.

The academic and policy literature concentrates on treating borderline and antisocial personality disorders. It seems unlikely that evidence will resolutely support any one treatment modality over another. Criticism has arisen that comparison between modalities misses inter and intra patient heterogeneity and the measurement of intervention has become conflated with overall service design and the need for robust care pathways. Apparent inconsistency in service availability remains, despite a wealth of evidence demonstrating the availability of cost-effective interventions and the significant inequality of social and health outcomes for this population.

The inclusion of heterogeneous sources required pragmatic compromises in methodological rigour.

This paper charts the recent developments in the field with a wealth of wide-ranging evidence and robust guidance from institutions such as NICE. The policy literature has supported the findings of this evidence but current clinical practice and what patients and carers can expect from services remains at odds. This paper lays bare the disparity between what we know and what is being delivered. The authors argue for the need for greater research into current practice to inform the setting of minimum standards for the treatment of personality disorder.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how participation in creative arts activity can enhance public mental health and wellbeing. It is informed by both the author’s clinical practice with service users and carers and by research.

The approach taken is to draw selectively on research in the field of creativity, creative arts and wellbeing, focusing in particular on the use of music and creative writing, and to incorporate learning from clinical experience to explore what is understood about the health and wellbeing benefits of creative arts activity.

There is evidence that creative arts activity is beneficial to mental health and wellbeing. Arts activities that involve active participation appear to offer the greatest benefits. Creative arts participation can help people with diagnosed mental health difficulties to recover from mental illness. Moreover, creative arts activities can also promote wellbeing in the general population.

The paper does not provide a comprehensive review of the literature in this field.

The paper suggests that if nurses and other mental health professionals are to play a full role in facilitating flourishing then they will need to learn more about using creative arts in practice and will need to become involved and encourage others to do so.

The paper suggests it is important that creative arts activities should be participatory, so they become a vehicle not only for self-expression but also for participation in groups and communities, increasing connectedness and social inclusion.

This paper fulfils a need for a wider understanding of the health and wellbeing benefits of creative arts activity.

The purpose of this paper is to establish that social determinants are vital contributing factors to mental health difficulties and that, similar to physical health, mental health follows a social gradient. Despite this acknowledgement, there is a rhetoric/reality gap found in social determinants of mental health (SDMH). It will be argued in this paper that this rhetoric/reality gap is located on a number of levels, including theoretical, methodological, practical, political and policy based, which are proposed here to be interrelated.

The approach is a conceptual analysis of the rhetoric/reality gap found in SDMH using a critical perspective. It draws on a wide variety of theories in order to provide an analysis of the issues outlined.

The paper's central finding is that there is a dissonance between the dominant ontological, epistemological and methodological, or axiomatic, focus in contemporary mental health theory and practice and SDMH. This dissonance has led to a form of “analysis paralysis” on all levels, and the initiatives required to tackle SDMH have been marginalised in favour of a narrow interpretation of evidence-based research and its accompanying ideology centring on the individual, which has established itself as a primary position on what constitutes valid knowledge to the detriment of other views.

The paper offers a critical perspective on an area of SDMH which is often alluded to but never explicitly explored, and questions the underlying assumptions inherent to mental health theory and practice. The paper's value is that it draws attention to this particular dilemma on a wider scale, including on a political and policy-based level, which is often neglected in mental health theory, and it makes some recommendations on how to move forward.

Severe mental illness affects a significant number of people and, if left untreated, leads to poor quality of life and disability. Many of the aspirations proposed for new models of care assert that better preventative services, closer integration between professionals, and increased access to cognitive behavioural therapy in primary care will bring substantial benefits and improved outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to explore the benefits of integrating mental health services into primary care, and improving collaboration between secondary services and primary care. There is a transition underway in healthcare whereby a focus on illness is being supplemented with, or refocused towards achieving better patient well-being. New approaches to service provision are being proposed that: focuses on more holistic outcomes; integrates services around the user; and employs innovative system techniques to incentivise professional and organisational collaboration. Such a transition must be inclusive of those with mental health needs managed in primary care and for those people with serious mental illness in secondary care.

This paper discusses the issues of professional collaboration and the need to provide mental healthcare in a continuous and coordinated manner and; how this may improve timely access to treatment, early diagnosis and intervention. Importantly, it is essential to consider the limitations and reality of recent integration initiatives, and to consider where the true benefit of better integrating mental health into a more collaborative system may lie.

Identifying and addressing issues of parity is likely to call for a new approach to service provision that: focuses on outcomes; co-designs services integrated around the user; and employs innovative contracting techniques to incentivise provider integration.

There is a transition underway in healthcare whereby a focus on illness is being supplemented with or refocused towards working towards wellness. Such a transition requires primary care mental health services to be provided in a continuous and coordinated manner in order to meet the health needs of people with serious mental illness.

It discusses the issues of professional collaboration and how this may improve timely access to treatment, early diagnosis and intervention. It is essential to consider the limitations and reality of recent integration initiatives, and to consider where the true benefit may lie.

This lack of knowledge and experience meant that students often found it difficult to engage with this very complex, conceptual and controversial area of health and social care. The use of visual methodologies in learning mental health and illness was being examined here with a view to its potential for overcoming this obstacle in the students’ learning and further assisting students in their conceptual understanding of the subject. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

In total, 30 participants were recruited from a student population of 44 undergraduates studying a module at level three on mental health. Ethics and consent were secured by giving students full information to decide whether to be part of the study group. The methodology of interpretative phenomenological analysis was the philosophical framework used for the study and this was directed using a five-staged process. Data were collected through group discussions and collation of the students analysis of their visualisations.

Students in the study were encouraged to think about mental health and illness in a non-traditional way of learning. Visualisation of their own perceptions or pre-conceived ideas of MH were explored. This led to some very insightful learning which included not only learning about the subject from a holistic perspective but also a continual reframing of students’ conception of mental health and an enhancement of their understanding. They demonstrated this by developing skills in “self-reflection and professional values development” which are key skills of a mental health practitioner.

The findings have implications for further research into how this type of learning can actually influence practitioners when they do work with people with mental health challenges and illness. This study was limited to a fundamentally theoretical plan for how the learning contributes to professional practice. It is also important to note that the students were also benefitting from the evidence, experience and value of the teaching and learning in a traditional sense so it is not completely clear of that influence of the innovative methodology. Therefore another aspect of study which could enhance the understanding of the influence of visualisation in mental health is to compare practitioners practice who use this technique to learn and develop and those who use a more traditional educational approach.

This research will inform the use of a pedagogy approach in education, learning and teaching about concepts of mental health and illness and contribute to professional practice in health and social care education.

This paper makes contributions to mental health practice, visualisation, mental health education.

Overall, the study offers an opening into the value of visual methodology in mental health awareness, education and practice and a contribution to professional practice in mental health education.

This chapter aims to give an overview of key mental health policy and service provision, highlighting the need for specific attention to Black and minority ethnic children and young people. The focus is on mental health provision in the UK provided through the statutory sector and the voluntary and community sector, the issues raised are likely to have resonance across wider geographic locations. The themes examined include: the relevance of terminology regarding race and ethnicity and related impact on the planning and provision of services; the extent to which policy and commissioning of services give due focus and attention to the mental health of Black and minority ethnic children and young people; views young people themselves have contributed on the issue; and a case study illustrating work being undertaken to redress some of the imbalances encountered by young people in accessing appropriate support. The chapter argues that the supply chain to young people receiving support that is relevant and appropriate to their needs is a long and complex one. It is fundamental to take a holistic approach and consider how the components of this chain impact specifically on the mental health of children and young people from Black and minority ethnic communities.

Child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) – This term refers to all services that work with children and young people to address their behavioural and emotional wellbeing needs. The services may be provided by the National Health Service (NHS), local authority, school, private sector or charitable organisation and span early intervention support through to specialist treatment.

Care Quality Commission – The independent regulator of health and social care services in England.

Commissioning – The process by which health services are procured and should be based on an up-to-date assessment and understanding of needs of the target population.

Co-production – A process for planning and delivery of health and social care services that involves partnership working and power sharing between those responsible for the planning and provision of services, service users, their family members, carers and other citizens.

National Service Framework – Ten year programmes that, until the health and social care reforms started in 2010, defined standards of care in the NHS including measurable goals within set timeframes.

Population Needs Assessments – The collection and study of relevant data to understand and estimate current and future needs of a population in order to inform the planning of services that meet identified needs.

Voluntary and Community Sector – Also referred to as the Third Sector and encompassing a diverse range of organisations, services and groups that are seen as distinct from the public (also referred to as statutory) and private sectors.

Youth Information, Advice and Counselling Services (YIACS) – Most YIACS have charitable status and provide services to young people on a range of issues, a key feature associated with YIACS is the provision of holistic, young person centred support provided under one roof.

Mental health conditions affect almost a quarter of the population who die on average 10-20 years earlier than the general population. Smoking is the single largest cause of this gap in life expectancy. Smoking rates among people with mental health conditions have barely changed over the last 20 years during a time when rates have been steadily falling in the general population. Action is needed to address the growing difference in smoking rates among those with a mental health condition compared to the general population. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

This work has been informed by the input of a wide range of experts and professionals from across public health, mental health and the wider NHS.

People with a mental health condition are just as likely to want to stop smoking as other smokers but they face more barriers to quitting and are more likely to be dependant and therefore need more support. Quitting smoking does not exacerbate poor mental health; in fact the positive impact of smoking cessation on anxiety and depression appears to be at least as large as antidepressants.

The full report outlines the high-level ambitions and the specific actions that must be realised to drive down smoking rates among those with a mental health condition.