A Population-Based Approach to Behavioral Health: California's Promotion and Prevention Efforts Create a Culture Shift and Foster Positive Social Determinants for Mental Well-Being

Mental health has traditionally been addressed through visits to behavioral health providers. In the last 50 years, evidence providing a “public health” perspective on the onset and course of symptoms has started to inform public policy.  The World Health Organization now places mental well-being on par with physical well-being in order for an individual to be fully healthy. With this in mind, mental health has emerged as a issue critical to the health, productivity and resilience of entire communities.

In California, the voter-approved Mental Health Services Act (Proposition 63), made it possible to fund ‘upstream ‘public health approaches that impact mental health. Instead of focusing solely on the treatment of people with diagnosed mental health disorders, strategies were implemented that were designed to promote the mental wellbeing of populations and prevent the onset of the severe consequences of untreated mental illness.  

This presentation will provide the context for why and how California incorporated public health prevention and promotion strategies into its behavioral health system. The presentation will  share strategies designed to address and leverage positive social determinants to create a culture of mental well-being. High-level description will be shared about stigma reduction efforts designed to promote mental health and prevent suicide including: social marketing campaigns; training and education, and the development of mental health educational resources for California’s diverse populations.

The Affordable Care Act offers an opportunity to support a paradigm-shift from intervention to prevention. The presentation will suggest how thought and practice leaders might build similar strategies in their local communities.