Healing the nation: Advancing mental health and addiction policy

Our guiding principle for this framework is that our health policies and solutions must be inclusive enough to ensure that all places and spaces effectively promote mental health, from creating positive dynamics that prevent conditions from developing, providing access to culturally appropriate services when needs arise, defining outcomes and collecting data to ensure equitable positive outcomes, and supporting recovery in whatever form it takes for that individual. This also exists on a continuum whereby some people have more severe needs than others.

This framework provides a portfolio of solutions that should be considered when advancing a comprehensive mental health and addiction policy platform or if seeking policy targeting a specific population or entry point. The key role for government in creating better mental health is eliminating policies that artificially carve out or separate mental health and addiction benefits, delivery services, or financing from overall healthcare. These policy priorities presented in this guide should be considered as an integrated strategy alongside robust quality measures to assess and assure that standards are being met within all populations and people are getting healthier.