Mental Health and Wellbeing
Core concepts
Mental health is more than the absence of mental illness; it is a state of wellbeing enabling people to cope with stress, work productively and contribute to their community. Candidates should understand common conditions: depression, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, psychosis and dementia, and know that dementia is a syndrome of cognitive decline, not a normal part of ageing. Learn the biopsychosocial model and the recovery model, which emphasises hope, identity, meaning and personal responsibility. Know the Mental Health Act principles and the concept of least restrictive practice. Understand therapeutic communication, risk assessment (including suicide risk) and signposting. Recognise the impact of stigma and the importance of trauma-informed care.
Traps in questions
Do not confuse mental health with mental illness - everyone has mental health. Remember that dementia and delirium differ: delirium has a sudden onset and fluctuating course, often with a physical cause. Questions may confuse anxiety (apprehension about a threat) with fear (response to immediate danger). Be careful: confidentiality may be breached only where there is a lawful and proportionate reason, such as serious risk to life.
Worked rule of thumb
Use the biopsychosocial lens: biological (genes, illness), psychological (thoughts, coping), social (relationships, housing, income). For any presentation, ask which factors are contributing and which are modifiable.
Applying it
Mental health support must be person-centred, recovery-focused and stigma-free.