Make mental health and well-being for all a global priority – World Mental Health Day 2022

The World Federation for Mental Health has named ‘Make Mental Health & Well-Being for All a Global Priority’ the theme for 2022 World Mental Health Day. The objective of this day is for all of us to re-kindle our efforts to make the world a better place by protecting and improving our own Mental Health and others.

In the last couple of years as a world, we have been through an onslaught of devastation from war, COVID-19, discrimination, growing social and economic inequalities, environmental disasters and much more. In an era with the most connectivity opportunities, via the internet, it can feel that, as a world, we have become more divided and removed from each other than ever before.  

World Health Organisation (WHO) has stated that ‘Around 20% of the world’s children and adolescents have a mental health condition, with suicide the second leading cause of death among 15-29-year-olds'. We also know that many children’s mental health issues often go undetected as staff and resources are limited.  

With everything we have been experiencing globally and the growing levels of mental health conditions, we must make the emotional well-being of everyone at the heart of our decisions, from individuals to school-based, communities and most importantly, at a systemic level. Taking the time to strengthen the care we provide and the carers providing it, we need a toolbox available to meet the full spectrum of emotional needs globally throughout each community at an affordable level.  

Drawing and Talking supports the campaign ‘Make Mental Health & Well-Being for All a Global Priority’ as we continue to provide cost-effective training for our early intervention technique, serving our practitioners online to support making it as accessible as possible for practitioners worldwide. Furthermore, our partnership with Mental Health Hub ensures that schools can have an effective way of measuring the emotional needs of the children in their settings. At Drawing and Talking, we continue to be vocal about the issues we know the people on the front line are facing. This helps to ensure that mental health and well-being remains at the top of the priority list.