Public Policy and Mental Health

This eighth book in the Prevention Practice Kit provides a broad overview of the types of policies governments establish to prevent mental disorders as well as the various ways in which these policies are created. The authors describe the process of analyzing public programs, laws, policies, and managerial innovations in mental disorder prevention, and help readers examine both the rationale for these programs and policies and whether or not they really work.

The text includes valuable case studies on the development of prevention interventions, the impact of individuals and organizations on policies, what happens when attempts to change policies are ineffective, and the considerable amount of effort that is often needed to create needed policy changes in the mental health arena. Questions are provided throughout the text to encourage the reader to engage the topics in a critical manner.

This book is part of the Prevention Practice Kit: Action Guides for Mental Health, a collection of eight books each authored by scholars in the specific field of prevention and edited by Dr. Robert K. Conyne and Dr. Arthur M. Horne. The books in the collection conform to the editors′ outline to promote a consistent reading experience. Designed to provide human services practitioners, counselors, psychologists, social workers, instructors, and students with concrete direction for spreading and improving the practice of prevention, the series provides thorough coverage of prevention application including a general overview of prevention, best practices, diversity and cultural relevance, psychoeducational groups, consultation, program development and evaluation, evidence base, and public policy.

This book is endorsed by the Prevention Section of the Society of Counseling Psychology of the American Psychological Association. Fifty percent of all royalties are donated to Division 17 of the APA.