The ABCs of Mental Health

The ABCs of Mental Health is the first universal research-based public mental health promotion initiative in Denmark. The initiative is organized as a partnership, which is lead from the Department of Psychology at University of Copenhagen.

ABC ABC

The ABCs of Mental Health partnership works to ensure that everyone, no matter their background, has the feeling of having something and someone to wake up to in the morning. It is as important to strengthen and promote our mental health as it is to strengthen our physical health. That applies no matter if you are young, old, healthy, ill, rich or poor.

The goal of the ABCs is therefore to support active and meaningful communities by creating the best possible conditions and environments for mental health and wellbeing. This is meant to secure that everyone can: Do something, do something with someone, and do something meaningful. 

We do this through research-based information, by building capacity, sharing knowledge, and by cooperating across different disciplines and sectors. 

The ABCs of Mental Health is inspired by 'Act-Belong-Commit', a universal mental health promotion initiative developed by Curtin University, Western Australia.

For administrative inquiries, please contact project coordinator Laura Aarup Grool at abcmentalsundhed@psy.ku.dk

For more information, go to: psy.ku.dk/abc (in Danish).

 

 

 

The ABCs of Mental Health partnership cooperates across different academic and organizational disciplines - across the public, private and civil society - to promote mental health on a research-based foundation. The initiative focuses on: 1) Increasing the knowledge and understanding of what people can do to strengthen their own and other's mental health through research-based information. 2) Creating the best possible conditions for mental health and well-being for the entire Danish population across life conditions and situations.

Our goal is to reduce the complexity related to mental health and to make it more tangible to work with mental health promotion in practice - both for the individual and across organizations. The partners have different target groups but we all work from a mutual and simple research-based framework. It is based on three principles that we know impact mental health and well-being: Act: Do something active, Belong: Do something with someone, and Commit: Do something meaningful. 

The partnership consists of more than 50 strong partners, including The Region of Southern Denmark, a long list of municipalities, organizations, associations, and researchers - because mental health is something we create together.

 

Mental health is just as important as physical health. Mental health is pivotal for our health and our ability to function socially, economically and education-wise. It is increasingly acknowledged both politically and in research, that mental health is paramount for our ability to work and contribute positively to society. 

Mental illness is one of the largest disease burdens in the world, and the latest National Health Profile in Denmark showed a significant decline in mental health between 2010 and 2017. This trend is especially worrying among adolescents.  

In order to break this trend and improve mental health among the Danish population, national and international experts point to the necessity of investing in and prioritizing mental health promotion - alongside prevention and treatment. The ABCs of Mental Health aims at:

  • Increasing knowledge and understanding of what people can do to strengthen their own and other's mental health and well-being through research-based information. 
  • Building organizational capacity and educate qualified staff to work with mental health promotion.
  • Creating possibilities for more people to be able to take part in including communities and activities through initiatives within and across the partnership
  • Ensuring that the initiatives are based on a solid scientific foundation through continuous research and evaluation.

Mental health is more than just the absence of mental health problems. Mental health is also a sense of belonging, having a reason to get up in the morning, and being able to contribute with and to something beyond oneself. 

The ABCs of Mental Health partnership works to find the best ways to cooperate, create initiatives, and communicate to promote mental health in the population. The initiatives do not follow a standardized model but are developed in cooperation between the local governments, organizations and associations involved - and in cooperation with the citizens. The initiatives are continuously updated and adapted on a research-based foundation.

Click here to find more information about the ABCs of Mental Health (in Danish).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We regularly participate in events and communicate our knowledge of mental health promotion. See for instance our videos about the ABCs of Mental Health below:

The video is produced by Madeclear.


The video is produced by Madeclear.

See also our video about mental health below where the Head of the Department of Psychology Vibeke Koushede offers students advise based on the ABCs of Mental Health:

 

 

The ABCs of Mental Health works within a simple, research-based framework. Through research, we ensure that politicians, volunteers, leaders and health staff have the best possible foundation to prioritize mental health promoting initiatives.

The research is conducted in a cooperation between researchers at the Department of Psychology at University of Copenhagen and the National Institute of Public Health at University of Southern Denmark.

Selected publications

You can find more publications at psy.ku.dk/abc (in Danish).

  

Group members

Name Title Phone E-mail
Charlotte Bjerre Meilstrup Postdoc +4535322067 E-mail
Line Nielsen Postdoc +4535322103 E-mail
Laura Aarup Grool Project Coordinator +4535329596 E-mail
Cecilie Schacht Madsen Research Assistant +4535337461 E-mail
Malene Kubstrup Nelausen Teaching Assistant Professor +4535337533 E-mail

Contact

Charlotte Meilstrup
Postdoc and project manager of ABC
cbm@psy.ku.dk 
Line Nielsen
Postdoc and project manager of ABC
ln@psy.ku.dk

Online course in mental well-being

Click here for more info.

Want to know more?

Click here to watch a video about the ABC project (in Danish).

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