Social and health services have a vital role for people with mental health problems who cannot live full lives without support.

The division between health and social services is a barrier to the provision of care for people with mental health conditions. However, local GPs (family doctors) together with social workers as first points of contact advise people with mental health problems and their families about a range of services available in the local area to meet their individual needs.

In most countries, health and social services have a legal duty to protect people with mental health problems and to provide appropriate care, upholding values of respect, professionalism and responsibility.

Local governments seek to find ways to mainstream mental health into different policies at the local level. In this sense, it is important to integrate local health planning applications with social responsibilities. Coordination between health and social services ensures that people with mental health problems are heard and that the concept of recovery (as the personal process of tackling the adverse impact of experiencing mental health problems) is fully promoted.

Local health and social services have a wider impact on people’s well being and they improve life chances of those suffering from mental health conditions. To see how this works in practice, ESN members have presented good practice from Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Spain and UK.