摘要：The National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine have called for making the healthy mental, emotional, and behavioral development of young people a national priority. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in the US Department of Health and Human Services is uniquely positioned to help develop national mental health policies that promote mental health and prevent mental illnesses. In this article I describe the role of mental health in overall health, I make the case for a public health approach to mental health promotion and mental illness prevention, and I outline a strategy to promote individual, family, and community resilience. I also describe how SAMHSA works to achieve these goals. Ultimately, true health reform will not succeed without a comprehensive, committed focus on the mental health needs of all Americans. IN 2009, THE NATIONAL RE search Council and the Institute of Medicine released the much-anticipated report Preventing Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Disorders Among Young People: Progress and Possibilities . 1 The report, which called for making the healthy mental, emotional, and behavioral development of young people a national priority, was commissioned by the Center for Mental Health Services in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), US Department of Health and Human Services. In recommending the inclusion of mental health promotion in the full spectrum of mental health interventions, this report aligns squarely with calls to adopt a proactive public health approach to improve mental health in the United States. The report's authors concluded that “the nation is now well positioned to equip young people with the skills, interests, assets, and health habits needed to live healthy, happy, and productive lives in caring relationships that strengthen the social fabric.” 1(p13) This perspective must be the foundation of efforts not only to transform the delivery of behavioral health care in this country but also to alter the very concept of health itself. The stakes are high; as the World Health Organization notes, mental health is “central to building a healthy, inclusive, and productive society.” 2
