From the Margins to the Mainstream: The Public Health Potential of Mental Health Promotion

There are encouraging signs that mental health, as opposed to mental illness, is beginning to move up the political agenda, but much still needs to be done to challenge misconceptions. Drawing on the growing literature on social capital, this paper looks at the case for building a new agenda for mental health promotion, one which recognises that we all have mental health needs, whether or not we have a diagnosis. Such needs underpin all health and well‐being and provide a rationale for placing mental health at the centre of the new public health debate.