The World Health Organization (WHO) and UN Human Rights Office have launched new guidance to promote human rights in mental health care. The guidance advises countries to alter their approach to mental health policies to ensure every individual’s dignity and human rights become a focal point in conversations and care.
The guidance, entitled “Mental health, human rights and legislation: guidance and practice”, is a 208-page document aiming to align mental health policies with international human rights laws. The primary concern of the guidance is focused on deinstitutionalization and putting an end to procedures labeled as “coercive practices”, such as conversion therapy. The document concludes with a checklist to rank elements such as community inclusion, accountability, and policy implementation.
The new guidance criticizes the “Western biomedical model” of medicine. This criticism is in response to their belief that early psychiatric discourse, which allowed for the institutionalization of those suffering from mental health issues, forces the “rational” to accept the institutionalization of mental health patients. This model is rejected by the guidance, attributing to it a proclivity to marginalize, and in some cases, legitimize human rights abuses and coercive mental health practices.
The new “rights-based” model presented in the guidance seeks to be more inclusive, especially towards marginalized communities such as women and the LGBTQ+ community. The model encourages initiatives to provide person-centered and community-based services, challenge stigmas surrounding mental health, eliminate discrimination and coercion, foster inclusivity, participation, and the development of accountability measures.
The guidance explicitly states that current mental health laws too often reduce individuals experiencing distress to being a “problem”, leading to stigma, an overemphasis on biomedical treatment options, unwarranted concentration on changing the individual rather than the circumstances they live in, and overall acceptance of coercive practices. To address this, the guidance notes that coercion remains a pivotal element in existing mental health laws across jurisdictions.
The new guidance was released a day prior to the World Mental Health Day.