The Paradigms and Practice of Mental Health Promotion

Recently, the Korean Neuropsychiatric Association began trying to revise the name Department of Psychiatry to a more user-friendly name, from possibilities including Department of Mental Health Medicine and Department of Mental Health Promotion, in the hope of increasing its public accessibility and providing more comprehensive public services. There is an ever-increasing need to extend services, via a more active promotion of positive health, and to move toward preventive strategies rather than confining service efforts to the traditional treatment of illnesses. However, much work is needed to define the construct of mental health and to detail ways of promoting it. Defining how psychiatrists can, from an organizational or an individual perspective, practice medicine that promotes health, is an urgent issue. In this study, we review the determinants of and the historical development of promotion paradigms. We also attempt to provide the current evidence-based approaches, including the cost-effectiveness of interventions, as they apply to promotion concepts and principles.