Public Mental Health SIG
Public mental health is the art and science of improving mental health and wellbeing and preventing mental illness through the organised efforts and informed choices of society, organisations, public and private, communities and individuals.
Mental health is vital to public health; mental wellbeing is profoundly important to quality of life and the capacity to cope with life’s ups and downs. It is protective against physical illness, social inequalities and unhealthy lifestyles. There are now a large number of evidence-based approaches to promoting mental wellbeing and preventing mental illness, and these are growing daily.
Our aim in the Public Mental Health SIG is to promote high quality, evidence based practice in public mental health by enhancing knowledge, skills and attitudes, as well as providing practical resources to assist you in your work.
Contact
The Public Mental Health Special Interest Group is chaired by Catherine Shuttleworth and Jude Stansfield. The SIG reports to the Faculty's Advocacy & Policy Committee. You can contact the SIG Chairs at PMHSIG@fph.org.uk.
Join the Public Mental Health SIG
FPH members can join this SIG by logging into their FPH members’ portal account, selecting the ‘Committees/SIGs’ button and choosing the correct SIG. You will then be asked to provide a few details, following which your application will be automatically approved. Further details on FPH membership are available here.
Workplan
View the Public Mental Health SIG workplan for 2025 here.
Further Resources
The Public Mental Health Special Interest Group has developed website pages and links to further resources on the key topics in public mental health (see links below). The latest public health and mental health strategies say that mental health and physical health should be treated with ‘parity of esteem’. To achieve this parity we need to enhance knowledge and skills relating to the mental health components of public health practice. The SIG has also developed a publication with FPH and the Mental Health Foundation for public health professionals to support the promotion of mental wellbeing and primary prevention of mental illness: Better mental health for all. This publication is designed for FPH members and is available to all.
In April 2021, the Public Mental Health SIG responded on behalf of the Faculty to the government's White Paper, Reforming the Mental Health Act and the SIG's response is here.
Brief summary of Better Mental Health for All publication
- Section one maps out why mental health is an important and often overlooked aspect of overall health.
- Section two outlines the risk and protective factors through the life course and across communities.
- Section three addresses approaches and interventions to improve mental health at different stages of the life course and in different settings.
- Section four offers a practical guide to enable practitioners to support their own mental wellbeing.
Public Mental Health Sarah Stewart Brown Award winners
This Faculty award, sponsored by Professor Sarah Stewart Brown, aims to encourage and promote leadership and innovation in public mental health in the UK among members of the public health community.
View previous winners below.
Title of initiative
Being You Leeds
Summary of application
Launched in July 2023, Being You Leeds (BYL) is an enhanced wellbeing programme commissioned to work with communities most at risk of poor mental health. Its aim is to promote protective factors, reduce risk factors, and enable people to understand their needs and access quality services when required.
BYL is delivered through a consortium of seven established third sector partners embedded in local communities. It uses a community development approach, is trauma‑informed, and applies co‑design, collaboration and proportionate universalism to deliver co‑produced wellbeing groups and activities that strengthen social networks, build social capital and create conditions for good mental health.
BYL is commissioned to increase protective factors, build confidence and skills within organisations and communities, and reduce stigma and discrimination. Research evidence has informed its development, including signposting to support, promoting green space, positive relationships and community engagement. Quarterly monitoring, SWEMWBS evaluation and participatory methods ensure continuous learning. Collaborative working with commissioners, service providers, community organisations and residents shaped the programme, which now focuses on sustainable, community‑owned groups and embedding protective factors that will last beyond the contract period.
Brief update to the work
The mission of Being You Leeds is simple yet powerful: help people stay well by creating spaces and groups to connect; increase knowledge and skills around mental health and bring people together to reduce stigma.
We recognise the barriers people face in accessing meaningful activities in the heart of communities so all of the groups are free to access and half of our groups are delivered in the evening or on a weekend – we know mental health challenges or feelings of loneliness don’t stop at 5pm when the library, doctors surgery or shops close.
Groups and activities are co-produced with communities – they go far beyond what we may think of as traditional groups in community centres – we have men’s songwriting, photography, journalling and embroidery, salsa and games nights – all delivered and supported by a group leader who has the knowledge and skills around mental health and suicide prevention.
Being You Leeds also delivers suicide prevention and mental health training to frontline practitioners building community capacity to support people who may be at greater risk of poor mental health. By leading the Leeds Anti Stigma Partnership, which takes a strategic role in the City in bringing services together, Being You Leeds is challenging discrimination and promoting open conversations across the system about mental health and the importance of help seeking.
Relevant links:
Personal update on their PMH/ leadership journey
Receiving the Sarah Stewart-Brown Award for Public Mental Health is a real honour and which I see as recognition of the collective effort of my team behind our work. My journey as a Public Health Consultant has been shaped by a belief in prevention, equity and collaboration — but none of this is ever achieved alone.
I am continually inspired by my team and by voluntary and community sector partners who bring expertise, creativity and deep community relationships to improving mental health outcomes across Leeds. Together, we have worked to strengthen a whole-system approach that values lived experience, tackles inequalities and supports communities to lead change themselves.
I chose to donate the £500 award to the Being You Leeds Small SPARKS Fund because it reflects these shared values. The fund empowers grassroots organisations to develop locally led, culturally relevant initiatives that nurture wellbeing. I hope this contribution helps sustain the incredible work happening across our communities and continues to spark connection, hope and resilience.
Title of initiative
Haringey’s Great Mental Health Programme
Summary of application
Chantelle is the senior lead for Haringey’s Great Mental Health Programme, an ambitious and innovative initiative designed to reduce widening mental health inequalities by targeting at‑risk and vulnerable groups and minority ethnic communities. The evidence‑informed programme provides face‑to‑face and digital support for residents of all ages, including parenting support, befriending groups, outreach work, community‑based wellbeing activities and tailored support for vulnerable residents.
A consortium of community and grassroots organisations has been commissioned to support priority groups such as BAME communities, low‑income households, homeless people, residents with disabilities, older people and young people not in education, employment or training. Co‑designed activities help residents build social networks, share experiences and access support.
Local and national evaluations, including work with Bristol University and the National Institute of Health Research, have shown positive outcomes and contribute to a national evaluation of the Better Mental Health Fund.
Chantelle founded ‘Great Mental Health Day’, collaborating with partners including the GLA, ADPH, NHS and Thrive London. The campaign has run across London in 2021 and 2022 with a wide range of activities.
The programme has been nationally recognised through multiple award shortlisting's, and there is strong political commitment to continue Great Mental Health Day for the next four years.
Brief update to the work
Since being awarded the Faculty of Public Health Sarah Stewart Brown Award, the work recognised has continued to grow and evolve. Great Mental Health Day, which originated in Haringey in 2021, celebrated its fifth anniversary this year and has become firmly established as a moment for collective action, conversation and stigma reduction. What began as a locally rooted idea has grown across London, demonstrating the power of prevention focused, population level approaches to mental health. More information is available at: Five years of Great Mental Health Day: a movement born in Haringey - Thrive LDN
Alongside this, the Great Mental Health programme in Haringey has developed into a broader, place based programme of work. It has evolved to include targeted initiatives that respond directly to local need, including a Black men’s mental health project and an intergenerational mental health project. These strands reflect a continued commitment to addressing inequality, amplifying lived experience, and supporting communities that face structural barriers to good mental health.
Together, this work has remained grounded in partnership, community leadership and public health principles, while adapting and expanding to meet emerging needs.
Personal update on their PMH/ leadership journey
Since receiving the Award, my public mental health and leadership journey has continued to deepen and mature. I have grown in confidence as a system leader, with a stronger focus on convening partners, creating shared ownership, and embedding mental health within wider determinants and prevention agendas.
I have increasingly focused on translating evidence into practice, supporting partnership working across statutory and voluntary sectors, and ensuring that lived experience meaningfully shapes strategy and delivery. Alongside my professional role, I also completed an MSc in Global Healthcare Leadership at the University of Oxford, which further strengthened my analytical skills and commitment to rigorous, ethical and impactful public mental health practice.
The Award provided both validation and motivation, reinforcing the importance of bold, values driven leadership in public mental health. It has encouraged me to continue pushing for inclusive, preventative approaches that centre equity, collaboration and long term system change.
Prevention Concordat for Public Health
Public Health England (PHE) has published a major set of resources to help local authorities and their partners take action to promote better mental health and prevent mental ill health in their communities. The aim of the concordat is to adopt a prevention-focused approach for positive mental health through the development of alliances across and between local authorities, the NHS, private, public and voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations, education settings and employers.
The concordat is available to view here.
Accessing advice and support for people directing affected by mental health issues
If you are experiencing mental distress, or find that the subjects covered by this resource triggering, you can find information about how to access support, care and treatment for either yourself or someone you care for via the following websites:
- Samaritans, who are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week via the following freephone number: 116 123, or via email: jo@samaritans.org or by visiting the Samaritans website
- NHS Choices guide to accessing mental health services
- Rethink mental illness, who provide accredited advice and information to everyone affected by mental health problems
Looking for ideas and examples of best practice in action?
Watch three short films of public mental health in action, available on FPH's YouTube channel. The videos were made with three of the shortlisted entries for FPH's Public Mental Health Award 2016 and tell the story of work happening in Torbay, Somerset and Lanarkshire to improve public mental health.
Contact us via policy@fph.org.uk to let us know if these resources on public mental health are meeting your needs or if you have any suggestions for further topics to be included.
Public Mental Health: Joint conference with RCPysch
In May 2019, FPH's Public Mental Health Special Interest Group (SIG) co-hosted a fully-booked conference with RCPsych dedicated to discussing effective public mental health prevention. Click here to read about the talks given on the day, including slide packs and full event write-ups.
Webinar recordings
Faculty members can visit the FPH Members Portal to watch webinar recordings in the resources section.
Preparing and planning for emergency responses – psychosocial support
In 2019 the Public Mental Health Special Interest Group developed a briefing to help prepare and plan for emergency responses, ensuring that the impacts of trauma on psychosocial health and well-being are considered. It seeks to complement existing resources in addition to signposting where additional information exists at a national and international level. The briefing supports public health teams, educational establishments, community, social care and healthcare settings. The briefing was presented at the PHE annual conference in September 2019 alongside a presentation with the British Red Cross which can be found here.
