Mental Health Foundation

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Mental Health Foundation
The logo of the Mental Health Foundation
Formation	1949
Headquarters	Colechurch House 1 London Bridge Walk London SE1 2SX United Kingdom.
Region served	UK
Chief Executive	Dr Andrew McCulloch
Website	www.mentalhealth.org.uk

The Mental Health Foundation was founded in 1949. It is a British charitable organization that provides information, carries out research, and campaigns to improve services for people affected by mental health problems. It now incorporates the Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities.

History and origins

In 1949 Derek Richter, a neurochemist with an interest in mental health, and Ian Henderson, a stockbroker, formed the Mental Health Research Fund (MHRF), with the aim of raising funds to award grants for research in mental health. In 1972 the Fund merged with another fundraising body, The Mental Health Trust, and in 1973 was renamed the Mental Health Foundation.^[1]

Current Aims

The strategic objectives of the Mental Health Foundation are to make mental health a core issue in the UK and to improve services and community support for people with leaming disabilities and people with mental health problems. It also aims to sustain its development through excellent management and high quality fundraising and support services.^[2] The Chief Executive has described the main purpose of the Foundation as "to try to mainstream mental health as an issue so it is a core part of everything else".^[3]

Organization

The president of the Foundation is Sir William Utting CBE, and the patron is Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy. The Chairman of the board of trustees is Dinesh Bhugra, appointed in 2011. The Chief Executive, Jenny Edwards, was appointed in 2013.^[4]

Campaigns

The Mental Health Foundation campaigns to raise awareness of mental health issues in the media and raise the profile of mental health in political and social agendas. Recent campaigns have included:^[5]

Be Mindful - A campaign to promote the use of Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) for treatment of long term depression, as an alternative to prescribed medication.^[6]
Research Mental Health - A joint venture with the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London to promote the importance of mental health research in the UK.
Right Here - A five year project in conjunction with the Paul Hamlyn Foundation which is aimed at 16- to 25-year-olds in the UK, and is focused on helping young people improve their mental health and reduce the chances of developing mental health problems in later life, as well as tackling the stigma attached to such problems.^[7]
Mental Health Action Week- This is a nationwide annual event held each spring to raise awareness of various mental health issues. Topics have included:^[8] Fear (2009), Anger (2008), Friendship (2007), Alcohol (2006) and Exercise (2005).

Funding

The Foundation's income for 2011-12 was £4.9m, with sources including donations (individual and corporate), legacies and grants.^[9]^[10]

References

External links

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