As mentioned in the eMEN autumn newsletter, in the summer of 2018 the French Minister of Solidarity and Health and the Secretary of State for Disabled Persons presented the government’s roadmap for mental health and psychiatry. This roadmap included among its priorities – for the first time – e-mental health, under the name “Mental Health 3.0”. The Ministerial department responsible for mental health is already working to create a “working group on e-mental health” to implement the objectives identified in the roadmap.
The working group had its first meeting in January 2019 and consists of representatives of national health agencies, research groups and universities, user representatives, carers associations, developers and other stakeholders involved in e-mental health. The WHO Collaborating Centre (WHOCC) for research and training in mental health (EPSM Lille Métropole, French partner of eMEN) was appointed to co-chair the working group. Its objectives are, in the short term, to carry out an inventory of existing French tools and those under development and services in the field of e-mental health, and in the medium and long term, to adapt and implement the policy recommendations of the eMEN project in France and define a “development model” in agreement with eMEN recommendations.
This is not the only news for e-mental health in France for 2019! Every year in March a national group of users and carers associations, with the support of the French Minister of Solidarity and Health, organises two weeks dedicated to mental health and more particularly to the organisation of mental health promotion activities. These weeks are an opportunity to build projects and to talk about mental health with the entire population. The 2019 Mental Health Information Weeks were held from March 18 to 31 under the theme "Mental Health in the Digital Age". Events ranging from movie screenings and art exhibitions to conferences and seminars were organised across the country. The utility and benefits of e-mental health, but also the potential risks were discussed during different events, showing that e-mental health is at the top of the agenda in France.
A flyer giving more detail is available here:
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Finally, a first of its kind information brochure on e-mental health aimed at the general public has been published by an independent information and training organisation in mental health and co-written by the WHOCC. The eMEN project is cited as a reference at an international level. The brochure is available here: http://www.psycom.org/Troubles-psychiques/Sante-mentale-et/Sante-mentale-et-numerique