Beyond the Therapy Room: April 2025
- jane@northside
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
April 2025: WHO guidance on mental health and support during menopause.
Getting a global view of mental health provision has really caught my attention in the last few weeks. Its easy to be focused on our local experiences and the WHO guidance helps see the bigger picture.
WHO Guidance on Mental Health
At the end of last month, the World Health Organisation (WHO) released a new policy guide Guidance on mental health policy and strategic action plans* aimed at helping countries reform and strengthen their mental health systems. Its an interesting read. Particularly Module 4 which sets out practical implementation steps for theoretical example countries.
The guidance is in response to global challenges, including chronic underfunding, limited access to care, and outdated institutional models that may fail to meet human rights standards.
Five key policy areas have been identified that are seen as requiring urgent reform: leadership and governance, service organisation, workforce development, person-centred interventions, and addressing social and structural determinants of mental health.
The guidance is set out as a menu of options and designed to be adaptable for countries at all income levels, allowing for different approaches which are based on local needs and resources.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General says "Despite rising demand, quality mental health services remain out of reach for many people. This new guidance gives all governments the tools to promote and protect mental health and build systems that serve everyone.”
The new guidance offers a practical framework to help governments build inclusive, rights-based, and evidence-informed mental health systems. Key areas of focus include:
Aligning services with human rights standards
Promoting holistic, person-centred care
Addressing social and economic drivers of mental health
Empowering people with lived experience in helping to shape policy
Strengthening leadership, workforce, and service delivery
As countries aim to deal with rising mental health challenges, and although this initiative is a step toward building more responsive, compassionate, and effective mental health systems worldwide, we haven't yet seen the impact of the US' withdrawal from WHO and what that means for mental health provision.
I can recommend taking a look at the WHO guide compared with our own experiences as mental health support professionals to get a wider view of our profession globally and to use when getting involved with professional bodies' strategies.
Mental Health and Menopause
A coroner has raised the issue of a lack of training available for health professionals around the issue of menopause and mental health**. I became aware of symptoms of perimenopause and menopause primarily from friends dealing with increased anxiety, anger and stress as we reached perimenopausal age but have found that training and support seems inconsistent from region to region and women are largely reliant on GPs' awareness.
If you wanted to look at this further, there are resources available including several charities who have overview information e.g. The Menopause Charity, Mind and the NHS website. There may be an organisation local to you who you can approach. There are books and documentaries available looking at the issue from a woman's point of view. I have also seen a few courses listed online but don't have experience of these.
Beyond the Therapy Room
Beyond the Therapy Room is a monthly blog exploring mental health issues of interest to practitioners including new research, policy changes, trends and insights that may impact therapists and their work.
Training and Events
Take a look at CPD events for counsellors, psychotherapists and talking therapists at Northside training here.
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