Provisional National Council for Mental Health
ine Provisional National Council for Mental nat , Was formed in January, 1943. It is a ^ural development of the Mental Health Erne - f: “cy Committee which it displaces, and atth?sa? nflu 0Wes its existence very largely to a RePO mp ?eversham Committee, the principal reco ndation of which it implements.
th. [ be remembered by many of our readers sef ? the ” essential unity of the mental health vice ” was the primary conclusion underly g r7 Feversham Report, while the Reports chief c?rnmendation was :
That a new central voluntary body be set UP for England and Wales, to co-ordinate tne Activities of the voluntary mental health organ- ?zations in the country.
tL^e Report was published only a few weeks before he declaration of War, and the Conference planned to bring it to the notice of the public had to be abandoned. It might, therefore, have seemed to the casual observer at that time that the labour (lasting over a period of three years) which had gone to the production of the Report was wasted effort, but without it, the formation of the Pro- visional National Council for Mental Health would never have taken place, for it is on the basis of the principles enunciated in the Report that the Council takes its stand.
In January, 1939, the Mental Health Emergency Committee was set up to deal with mental health problems which it was anticipated would arise under war conditions, the threat of which was daily increasing. Formed of representatives of the Central Association for Mental Welfare, the Child Guidance Council and the National Council for Mental Hygiene (with, in addition, representatives of the two professional bodies?the Association of Mental Health Workers and the Association of * A ^ BuckinVuar 8’v‘“g particulars of the formation of the Council can be obtained on application to the Hon. SecretariS, glam Palace Road, London, S. W.l.
Psychiatric Social Workers), the Committee was intended primarily to co-ordinate the essentially wartime activities of its constituent bodies. In this limited field, therefore, an end was put to over-lapping and a demonstration was made of what co-operation and joint action could achieve.
The success of this experiment not only proved the wisdom of the Feversham Committee’s recom- mendations, but showed that the co-operation established by the three bodies in connection with their war activities must be extended to their other work as well. While complete amalgamation during wartime was out of the question, an Amalgamating Committee to explore possibilities was set up in July, 1942, with the full support of the Ministry of Health, the Board of Control and the Board of Education. Professor J. M. Mackin- tosh, a member of the Feversham Committee and primarily responsible for the drafting of its Report, was in the chair, and the outcome of this Amalgamating Committee’s deliberations was a Scheme for establishing the fullest measure of amalgamation possible under war conditions. The Scheme was accepted by the constituent bodies and in January, 1943, the National Provisional Council for Mental Health held its first meeting. The Scheme may be summarized as follows:
The Council consists of four representatives and two Honorary Officers from each constituent body (the Central Association for Mental Welfare, the Child Guidance Council and the National Council for Mental Hygiene) with an independent Chairman (for this position it has been fortunate in securing the services of Sir Otto Niemeyer), a Vice-Chairman (Mrs. Montagu Norman) and an Hon. Treasurer (Dr Mackintosh). The Hon. Secretary of the C.A.M.W. (Miss Evelyn Fox) and the Hon. Secre- tary of the National Council for Mental Hygiene (Dr Doris Odium) have been appointed by their respective bodies as Joint Hon. Secretaries of the Council, acting in association with the Medical Director of the Child Guidance Council (Dr Alan Maberly). The Council takes over the staff” of the Mental Health Emergency Committee (which it displaces), and the staffs of the three constituent bodies are seconded for the Council’s work. Two points in connection with the Scheme should be noted :
(?) That it is provisional and experimental and intended to function in its present form only until complete amalgamation, can take place. (?) That pending such complete amalgamation, each of the constituent bodies maintains its independent existence and the Executive Committees will meet regularly as before, to receive quarterly reports of the Council’s activities.
, The three bodies retain control over their own finances, and their position is safeguarded by the Council’s pledge to continue, as far as possible, all the activities previously carried out by them, to strengthen their work in every way and to make no alteration in their policies or principles without their approval.
The activities of the Council will include, as has been noted, all those previously carried out by its constituent bodies, and from the list which follows it will be seen how comprehensive these will be : I. The promotion and maintenance of normal mental health in children and adults.
For this purpose, instruction is given to professional groups, such as doctors, teachers, probation officers and others on the principles of mental health and their application in the working problems which will be encountered daily by such workers. Here is included the organization of lectures and courses for Youth Leaders and other workers in the Youth Service on the psychology of adolescence.
A Loan Service of Educational Psychologists is available to local authorities requiring expert help in psychological problems arising in schools, and for a survey of requirements in connection with the setting up of Child Guidance Services.
Similarly, there is a Loan Service of trained and experienced workers to give advice on War Nurseries, particularly in connection with obtaining and utilizing play material and equipment.
By the organization of lectures and con- ferences, instruction is given to the general public in the practice of mental health. There are lectures under the Rural Mental Health Education Scheme organized in villages and essentially rural areas, and to the Forces under the Army Education Scheme.
The promotion and carrying out of research in specific mental health problems. The promotion and maintenance of close contact with mental health organizations other countries.
II. The consideration of problems in relation to, and provision of services for, children and adult5 suffering from nervous disability or defect- The study and treatment of problems of behaviour in childhood and the provision of Child Guidance facilities.
The maintenance of a Register of Foster Homes for Nervous, Difficult and Retarded Children, and the provision of supervision after placement.
This includes responsibility for an Hostel for specially difficult children in need of prolonged psychiatric treatment and skilled observation.
The Council is also responsible for a Resi- dential Nursery for evacuated children who are too difficult to be dealt with in ordinary nurseries.
Social case work for children and adults suffering from all types of nervous disability and defect.
The establishment of Homes, Hostels and Workshops for mental defectives and epileptics. The development of community care of epilep- t’cs, promotion of legislation on their behalf and creation of public opinion in support of it. At present, the Council is responsible for nve existing Emergency Homes for mental defectives, and four Agricultural Hostels for male Patients on licence from certified institutions. The maintenance of standards of training and provision of training facilities for pro- fessional workers dealing with mental health problems.
This includes awards of Fellowships in Psychiatry and Psychology tenable at Child guidance Training Centres, and Courses for Teachers and Medical Officers, and workers in Rental Deficiency Institutions, Occupation Centres, and Hostels for Difficult Children. Treasury grant formerly made to the Mental t ^n Emergency Committee is being transferred inn Provisional Council to cover the expenses re Urred in the taking over of that Committee s n Possibilities, and the money which was gener- fr y Placed at its disposal by H.M. the Queen J??m the United States “Bundles for Britain nd), will continue to be available for specific PUrPoses.
m^if Council’s administrative expenses will be j 1 py the three constituent bodies, each contribut- .8 in proportion to its previous liabilities, and Wc^t Prertl^ses are being acquired so that all the rk may be carried on under one roof. P It should be noted that the services of the Council s ideational Psychologists, War Nursery Advisers, Tourers and other specialized workers will be . liable for loan to local authorities and organiza- ann S- ?.n Payment of the necessary fees and expenses, , d it is hoped that the greatest use will be made oi ese services.
th ^rou?h the amalgamation of the Libraries of the *”ee constituent bodies, improved library facilities ‘ be offered by the Council, particulars of which a ay had on application. It is hoped, also, that , efficient Information Service may be established y^ans of which data on any subject connected jth mental health may be available to any worker l ? requires it. Developments in the work will i? recorded in the Council’s journal Mental Health.
It is obviously too soon to make any attempt to SSess the results of the establishment of this Council, but the mere fact of its existence may be taken as an indication of a welcome re-orientation. In the words of the Feversham Report: Amalgamation means thinking in terms of the individual to be helped, and not in terms of the societies which have previously rendered services.
It means, also, on the part of officers, members and staffs of the amalgamating bodies, a readiness to pool resources and experience acquired through years of pioneering work, and to share fields of activity to which, through long association, no small degree of emotional significance has become attached. These things are not lightly achieved, and at the outset it is inevitable that there will be difficulties of adjustment. But that such initial difficulties will be overcome, can confidently be predicted, for everyone concerned is convinced that increased knowledge and a deepened understanding of the nature of mental health problems, have produced a position in which a continuance of the old methods would have stultified further progress. In the words of the Board of Control in its Report for 1935 :
The special problems of child guidance, of the treatment of borderline cases, of after-care and preventive care, and the manifold problems, medical, social and educational, associated with mental deficiency, are all closely related and to attempt to deal with them in isolation is neither scientific nor conducive to the most economical use of the available resources. The Board cordially agree with Professor Henderson, of Edinburgh, when he says (in his report for 1935), ” We must learn to talk of mental health and its maintenance rather than of mental disease and its cure.” Until this is generally recognized, no real progress can be made on preventive lines, and sectional interests will continue to compete against one another for public support.
But internal difficulties are not the only ones that have to be solved. The general public has con- tributed very largely to the divisions that have heretofore existed, by its own fears and prejudices in the Mental Health field. One of the first objec- tives of the .new Council must be the dispersal of these fears by bringing about a greater understanding of the nature of neurosis, mental defect and psychosis and of their cause, prevention and treatment. Only in this way will an attitude dominated by fear and guilt give place to one of healthy, constructive sympathy and understanding, and only in this way will be spread a knowledge of the all-important truth that the seeds which may ultimately produce these various disorders are sown in childhood and adolescence, and that a knowledge of the factors which promote and maintain mental health during these periods is essential for every parent, nurse and teacher.
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