Ethical aspects of mental health

Ethical aspects related to mental health was the topic of a conference organised by the Nordic Committee on Bioethics in Helsinki in the fall of 2011. This conference summary highlights the main challenges and issues facing researchers, policy makers and practitioners who deal with mental health issues. The committee invited a broad range of experts to talk about the psychological, historical, social, cultural and biological perspectives related to mental health.

The heated debates which are taking place in various disciplines on the causes and the best ways for treating various conditions and problems were brought forth in the presentations.

The Committee hopes that this summary will serve as a resource to people who are interested in the development of possible ways for tackling mental health problems in the Nordic countries, by identifying some of the key issues involved and the challenges that lay ahead.