This chapter pulls together the findings presented in Section 2 on the extent of social exclusion in people with mental health conditions and the possible causal links between social exclusion and mental ill-heath and health, to build a descriptive model linking these. The evidence supports the contention that people with mental health conditions are excluded from participation in many areas of society and that there are clear social inequalities in mental ill-health. Although this is the case across all forms of mental health conditions, some groups are more at risk of exclusion than others. To build a picture of the relationship between mental health conditions and social exclusion we need to take into consideration the nature of the mental health conditions, material disadvantages, stigma and discrimination, and the effects of the wider community and society. The dynamic nature of exclusion must be considered, including its effects across the life course and generations and the interaction of the factors affecting exclusion. There are the strong contextual effects of material factors, summarised by the association of poor health with income inequality, suggesting that above a certain level economic growth does not produce an increase in population health and may be damaging.