More mental illness than mental health professionals can manage
Compared to progress in the treatment of psychopathology that has already appeared, the psychology profession has lagged in developing effective prevention strategies. Serious consideration of prevention strategies in their own right did not begin until the 1960s, and this early attempt failed to make a considerable impact (Duncan, 1994; Hage and Romano, 2010). In the past half-century, however, prevention has begun to be taken seriously. The term prevention science has emerged to reflect an empirical perspective. In the area of child psychopathology, prevention initiatives are particularly important, first of all, because children who experience mental illness are more likely than others to experience mental illness in adulthood (Pine et al., 2010). Furthermore, many of the psychological resources that protect against mental illness are developed in childhood, making this period especially critical (Serna et al., 2003). Lastly, experiencing mental illness as a child costs the individual the enjoyment of his or her childhood. This alone is enough reason to consider prevention initiatives against childhood psychopathology.
This chapter begins with definitional issues, focusing on the thorny distinction between prevention and treatment. The important differences between universal prevention programs, that is, those addressed at entire populations or communities, and indicated programs, that is, programs intended for individuals who already show some signs of psychological distress, are considered next. The subsequent section is devoted to reasons for involving the community in the basic design of interventions, not just their delivery. A history of preventive mental health in North America and Europe appears next. The subsequent section is devoted to methodological issues in the evaluation of prevention programs. Guidelines for the successful implementation of prevention programs appear next, followed by several examples of successful prevention programs.