Siirry sisältöön

Final report and recordings

The Nordic Summit on Mental Health was helt as a hybrid meeting November 18-19, 2021 with the theme Post-Pandemic Strategies for Mental Health. This theme gave experts, policy makers, researchers and practitioners from the Nordic area the opportunity to discuss recontruction of mental well-being in the Nordic counries after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The summit was organised as a two day event with a plenary session on both days and six parallel sessions on themes adressing different aspects of mental health issues and suicide prevention. 41 speakers and chairs participated in the programme and the summit was joined by participants from In the programme The summit was joined by participants from Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Iceland, Latvia, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, UK and Åland. 60 participants participantes on site in Helsinki and 170 online.

Recordings from the summit are available below. Subtitles in English will be added to all videos at a later date.

Plenary session Thursday 18 November

Welcome by Eila Mäkipää, State Secterary, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, Finland
Welcome by Markku Tervahauta, Director General at Finnish National Institute for Health and Welfare, Finland
Panel discussion: Nordic strategies for psychological crisis resilience
Romina Boarini, Director, OECD Centre for Well-Being, Inclusion,  Sustainability and Equal Opportunity (WISE): COVID-19 and Well-Being: Building back better lives 
Karin Schulz, Secretary General MIND Sweden: Recovery plan for mental well-being in the light of COVID-19

Parallel session 1: Economics of mental health actions

Population mental health contributes to employment rate, productivity and improves government finances. In spite of these economic incentives, government spending on mental health promotion and prevention of mental ill health is notoriously low. The session sheds light on the economics of mental health promotion and mental health services, and discusses strategies to translate findings of economics into exit policy and implementation.

Chair: Riitta Aejmeleus, Ministry of Finance, Finland

Ziggi Ivan Santini, Denmark:  Mental well-being is linked to lower health costs.
Dan Chisholm, WHO HQ: Cost-effectiveness of mental health interventions.
David McDaid, LSE: The role of mental health in the covid exit strategy.
Ossi Aura, Finland: Mental health as the foundation for human productivity.

Parallel session 2. Psychological resilience though participation and inclusion – examples from the Nordic region

Resilience is built on experience. The COVID-19 pandemic has placed a spotlight on what is important in daily life. What did we need in the middle of it all, and what have we learnt from our experience? From a population approach to the participative, listening to the voices of the pandemic for a mentally resilient post-pandemic world. In this session we discuss Nordic examples on psychological resilience though participation and inclusion.

Chair: Johanna Cresswell-Smith, THL, Finland

Carsten Lyng Obel, Aarhus universitet, Danmark: Resiliens på populationsnivå i de nordiska länderna post-covid.
Jonna Similä, Dialogpausstiftelsen, Finland: Undantagstidens dialoger under Covid-19 pandemin.
Ewa Tarvasaho, erfarenhetsexpert och specialsjukskötare, Finland: Rätta redskap för att stödja psykisk hälsan vid Covidavdelningen.

Parallel session 3. Post-COVID suicide prevention

The COVID-19 pandemic has had major effects on the mental well-being in the Nordic countries. How has the risk for suicide been effected by the pandemic and what kind of actions are needed now? Is suicide prevention included in the rebuilding strategies in the Nordic countries?

Chair: Sami Pirkola, Tampere University, Finland

Lars Mehlum, Oslo: An overview on suicide, suicide prevention and national suicide prevention strategies in the Nordic countries post COVID-19
Margda Waern, Göteborg. Suicide prevention for the old
Louis Appleby, UK: Is an increase in suicide deaths to be expected post COVID-19?

Plenary session Friday 19 November

Key note

Ian Manion: Co-creating mental wellbeing with young people

The pandemic has been extremely difficult for children, youth and families around the globe.  Mental health concerns of all types have increased, taxing existing resources to meet the needs of young people.  Meaningful youth engagement has been shown to be a protective factor for many mental health issues.  This presentation will highlight the key elements of meaningful youth engagement and will profile some of the Canadian innovations that have emerged in the area of youth to youth programming. The focus will be on programs co-created with youth to decrease stigma and that take a more holistic and integrated approach to prevention, wellness promotion and service provision. The presenter will blend his extensive clinical, research, and policy experience, along with his own lived experience, to be forward thinking in how to foster resilience in youth.

Ian Manion: Co-creating mental wellbeing with young people

Parallel session 4. Mental health promotion and prevention among young people in the Nordic countries

Young people in the Nordic countries report an increasing amount of mental health issues and seek treatment for mental health problems. This session focuses on efforts to strengthen the resources of young people and prevent mental illness and discuss different arenas for mental health promotion and prevention.

Chair: Petra Kouvonen, ITLA, Finland

Curt Hagquist, University of Gothenburg, member of the WHO Technical Advisory Group on the mental health impacts of COVID-19 in the WHO European Region. Challenges for mental health promotion and prevention among young people in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. 
Cecilia Oksanen, student and person with lived experience, Finland. Psykisk ohälsa och mina egna resurser.
Lisa Hellström, Malmö university and Linda Beckman, Karlstad university. Nordic efforts for mental health among young people.

Parallel session 5. Post-pandemic mental health promotion

Mental well-being is strengthened by actions in various societal sectors. In the post-pandemic societies the importance of mental health promotion increases. Research indicates the importance of early interaction, safe schools, green environment and accessible culture. This session will discuss findings and highlight opportunities for mental health action and promotion.

Chair: Dóra Guðmundsdóttir, Directorate of Health, Iceland

Fredrik Lindencrona, Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions, Sweden. The role of local authorities in implementing cross-sectoral post-covid mental health promotion.
Rosa Meriläinen, KULTA ry / Central Organization for Finnish Culture and Arts Associations: The role of culture and arts in rebuilding mental wellbeing and resiliens.
Michael Bang Petersen, Aarhus Universitet, Denmark: The Importance of Trust in a Crisis and How to Build It: Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Parallel session 6. Reduction of suicide inequalities in the Nordic countries

Suicide mortality is unevenly distributed, both within and between countries. This session focuses on actions to reduce these inequalities in suicides, with a special emphasis on actions needed to prevent a post-covid rise in suicides.

Chair: Outi Ruishalme, MIELI Mental Health Finland

Ellenor Mittendorfer-Rutz, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden. Inequalities in suicides. 
Outi Ruishalme, Mieli Mental Health Finland: Strengthening protective factors to prevent suicides post covid.
Petter Stoor, Umeå University, Sweden: Suicides in Northern indigenous people.

Plenary session Friday 19 November

International action for mental health

Ledia Lazeri, WHO Europe: What next after the European Action Plan for Mental Health?
Nicoline Tamsma, European Commission: EU action on mental health
Arja Rautio, comments from Arctic Council