Capacity building needs to enable integration of mental health into general health policy and its inclusion in the essential healthcare services; expansion of economic research on resource use, costs, and effectiveness of essential mental health care services in different countries; better identification and use of levers and entry points for improved care delivery and policy development; greater participation in health sector reforms; strengthening of links between mental health and public health; and more effective resource mobilization. A sector-wide approach (SWAp) to reforms was adopted in many countries and often included a form of decentralization, along with development of a framework for policy and planning that emphasized a limited set of cost-effective prioritized health interventions and the integration of a number of vertical programs within mainstream health system functions. Mental disorders generally respond to psychological and social interventions and medications.

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the book Mental Health and Disasters. The book is the definitive reference on mental health and disasters. It focuses on the assessment and treatment of the full spectrum of psychopathologies associated with many different types of individual disasters. The book talks about the mental health consequences of disasters. It provides a synthesis of the current knowledge of the mental health effects of disaster. The book focuses on key aspects of vulnerability and resilience in the face of disasters. It overviews the scientific literature on the key known determinants of the mental health consequences of disasters. The book discusses the science of interventions after disasters, along with the barriers and challenges faced in providing mental health care services after these events. It presents detailed explorations of a number of sentinel natural, technological, and human-made disasters.