events 2008

Mental Health Care Discussed at the American Center 

June 23, 2008

It may seem unusual to debate the topic of mental health care at the American Center. On occasion of the Center for Social and Economic Strategies’ (CESES) launch of a book entitled ‘Mental Health Care Reform in the Czech and Slovak Republic -- 1989 to the Present’, this is precisely what happened. Many questions were raised, with the new book’s factual narrative as backdrop to the discussion. The book is the product of five years collaboration between CESES, the Faculty of Social Science of the Charles University, and the Petris Center of the School of Public Health and Management at the University of California at Berkeley. 

Specialists from Berkeley and Prague were engaged in the program as consultants, researchers, and mentors together with Czech and Slovak students. The main objective, according to Petr Hava from the Department of Public and Social Policy at Charles University, who spoke at the book launching, is capacity building in support of mental health policymaking and expertise in this area.  Richard Scheffler, Professor of Health Economics and Public Policy at the University of California and main adviser to students, opined that now the governments will have a better appreciation of the situation in mental health care.  The problem is serious because, according to the book, one in four Czechs develops mental conditions during their lifetime.