Investing in a resilient generation: Keys to a mentallyprosperous nation

Closing the mental health treatment gap is an impossible dream if we fail to stem the tide of people living with mental ill-health. While there remains an urgent need to significantly improve access to support and treatment, this alone is not sufficient. We must look ‘upstream’ and shift the focus towards maximising young people’s resilience and minimising the risks to their mental health. It is by closing the prevention gap that we can close the treatment gap too. As this report demonstrates, there is sufficient evidence to act now to begin the systematic shift of paradigm envisaged by the Commission. Such a decisive step would position the UK as a global leader in addressing the single largest global health challenge. To delay is to countenance avoidable harm. The costs of failing to marshal the necessary resources and implement large-scale programmes are huge. The time for small-scale pilots is over. It is time to change the paradigm and close the prevention gap