The Mental Health Unit is a part of the Health Services, Planning and Integration Branch of the Ministry of Health.
The Unit is headed by the Director of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, who reports to the Director of Health Services, Planning and Integration. Other officers in this unit are the Director of Child and Adolescent Mental Health, the Community Mental Health Programme Coordinator, the Programme Development Officer and the Secretary, all reporting to the Head of the Unit.
The Mental Health Unit is primarily charged with the responsibility of developing policies and plans to address the promotion of mental health, the prevention of mental disorders and the development of a comprehensive range of services to facilitate early detection, treatment and rehabilitation across the lifespan, for affected persons. Important outputs of this process are the National Mental Health Policy and National Strategic Plan for Mental Health. Another important aspect of work of the Mental Health Unit is the recommendation of legislative amendments to ensure that Jamaica’s Mental Health Legislation is in keeping with international best practice standards.