Rethinking mental health

In the US, police officers spend about a fifth of their time responding to mental health crises. This is something they are often not trained for, and figures also show that people with untreated mental illness are 16 times more likely to be killed during a police encounter.

We go to Arizona where some 911 calls are now being responded to by mental health professionals who are trained to de-escalate a situation and help someone experiencing a crisis to get the support they need. This is part of a trend across the United States where a new nationwide mental health helpline called 988 has also recently been launched.

We also visit Denmark, where people going to their doctor with mental health issues are being prescribed ‘culture vitamins’ in an effort to tackle anxiety, stress and depression.

Presenter: Myra Anubi
Producer/US reporter: Craig Langran
Denmark reporter: Adrienne Murray
Editor: Jon Bithrey
Sound Mix: Andrew Mills

(People in Aalborg, Denmark on street art tour, Adrienne Murray)