[Evolution and status of the community model of mental health care. SESPAS Report 2020]

The legislative and ideological transition produced in recent years in Spain has favoured the implementation of the community model of mental health care. However, there is still strong resistance to the inclusion of community approaches in the care of people with mental health problems and to the implementation of integrated care and attention with a salutogenic approach. The purpose of the following report is to describe the evolution of the community model of mental health care in the Spanish National Health System and to assess its current status. Initially, a review of the published national mental health plans and strategies was carried out. Subsequently, the evaluation was carried out taking as reference the Consensus Document on the Fundamental Principles and Key Elements of Community Mental Health, which establishes the criteria for evaluating the quality of community care. In the absence of updated plans or strategies, international reports and recommendations were included. The results were grouped into: 1) social perspective, where the controversy about the capacity of the users to make decisions despite the recognition of their rights as autonomous moral agents is evident; 2) perspective of the centrality of the users of mental health care services, where the resistance to the implementation of integrated community care and attention is expressed; and 3) professional perspective in relation to the effectiveness of the interventions and the community network of care principles, which highlights the need to transform the institutions to carry out community interventions in mental health based on evidence and in an intersectoral, comprehensive, integrated and integrating manner.