"The family is the clinic, the community is the hospital": community mental health in Timor-Leste.

OBJECTIVE

This paper describes the history and recent development of mental health services in Timor-Leste, a small developing country recovering from conflict. Challenges to effective service delivery are discussed as well as plans for future development.

CONCLUSIONS

Timor-Leste's mental health service began just over a decade ago. Unlike many other low and middle income countries where hospital-based services predominate, the mental health model in Timor-Leste is entirely community based. However, challenges to effective mental health care delivery are similar to most developing countries and include a lack of sufficient financial resources, human resources, and mental health infrastructure. Addressing these issues successfully requires political will, a greater prioritization of mental health services, close coordination between stakeholders, as well as developments in the area of education, training and infrastructure. Greater understanding and education about the links between mental and physical health would benefit the overall health of the population, and integration of these respective policies may prove a successful method of more equitably redistributing finances and resources.