The intersection between physical health and mental health: a global perspective.

Mental, physical, and social health are closely interwoven and interdependent. Recent research and better understanding of the relationships between mental, physical, and social health indicate that each is crucial to the overall well-being of individuals, societies, and countries. Because mental health and mental disorders have been ignored or neglected in many parts of the world, the reciprocal impacts between physical health and mental health are not readily apparent. Providing treatment in primary care would enable the largest number of people to get easier and faster access to services. Current health personnel should be trained in the essential skills of mental health care, and mental health should be included in health training curricula.

Policy recommendations for the use of victim-offender mediation to redress criminal actions.

Understanding how to respond effectively and efficiently to crime victims and their offenders, and identifying what policies assist victims in having their victimization redressed is a major social concern. Social workers have contact with these vulnerable populations in many different ways, yet the social work profession, in general, is unfamiliar with how to redress victims through restorative justice. Restorative justice is an innovative method of viewing crime, and a paradigm shift is required when considering the application and implication of various forms of restorative justice. It is imperative to keep various justice options available, as the effects of crime are detrimental. Though reported rates of juvenile and adult crime have decreases during the last decade, the costs associated with crime to society remain high. Many victims do not report crimes, and if professionals such as medical personnel fail to identify crimes, then these costs may be even higher than currently reported. Regardless, however, of the costs associated with crime, victims deserve having justice evaluated, at least in part, in terms of what they need and want. Likewise, it is imperative to evaluate the effects of victim- offender mediation (VOM), a form of restorative justice, on offenders as they too deserve potential rehabilitation and the chance to redress the harm they caused their victim(s). This paper discusses crime effects, provides an overview of VOM, and concludes with policy recommendations concerning the use of victim-offender mediation.