Ⅰ. Introduction 1

Ⅱ. Status of Mental Health and Available Services 11
1. Mental Health in Korea Today 13
2. Available Mental Health Services 15

Ⅲ. Accessibility of Mental Health Services to Youth 19

Ⅳ. Accessibility of Mental Health Services to Adults 25

Ⅴ. Accessibility of Mental Health Services to Patients with Serious Mental Illnesses 31

Ⅵ. Conclusion 37
1. Characters Representing Mental Health Needs 39
2. Strategy for Enhancing the Accessibility on Mental Health Services 46

This study aimed to explore ways to improve accessibility to mental health and mental health services by identifying barriers that hinder access to mental health services. This study found poor alignment between the demand and the supply of mental health services. Secondly, this study found that the Korean general public holds strong negative stigma and discrimination toward mental health services and people with mental illness. Thirdly, we identified two personas which represent the typical models of mental health consumers in Korea.
From the study, we summarized differences in needs of consumers to promote accessibility to mental health services by the levels of knowledge, perception, and the severity of mental health problems, and pathways that consumers go though with mental problems. Based on these differences, we suggested different strategies to improve accessibility to mental health services.