Face To Face Model

There are various definitions and descriptions of mental health. According to the World Health Organisation ‘mental health’ is defined as “a state of well-being in which every individual realises his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution in his or her community” The consequences of ill mental health can affect all aspects of the life of the individual such as their family life, work life and social life. Although anyone is susceptible to experiencing mental illness at some stage during their life there are some factors that put some at risk more than others such as environmental factors, social and economical circumstances and individual attributes

It is not a case of one gender suffering more from mental health than the other, but a case of men and women experiencing different types of problems. Studies have shown that men are have a higher chance of substance misuse and anti-social personality disorder while women are more inclined to suffer from ill mental health such as depression and

The face to face model has been used in many studies to indicate the effects of maternal depression on the child. During this study the infant endures three interactive contexts, firstly the mother would play and interact with the infant then researchers instructed the mothers to pretend that they were depressed. The mothers would be' still faced' and not smile, touch, or talk to the infant and finally the mother would resume playing and interacting with the infant. During the second stage of the study when the mother was 'still faced' it took the infants three minutes to become distressed due to the way in which the mother was acting. The infants would try to interact and engage with the mother by smiling or crying. During the third stage when the mothers returned to their normal affective states the infants would remain wary. (Weinberg & Tronick 1998) A still faced study was also conducted with two and a half year olds. Weinberg et al (1999) found that there were gender differences in reaction to the reaction of the toddlers in relation to the still faced paradigm. It was discovered that Young boys are more inclined to be affected negatively by a mothers postpartum depression in comparison to girls. Weinberg et al (1999) stated that "It was