title: [The issue of prevention in mental health within community mental health departments.].
abstract: The three questions raised in this article express a point of view about prevention in mental health. They are : 1. how can the concepts used in the field of prevention in mental health become sufficiently operational to give rise to applicable strategies? 2. why must one refer himself to intercausal conceptual models when devising strategies for prevention in mental health? 3. is it useful to distinguish between a preventive intervention in mental health and a program of mental health? The principle obstacles to prevention are not uniquely society and the individuals who make it up; the profes-sionnals involved in mental health are also a source of obstacles who often have an ambiguous idea of what prevention in mental health is and of how it should be realized.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mongeon