Introduction

This issue of International Psychiatry presents three country profiles, from Iran, Lithuania and Australia. The one from Iran traces the care of people with a mental illness through history and summarises the current mental health services and training in the country. The experience of Iran illustrates how basic mental health services can be provided to a population with the scarce resources that are available in a developing country. The profile from Lithuania shows how the availability of professionals and resources does not by itself translate into effective services in the absence of an adequate and progressive policy framework. The profile from Australia, on the other hand, provides a contrasting picture: of the provision of optimal care with a high level of resources available. This profile, along with another on Australia and New Zealand on pages 19–21 of this issue, illustrates the continuing challenges of providing mental healthcare in countries with a well developed mental health system.