I have been pondering over the question 'How do you re brand Mental Health care into Mental welling for all ?

The first thought that springs to mind is why bother ? does it matter ? well the answer to those two question are ,

1/ The more social acceptable the cause the greater the funding stream or to put it bluntly if its sexy it sells !

2/ Yes it matter a great deal to us all after all one in five people will have some form of mental well being issue in their life time.

So how to re brand

I think the perfect place to start is to look at the re branding of the evangelical media churches in the US they have moved within the space of 5 years form fire and brimstone to God being your best friend a remarkable re-branding !!

The following article from Sarah Posner of the Guardian gives a vivid insight into this master piece of re branding

In the early part of the noughties, Rev Jerry Falwell declared on national television that the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the US were the result of "throwing God out of the public square, out of the schools. The abortionists have got to bear some burden for this because God will not be mocked."


"We have sinned against Almighty God, at the highest level of our government, we've stuck our finger in your eye," agreed Pat Robertson, who was hosting Falwell on his 700 Club programme.


The mockery of the hellfire-breathing duo was swift and unrelenting. Robertson and Falwell, brand names of the religious right, had become embarrassments to evangelicalism. They had outlived their usefulness, and were too old, musty, and unabashedly nutty for the new evangelical cool.


As their stars were fading, evangelicalism's emerging celebrities were employing savvy public relations specialists and rebranding themselves as your best friend, your entertainer, or your shrink – not the mouthpiece for a vengeful God. By the time Falwell died suddenly in 2007, a "new" kind of evangelical had seized the virtual pulpit of America's attention.


The re-branding was the product of evangelicalism's survival instinct in the face of the parody-ready Falwell prototype. One of America's leading evangelicals is now Rick Warren, whose mega-bestseller, The Purpose-Driven Life (2002), begins: "This is more than a book; it is a guide to a 40-day spiritual journey that will enable you to discover the answer to life's most important question: What on earth am I here for?"


The new evangelicals write books not about how God will smite you, but how God loves you and wants nothing more than your greatest personal, spiritual, and material fulfillment. The middle of the decade saw the publication of televangelist Joel Osteen's Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential (2004) and TD Jakes' Reposition Yourself: Living Life Without Limits (2007). Joyce Meyer's Seven Things That Steal Your Joy: Overcoming the Obstacles to Your Happiness (2004) and Approval Addiction: Overcoming Your Need to Please Everyone (2005) are equally at home at Bible study and coffee klatch, in the church bookstore and at Wal-Mart.

So how to re brand , well here is a quick list of issues to be addressed

A/ We need to move Joe public away from the stigma attached to MH so out with the phrases like FUNNY FARM , NUT HOUSE

B/ We need to make the point that all families can be affected by MH issues.

C/ We need to prove that money spent on weel being is very very cost effective