Our story began in 1969.
But a defining moment in our 52-year history occurred on May 5 at NatCon21, the largest conference in mental health and substance use treatment.
We began a new chapter with a special announcement: We changed our name to the National Council for Mental Wellbeing.
A lot of time, research and consideration was put into selecting this new name. With respect to our former name, a perception audit revealed that 20% of those polled believe “behavioral health” – part of our former name – is both seldom used and stigmatizing. So, we searched for a name that holds true to our history, reflects our role, acknowledges change and honors the contributions of the hard-working members who are the foundation of the National Council.
We believe we found it.
Our new name more aptly reflects the work we do, ensures greater inclusivity, helps us reach more people in new ways and further articulates our impact and aspirations. “Mental wellbeing” means thriving regardless of a mental health or substance use challenge. It represents resilience, strength and recovery. It’s a phrase that promotes the importance of preventive care and the need to increase access to life-saving services. And it’s a powerful reflection of who we are and what the proud members of this organization do daily.
More than a key part of our new vision statement, mental wellbeing is a mindset we cultivated across five decades of industry-advancing, policy-shaping, community-building work – one that will guide us for years to come. Moving forward, we will own this phrase. We will embody it through our actions. And we will continuously build the narrative behind it through our
passion and purpose.
We are committed to making mental wellbeing a reality for everyone, everywhere. That means ensuring equitable access to care, building capacity for mental health and substance use treatment organizations and continually promoting mental wellbeing as a core component of health and health care.
We are excited for this new chapter at the National Council for Mental Wellbeing.