IPS, IMA keralam units oppose ‘Happiness and Wellness’ tag for mental health centres
Medical associations in Kerala are opposing a government proposal to rename mental health centres as 'Happiness and Wellness Centres'. They argue that the change obscures the scientific and medical nature of psychiatric care and could undermine professional treatment standards.
Why it matters
The debate highlights the tension between destigmatizing mental health through branding and maintaining the clinical integrity of medical institutions.
Indian Psychiatric Society (IPS), Kerala, and the Indian Medical Association, Kerala, have opposed the proposed renaming of Government mental health centres as “Happiness and Wellness Centres”, arguing that removing the concept of ‘psychiatry’ from the identity of specialist medical institutions in an attempt to tackle stigma could instead undermine the scientific and medical nature of psychiatric care.
IPS Keralam pointed out that mental health centres are, first and foremost, tertiary level treatment centres in the public sector that offer guideline-based modern psychiatric treatment to all patients, including those with serious mental disorders. These are also eminent training and research institutions and calling them “happiness and wellness centres” is unscientific, to say the least, it said.
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