Kerala High Court welcomes renaming of mental health centres as ‘happiness and wellness centres’
The Kerala High Court has praised the state government's decision to rename mental health centers as 'happiness and wellness centers' to reduce social stigma. The court also emphasized the need for urgent improvements in infrastructure and staffing to protect patient human rights.
Why it matters
It demonstrates a judicial push for systemic reform in public health and the destigmatization of mental health care.
Expressing satisfaction at the State government’s decision to rename mental health centres as “happiness and wellness centres”, the Kerala High Court observed that the (hitherto) stigmatisation of patients, their bystanders, and the centres as a whole was something one could not be oblivious to.
“Even the places where these centres are functioning are, very often, referred to rather pejoratively. We are sure that the change of name will catalyse the change that we want to see,” said a Division Bench of Justice Devan Ramachandran and Justice Basant Balaji, who recently visited the centres in Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur, and Kozhikode. They added that the continued violation of human rights (of patients) would reduce the civilized community and nation to shame.
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