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Excellence in Mind wants people to have accurate information about all the things that can help their emotional wellbeing. Our health system emphasises using medication over other ideas and solutions. We believe a system where people have many more options is possible. 

Taking mental health out of health

There are many ways of understanding mental health. Current explanations of mental health rely on a medical interpretation. Support for people comes mainly from our medical system. 

We want to create room for different stories. In order to do that, we need to address people’s mental health in a wider wellbeing context — family, friends, economic circumstances, education and environment all play a part in people’s wellbeing. They need to be part of the solution.

Becoming a country of people who are friends with our feelings

We know that avoiding our feelings creates and exacerbates mental health problems. 

We want people to be able to live peacefully alongside their emotions, and to support friends and family to also be at peace with theirs.

Helping people be a good friend

People are social creatures who need support when they’re having a tough time. 

Mental health professionals can help. But our reliance on them has de-emphasised the value of friendships. We need to give more support and recognition to the most important person, a friend who is willing and able to listen.

The context will help our key projects flourish

We partner with people and groups who address the social, economic and environmental factors of collective and individual mental health. 

While Excellence in Mind focuses on the three projects above, we know that psychological distress is lower when resources are fairly distributed; people can meet their basic needs; and they are not subject to prejudice or violence.

Some interventions and circumstances alleviate human distress. And some make suffering worse.  

We believe that people, organisations and institutions need to know what helps and what exacerbates psychological distress. In our current context, which emphasises the use of medication and the lack of therapists, we want people to have accurate information about what we know helps reduce distress.

We raise awareness about:

• The cost of pathologising normal responses to stress

• The risks of psychiatric medicines

And we advocate for:

• approaches to mental health/psychological distress that normalise human responses to difficult situations and take account of contextual, social and situational factors

• enhanced emotional literacy in our communities

• choices of non-medical, evidence-based treatment

• the benefits of non-professional peer support

• Mental wellbeing as a shared goal of all government agencies