THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a bid to dismantle the stigma surrounding mental healthcare, the health department has decided to rebrand and upgrade all three government mental health centres in the state as ‘Happiness and Wellness Centres’.
Announcing the decision during a press conference here, Health Minister K Muraleedharan said the transformation follows directions from the High Court to overhaul the atmosphere of these facilities. Beyond changing the nomenclature, the government plans to modernise infrastructure and deploy staff to create spaces that promote well-being alongside clinical care.
The minister emphasised that the model shifts focus from reactive treatment to a preventive approach.
However, the rebranding has drawn sharp criticism from the medical community, who argue that a cosmetic name change does little to fix the infrastructure deficits and erases the scientific identity of psychiatric care.
Dr C J John, senior psychiatrist at Medical Trust Hospital, Kochi, cautioned that changing the name without fixing systemic flaws risks creating a “contradictory space.”