ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on what needs to be different in terms of public attitudes, media representations and social policy. It outlines a “manifesto” for moving away from a negative mental illness model towards a positive mental well-being one. The chapter should therefore not be seen as a simplistic recipe for a transition to a more humane society. Society is constantly changing, constantly evolving. However, there are powerful forces and interest groups that manage to reproduce the status quo and the power relations it reflects. The scope for continuing to challenge the medical model and build effective alternatives is therefore wide and getting wider. The chapter shows, while interventions at the individual, group and community levels all have a part to play, where most change is needed is at the societal level, as the inequalities at this level are such a major underpinning contributor to problems at the other levels.
