Trillium assisted the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in developing a strategy for the first national effort to promote mental health and prevent mental illness. We conducted a large research effort including multiple stakeholder interviews; a thorough environmental scan; an extensive review of mental health promotion literature; an analysis of traditional media and the blogosphere; and a summary of lessons learned from other health communication initiatives. From this research, we developed recommendations for strategic communication to increase public and professional awareness of the message that it is possible to protect and enhance mental health. Strategic recommendations centered on two phases: 1) creating the needed infrastructure through leadership, establishing the science, and partnering, and 2) reaching Americans by clearly defining mental health and how to promote it, targeting parents of young children, using language the public knows and accepts, and employing a variety of marketing communication approaches.
Envisioning a National Effort to Promote Mental Health
