Mind offers information and advice to people with mental health problems and lobbies government and local authorities on their behalf.

They were both part of the social hygiene movement, and had advocated eugenics and sterilisation as a means of dealing with those considered too mentally deficient to be assisted into healthy productive work and contented family life.

[citation needed] In 1969, numerous Scientologists joined the NAMH and attempted to ratify as official policy a number of points concerning the treatment of psychiatric patients.

[8] In 1970, Michael Murphy, an advertising executive living with alcohol addiction and mental health challenges, approached Mary Applebey at NAMH to propose a campaign called MIND as "a marketing broad scale attack on prejudice against victims of mental illness".

[citation needed] On 16 February 1971, the MIND Campaign and Manifesto was launched under the direction of The Right Hon David Ennals, PC.

Shearer, a Guardian journalist, was joined by Anita Hunt of the Spastics Society and an architect named Sandra Franklin to create the Campaign for the Mentally Handicapped (CMH).

Appleby wanted to avoid the hospital-v.-community debate, but she saw the hospital as a focus with mental handicap able to attract separate government funding.

[citation needed] In 2006, Paul Farmer became chief executive of Mind, moving from his position as director of public affairs at the charity Rethink.

[21] However, the operational running of the Awards ceremony and the selection of judges is carried out by private company Keystone Conference & Events Management Ltd.[22] Within the complex debate on mental illness causality, Mind has developed a list of factors which in its view may trigger mental illness episodes.

[25][26] National Mind takes donations, sponsorship, grants and operates charity shops across England and Wales.

This policy is binding on all local Minds who are not permitted to accept sponsorship or donations from pharmaceutical companies for their own events, or for fees or expenses for attending conferences.