Definition of "mental health" [mental health]

• A state of emotional and psychological well-being in which an individual is able to use his or her cognitive and emotional capabilities, function in society, and meet the ordinary demands of everyday life. (noun)
• A branch of medicine that deals with the achievement and maintenance of psychological well-being. (noun)
• A person's overall emotional and psychological condition: Since witnessing the accident, his mental health has been poor. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Of the 104 adoptions of innovations by mental health agencies that were studied in California, re-invention occurred somewhat more often (in 55 cases) that did unchanged adoption (in 49 cases) (Larsen and Agarwala-Rogers, 1977)."
• "Curanderos traditional practitioners of mental health are widely found throughout Latin America and the American Southwest."
• "“Animal-assisted therapy by definition includes a mental health professional who has developed a treatment plan and an animal that assists in the therapy.”"