America’s Mental Health & Wellness Corridor – Belmont Area Name Survey

Belmont, MA (March 21, 2025)―

Henry David Thoreau. Aaron T. Beck. Dorothea Dix. Sigmund Freud. Solomon Carter Fuller. Jon Kabat-Zinn. These are Mount Rushmore figures in the realm of American mental health - whether from a philosophical, clinical, emotional, or pursuit-of-happiness standpoint. And, if an institution were enshrined on this Mt. Rushmore, McLean Hospital would surely be at their side.

To celebrate America’s 250th birthday, the America’s Mental Health & Wellness Corridor effort will tell the story of a region of natural beauty located in New England, where for 200+ years innovation, new ideas, and national influence have sprung forth into the American psyche in the realm of mental health and wellness - and life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

The name America’s Mental Health & Wellness Corridor was first discussed publicly at a National Park Service presentation in 2022 by National Museum of Mental Health Project. The name may be good enough to describe the region’s unique and colorful history at the crossroads of the mental life and the pursuit of happiness.

Or, perhaps there is a better name. Your survey response will serve as a last-whistle-stop before the America’s Mental Health & Wellness Corridor name is put into wider use. Please reply by 3/31/25.

Early research into America’s Mental Health & Wellness Corridor concentrated on Worcester County. Since then, the region’s geographic contours have been rounded out to include MetroWest, Essex County, and Rhode Island. More research has connected the region’s leadership in mental health back to the days when getting away from Colonial Boston and into the country provided emotional rest and relaxation from the stresses of city life – and was sometimes even prescribed.

America’s Mental Health & Wellness Corridor has been discussed with community leaders and collaborators from Boston to MetroWest to Worcester County to Rhode Island. A presentation about America’s Mental Health & Wellness Corridor was made at the New England Museum Association meeting in Newport in November 2024. Even Google AI recognizes the term America’s Mental Health & Wellness Corridor.

The National Museum of Mental Health Project is proud of its record of academic research and peer-reviewed journal publication. Yet, this name survey is informal and invites candor and creativity. Please reply by March 31, 2025.

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About the National Museum of Mental Health Project

The National Museum of Mental Health Project is a Massachusetts-based nonprofit organization and virtual museum whose mission is to strengthen mental health through creativity, culture (including sports), and the arts nationwide by bringing the museum to you. The Project seeks a community to host the first small museum of a national museum of mental health, and to lift up its walls in a barn-raising on America’s 250th birthday - July 4, 2026.