Primhe's second annual mental health conference was crammed full of dramatic and engaging sessions offering a wide perspective on how mental health can be achieved. Mental health is a societal problem, not a medical backwater. It's everyone's responsibility and everyone has a part to play: some are given leading roles, some only walk‐on parts. But everyone is important because without any single individual, the whole is diminished and we all suffer. Copyright © 2007 Wiley Interface Ltd