Schizophrenia Ireland has been formally relaunched as Shine - supporting people affected by mental ill-health.
Its director John Saunders said the new name reflected "a positive, inclusive and non-stigmatising image". The organisation was set up in 1975 with the name Schizophrenia Association of Ireland, which later changed to Schizophrenia Ireland. It works with people with schizophrenia, psychosis and related conditions and offers support to their families.
Mr Saunders said it was time that the organisation refreshed its public image. He said it was working with people with many different conditions of mental ill-health and the change in name reflected this.
"Whatever label you are given by a consultant psychiatrist, to some extent, is not the main issue. The main issue is what can we do to help you move on with your life, to make the progress, make the journey on recovery, to take charge of your own life, to have some input on what goes on with your own life and hopefully to regain authority of life thereafter," he said.
While the name had changed, he said the "day-to-day business, what we do best, remains the same and we'll hopefully improve on that over time. My own hope is that people will look at us and see that we have a wider appeal and that people don't necessarily have to look to their diagnosis to decide whether or not we can help them."
The organisation's new website can now be accessed at www.shineonline.ie. It has also opened Bebo and Facebook pages to appeal to younger people.
