Mind was founded in 1931 and was originally called Sfph (the Swedish Association for Mental Health).

Since 1931, Mind has worked for mental health. One of the leading figures at the start was Viktor Wigert, professor of psychiatry at Karolinska Institutet.

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He goes in May 1930 to Washington where the first international congress on Mental Hygiene took place. Viktor Wigert is very inspired by his experiences and tries to capture as much as possible of the powerful mental health movement that has emerged in the United States, and modern psychiatry outside the hospital walls.

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On April 23, 1931, an information and discussion meeting on mental health care is held at the Medical Association in Stockholm. Viktor Wigert is the driving force behind the invitation. In addition, 31 people are behind the meeting: ministers, councilors, members of parliament, directors-general, doctors and educators.

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It is a societal perspective on mental health and ill-health that is expressed in the invitation. There is talk of preventive measures in the area of ​​public mental health. Spreading knowledge is considered important, and the invitation inspires confidence in community organizations that can intervene in time when someone is threatened by mental illness.

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On November 23, 1931, 225 people gather and listen to speeches by Viktor Wigert, Emilia Fogelklou, Kerstin Hesselgren and others, who all shed light on mental health care from different points of view. Then the Swedish association for mental health care formed (Sfph) is declared.

According to the statutes, the association's task is:

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"to promote mental health care, for the preservation of mental equilibrium and health in healthy people, for the prevention of nervous and mental illness in people at risk of it, and for the improvement through appropriate care of those affected by such illnesses."