It is now known, from the opinions of key mental health professionals, why primary prevention is so small a part of community mental health programming. It is not simply that we do not know how to accomplish it or because the etiology of mental illness is so vague. Instead the problems are practical: Seeking change through social planning and social action is uncomfortable for mental health professionals, the clinical orientation of professionals has kept the public from understanding what primary prevention is all about, and funding mandates give priority to tertiary prevention. The broad involvement of community mental health centers in their communities has the potential for developing powerful support for primary prevention.