« May 2005 | Main | July 2005 »
June 29, 2005
HealthyMinds.Org Puts Let's Talk Facts Brochures Online
HealthyMinds.Org, a division of the America Psychiatric Association, has placed its series of Let's Talk Facts brochures online for free access by the public. The series is designed to improve mental health by promoting informed factual discussion of psychiatric disorders and their treatments. They were developed for educational purposes for the general public and provide answers to commonly asked questions on mental health issues and disorders.
The brochures are available in Adobe PDF format. They cover a wide range of topics:
- Anxiety Disorders
- Bipolar Disorder
- Choosing a Psychiatrist
- Common Childhood Disorders
- Depression
- Domestic Violence
- Eating Disorders
- Phobias
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
- Teen Suicide
- What is Mental Illness?
Related link:
Let's Talk Facts brochures HealthyMinds.Org website
Posted by admin at 08:54 PM
APA Responds to Tom Cruise's Today Show Interview
Recently actor Tom Cruise made some anti-psychiatry remarks, mainly based on his experience in the Church of Scientology, and the American Psychiatric Association (APA) has responded. In a press release delivered June 27, 2005, the APA says:
While the APA respects the right of individuals to express their own points of view, science has proven that mental illnesses are real medical conditions that affect millions of Americans.“It is irresponsible for Mr. Cruise to use his movie publicity tour to promote his own ideological views and deter people with mental illness from getting the care they need,” said APA President Dr. Steven S. Sharfstein.
Over the past five years, the nation has more than doubled its investment in the study of the human brain and behavior, leading to a vastly expanded understanding of postpartum depression, bipolar disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Much of this research has been conducted by the National Institutes of Health and the nation’s leading academic institutions.
The full text of the APA's response is available from their website. We have placed a link to it on our Links page, ass well as among the informative links below. Note the release is in Adobe Acrobat format, which requires the free Adobe Reader to view.
Related links:
APA Responds to Tom Cruise's Today Show Interview American Psychiatric Association, June 27, 2005
Transcript of Tom Cruise Interview, The Today Show, June 25, 2005
Tom Cruise: Man on a Mission, Access Hollywood, May 27, 2005
Posted by admin at 08:25 PM
June 09, 2005
Maryland Program Helps Released Convicts
60 Minutes, Wednesday (June 8), featured a Maryland program for released convicts called the Maryland Reentry Partnership. This voluntary program has been active for three years and has counseled 193 released prisoners, many of whom have been drug addicts. The recidivism (return to jail) rate is a startling 11%, as compared to the national average of 52%. 60 Minutes followed the lives of two men for over a year, one of whom has succeeded and one who has not.
Two counselors are assigned to each client. The counselors are frequently ex-offenders themselves who have overcome their problems. They find housing for their clients and relate with them day and night, guiding them to a life in the community. They are determined and tenacious, and believe the majority of their clients can be helped. The program is similar to outreach programs that have been successful with the severely chronically mentally ill.
Joann Levy helped found the program.
Related links:
"How to Keep Convicts at Home" 60 Minutes, June 8, 2005
The Maryland Reentry Partnership, The Enterprise Foundation website
Posted by admin at 12:15 PM
Psychotherapy Helps Star Baseball Player
Star Yankee third baseman Alex Rodriguez revealed in an interview that he has had psychological counseling for many years and it has been very helpful to him on a personal level (New York Times, May 26, 2005). He said he was making this public because he wanted young people to realize it was a good thing to get help.
He and his wife Cynthia, who has a master’s degree in psychology, have donated $200,000 to the mental health program of the Children’s Aid Society of Washington Heights so that those who need counseling can get it.
Related links:
BASEBALL; Counseling Is Helping Rodriguez Face Heat, New York Times, May 26, 2005 - Archived; Fee Required for full article
Children's Aid Society
Alex Rodriguez Donates to CAS Mental Health Programs
Posted by admin at 10:43 AM
June 06, 2005
Web Site Survey
In order to better serve visitors, we have a web site survey in place. By answering four quick questions, we can know a bit more about what to put here! Thanks for helping!
Posted by admin at 11:49 AM
June 01, 2005
WINNER — 2005 ESSAY CONTEST: "When Not to Keep A Secret."
The Maryland Foundation for Psychiatry and the MedChi Foundation have announced the winner of their 2005 "When Not to Keep a Secret" essay contest. Prince John Wulu, III, a fourteen year-old in the 9th grade at Charles Herbert Flowers High School in Prince Georges County, penned the winning entry. He was recognized at the Maryland Psychiatric Society annual dinner on April 21, and will receive a $100 savings bond.
The contest, initiated and coordinated by the APA Alliance, targets the following areas:
- Stigma: demystifying mental illness, its treatment and prevention.
- Youth violence prevention: creating a primary prevention strategy.
- Mental health literacy: increasing the ability to read, understand and act on health care information.
"When Not to Keep a Secret" challenges an adolescent’s sense of immortality and gives permission to break a confidence, when the confidence is life threatening. In order to write on the topic, students have to confront harsh truths and explore a higher level of ethical behavior.
Wulu’s winning essay is presented below.
WHEN NOT TO KEEP A SECRET
by Prince John Wulu, III 9th Grade
Mrs. Bradford’s English 9 honors class
Charles Herbert Flowers High School
Prince Georges County, Maryland
Nearly 5,000 teenagers commit suicide each year. Suicide is the third leading cause of death among those aged 15-24. The ratio of male to female suicides is four to one; however, young women attempt suicide four more times frequently. White males have the highest increase in suicide. Reports of suicide clusters, in which one suicide triggers several others within a school or community, have increased. Many suicides could be avoided if people looked closer to try and help the depressed person. Signs that should be looked for in a person likely to commit suicide are, giving away prized possessions, feelings of hopelessness or rejection, low self-esteem, slipping in school performance, withdraws from regular activities with family or Friends Hospital, slipping in school performance, talk of suicide, death, or earlier attempts at suicide Abuse of alcohol or drugs. People that need help should get help from the following places, Mental Health Association, Family physician, Community Mental Health Centers, Family Service Agency, General Hospitals, Self-help Groups, Psychiatric Care Facilities, and Schools and Social Agencies.
I once was in a situation where many people’s lives were at steak because of them teasing or making fun of a person with a low self-esteem. It was where I used to live, in Detroit, Michigan. At the middle school I went to in sixth grade, there was a boy that everyone used to tease because he was obese. No one took him seriously. But one day while we were in math class, he made a threat to all of the students who had teased him; He said that next week they would all fell pain. He said that while he was sitting with a small group of his friends behind me. I over herd it and when I got home I told my mother. I didn’t think that it was that serious but my mother did, so she went to the school that following Monday, and told the principle. The principle called the police. When they got to the school, they had bomb sniffing dogs and about six police officers at the school. The police officers searched the boy’s locker, and found a list of fourteen students on it, and their addresses. The police also found a 9 millimeter Baretta with two full clips of ammo in his book bag. The last time I saw the boy, he was being taken away in a police care somewhere. Because I told my mother about the incident, I may have saved mine, and probably 15 or more lives.
Some people are in the same situation that I was in now. They want to keep their friends secret confidential, but they know that lives could be loss if they do. If you are ever in a situation like that, you should take it seriously, and try and get them help immediately.
Posted by admin at 11:16 AM