The Maryland Parity Project is an initiative of the Mental Health Association of Maryland that “works to educate insured Marylanders of their new rights in accessing mental health and addiction treatment under The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008.”

Their website says understanding the complex system of state and federal rules governing mental health coverage can be very difficult. Their staff hopes to alleviate concern and stress by answering questions for insured Maryland citizens. They will provide case assistance as well as evaluate complaints, help with appeals to an insurer’s decision, and assist filing complaints with the proper government authority.

You can find more information at their website here: Maryland Parity Project

The Maryland Parity Project is a featured link on our Links page.

The Maryland Foundation for Psychiatry, Inc.’s latest public service announcement on local Maryland radio stations focuses on the real statistics concerning mental illness and violence. It discusses the problem of cuts in mental illness coverage by insurance companies and less focus by government.

You can listen to the ad using the player in the upper right of the website’s homepage. All past public service spots are also available for listening or to download on our Radio Advertisements page.

Nominations are now being accepted for the Foundation’s 2013 Outstanding Merit Award.

The annual Outstanding Merit Award is given for a worthy endeavor in Maryland that accomplishes one or more of the following:

• Increases public awareness and understanding of mental illness
• Enhances the quality of care for psychiatric illness
• Reduces the stigma of mental illness

Nominations for this award of $1000 are being invited from the entire Maryland community. A short nomination form must be submitted with a cover letter by March 1, 2013, to the Maryland Foundation for Psychiatry, 1101 Saint. Paul Street, Suite 305, Baltimore, MD 21202-6405. The form is available as PDF or Word document.

The Maryland Foundation for Psychiatry, Inc.’s latest public service announcement on local Maryland radio stations focuses on how common mental illness really is. It discusses how people avoid thinking about it and urges them to seek help when needed.

You can listen to the ad using the player in the upper right of the website’s homepage. All past public service spots are also available for listening or to download on our Radio Advertisements page.

The Maryland Foundation for Psychiatry, Inc. recently began airing a new public service announcement on local Maryland radio stations. It focuses on the role alcohol can play as the fall sports season begins.

You can listen to the ad using the player in the upper right of the website’s homepage. All past public service spots are also available for listening or to download on our Radio Advertisements page.

The Los Angeles Times (4/29, Healy) “Booster Shots” blog reported that although “some 2-million Americans adolescents experienced a bout of major depression last year,” only about one-third of them received help, according to a report released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to “kick off a month of national activity aimed at raising awareness of childrens’ mental health.”

Overall, about “8.1% of the population between 12 and 17 years old reported experiencing a period of depressed mood lasting two or more weeks in the preceding 12 months.” Depressive episodes increased with age; and adolescent boys were “consistently less likely to report depression.” Nearly 15 percent of “girls 15 to 17 years old” described a “major depressive episode in the preceding year, compared to an average of 6.4% of boys” of the same age “who did so.”

Related Links:

– “Depressed teens mostly struggle alone,” Melissa Healy, Los Angeles Times, April 29, 2011.

At the MPS annual meeting in April, the Maryland Foundation for Psychiatry presented its 2011 Outstanding Merit Award to John Plaskon, executive director of Crossroads Community, Inc. in Centreville, for his vision and leadership in opening a new mental health clinic in rural Queen Anne’s County during the height of the recession.

The Maryland Foundation for Psychiatry established the annual Outstanding Merit Award for a worthy program in Maryland that accomplishes one or more of the following:

• Increases public awareness and understanding of mental illness
• Enhances the quality of care for psychiatric illness
• Reduces the stigma of mental illness

The award, open to the entire Maryland community, carries a prize of $500. Find information on nominating for the 2012 award here.

Nominations are now being accepted for the Foundation’s 2012 Outstanding Merit Award.

The annual Outstanding Merit Award is given for a worthy endeavor in Maryland that accomplishes one or more of the following:

• Increases public awareness and understanding of mental illness
• Enhances the quality of care for psychiatric illness
• Reduces the stigma of mental illness

Nominations for this award of $500 are being invited from the entire Maryland community. A short nomination form must be submitted with a cover letter by March 1, 2012, to the Maryland Foundation for Psychiatry, 1101 Saint. Paul Street, Suite 305, Baltimore, MD 21202-6405. The form is available as PDF or Word document.

The Maryland Foundation for Psychiatry, Inc. recently began airing a new public service announcement on local Maryland radio stations. It focuses on the psychological effects of disasters such as the recent tragic earthquake and tsunami in Japan as well as the toll personal crises can take on the mind.

You can listen to the ad using the player in the upper right of the website’s homepage. All past public service spots are also available for listening or to download on our Radio Advertisements page.

At the MPS annual meeting in April, the Maryland Foundation for Psychiatry presented its 2010 Outstanding Merit Award to the Adolescent Depression Awareness Program of the Department of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins.

The Board was particularly impressed with this outstanding program, which through student, parent and teacher education seeks to increase awareness of adolescent depression and bipolar disorder while reducing the stigma associated with these illnesses.

In addition, the foundation awarded Honorable Mentions to the Southern Maryland Community Network in Prince Frederick, which offers essential services to persons with severe and persistent mental illness, and to Helping Other People through Empowerment, Inc. Wellness and Recovery Center in Baltimore, which assists adults with mental illness in becoming empowered to rejoin mainstream society by increasing awareness of available resources through peer support.

The Maryland Foundation for Psychiatry established the annual Outstanding Merit Award for a worthy program in Maryland that accomplishes one or more of the following:

• Increases public awareness and understanding of mental illness
• Enhances the quality of care for psychiatric illness
• Reduces the stigma of mental illness

The award, open to the entire Maryland community, carries a prize of $500.

Related Links:

– Johns Hopkins Adolescent Depression Awareness Program (ADAP)
– Southern Maryland Community Network
– Helping Other People through Empowerment