MFP Radio Ad Examines Mental Illness and Violence

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.

2013 Outstanding Merit Award Entries Open Now

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.

Foundation’s Latest Radio Spot Tells How Common Mental Illness Is

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.

Foundation’s Latest Radio Spot Examines Alcohol and Sports

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.

Depressed Adolescents Often Struggle Alone

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.

John Plaskon Wins 2011 Outstanding Merit Award

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.

2012 Outstanding Merit Award Entries Open Now

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.

Foundation’s Latest Radio Spot Examines Disaster and Crisis

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.

Adolescent Depression Awareness Program Wins 2010 Outstanding Merit Award

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

Honorary Director Dr. Eugene Brody Passes

Eugene B Brody, M.D., honorary director of the Maryland Foundation for Psychiatry, passed away on Saturday, March 13, 2010. As noted in the Baltimore Sun, Dr. Brody was “a globally known mental health figure who had been chairman of the department of psychiatry at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and later was dean for social and behavioral studies.”

A more complete obituary from LexisNexis can be found at AllBusiness.Com which chronicles his postgraduate work at Yale University School of Medicine and the New York Psychoanalytic Institute, his work during World War II as a captain in the Army Medical Corps serving as chief of the neuropsychiatric service in hospitals of the European command, through his work with America’s inner cities and much much more. He served as psychiatric consultant to the international military tribunal that conducted the war-crime trials of former Nazi military and civilian officials at Nuremberg.

Related Links:

Eugene Brody Obituary, Baltimore Sun, March 17, 2010.