Category: Events

PTSD and Public-works Employees

I remember Uncle Harry in my younger days as a happy, hard-working husband and father of two. Outgoing and gregarious, he was always upbeat and helpful. He enjoyed his public-works job as a way to help his community, he idolized his family, and he would do anything to help others. But it changed. It changed […]

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Caring Attachments: A 9/11 Encounter among Strangers

Never shall I forget those moments that murdered my soul and my God and turned my dreams to dust.—Elie Wiesel This is a true story of caring attachments among complete strangers as recounted by the principals involved and the first responders onsite. On 9/11/2001, New York Fire Department Ladder 6 was dispatched to the World […]

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The Tenth Annual Report of The American Mental Health Foundation

Annual Report of AMHF November 1, 2021, to October 31, 2022; on November 1, 2022, The American Mental Health Foundation will be 99 years in existence thus rapidly moving into 100. Few not-for-profit organizations can make this claim. This is the Tenth Annual Report of The American Mental Health Foundation (AMHF), an organization formed in […]

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Michelle Harrison, MD, Joins The American Mental Health Foundation Board of Directors

Michelle Harrison, MD, has joined The American Mental Health Foundation (AMHF) directors’ board as of July 1, 2018. She is the only director also serving on the AMHF professional-advisory board. Dr. Harrison is a U.S. physician of family medicine, psychiatry, and obstetrics with international stature. From 2006 to the present, Dr. Harrison directs Childlife Preserve Shishur Sevay, which […]

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Fred McFeely Rogers on Youth Violence: May 1, 1969

Thanks to the research of television critic David Bianculli and his TV Worth Watching site, do “tune in” below (7 minutes) as tough-as-nails Rhode Island Senator John O. Pastore is won over by the compelling words of Fred Rogers (just days ago at this writing, the 50th anniversary of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, on what was […]

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Honoring Dr. Stefan de Schill at 100: April 4, 2017

April 4 is the 100th birthday of Dr. Stefan de Schill. Dr. de Schill was director of research of The American Mental Health Foundation from 1948 till his death on February 9, 2005, Ash Wednesday. He devoted his life to individuals with emotional problems, as a leading proponent internationally of group psychotherapy. De Schill’s two […]

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The Sixth Annual Report of The American Mental Health Foundation

This is the sixth Annual Report of The American Mental Health Foundation (AMHF), a research organization formed in 1924, incorporated in New York State December 31, 1954. In 2017, AMHF celebrates 93 years of philanthropic service and activities—“Advancing Mental Health: A Century of Excellence in Mental Health Research.”   Vision: Building a More Compassionate Society—Get Involved!   Mission: AMHF endeavors […]

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World Mental Health Day: October 10—Psychological First Aid

The theme of this year’s World Mental Health Day, observed on October 10, 2016, covers “psychological first aid.” Efforts in support of the day will focus on basic pragmatic psychological support by people who find themselves in a helping role—whether they are health staff, teachers, firefighters, community workers, or police officers. Despite its name, psychological […]

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Two recent notices There’s No Handle on My Door and Violence

AMHF Books has received two recent and superb notices of its books from Midwest Book Review. The first is for There’s No Handle on My Door: Stories of Patients in Mental Hospitals by Dr. Henry Kellerman (who is pictured) “In There’s No Handle on My Door, Henry Kellerman probes institutional life through nine fascinating profiles. […]

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Dr. Eric J. Green Counselor Educator of the Year

The American Mental Health Foundation congratulates its own Dr. Eric Green, Associate Professor of School Counseling at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, as well as AMHF professional advisory board member, on receiving the 2015 Counselor Educator of the Year Award at the Indiana School Counselor Association Annual Conference, November 13, 2015. Dr. Green is pictured […]

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Violence

Shootings. Stabbings. Rapes. Acts of terror. These can’t happen here. But they do. A wave of violence is sweeping our land, the world. In the U.S., violence is an epidemic. AMHF is doing something about it. In April 2016, the foundation will publish Violence: Why People Do Bad Things, with Strategies to Reduce the Risk […]

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Dr. Eric J. Green of AMHF Professional Advisory Board Publishes a New Book

Renowned play therapist Dr. Eric Green has co-authored and co-edited the pictured new book on family counseling. This book is officially published in October 2015 by one of the finest academic houses anywhere, Rowman & Littlefield (publishers, for example, of the former Jason Aronson program). Dr. Green is on the esteemed AMHF professional advisory board. […]

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The Longlasting Psychological Effects of a Tragic Fire

In early December a tragedy occurred, one causing untold sadness and posttraumatic stress disorder. Yet in the 56 years since this happened, signs of resiliency have also emerged. In my mind’s eye, I can see my grandfather, 56 years ago, sliding down the chrome pole in his firehouse and landing on the rubber mat. In […]

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Dr. Eric J. Green Joins the AMHF Professional Advisory Board

The American Mental Health Foundation is delighted to announce distinguished Jungian play therapist and author Dr. Eric J. Green has joined its professional-advisory board. Dr. Green’s full bio can be read here. We encourage one and all to visit his superb Web site, Soulplay. AMHF is coming off Dr. Green’s well-attended (more than 300 registered) […]

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AMHF: Advancing Mental Health for 90 Years

The Fourth Annual Report of the American Mental Health Foundation

Following is the fourth Annual Report (November 1, 2013, to October 31, 2014) of The American Mental Health Foundation (AMHF), a research organization formed in 1924, incorporated in New York State December 31, 1954. In 2014, AMHF celebrates ninety years of philanthropic service and activities—“Advancing Mental Health.” Vision: Building a More Compassionate Society—Get Involved! This […]

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AMHF at BookExpo America

For three days last week American Mental Health Foundation Books shared a booth with its distributor, Lantern, at the annual BookExpo America—which is held at the Jacob Javits Center on New York City’s West Side. (New York remains the publishing capital of North America, even with the multitude of changes the industry has seen.) The […]

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Books from Colleagues at ACA

Here are some worthwhile books that can be ordered from the American Counseling Association (ANA): 1. Hays, D. G. (2013). Assessment in Counseling: A Guide to the Use of Psychological Assessment Procedures. Fifth Edition. This is a bestselling text, and the latest version includes updates and changes in assessment procedures. Test selection, interpretation of findings, […]

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The Future, the Brain

President Barack Obama made headlines with his proposal to encourage American scientists to work toward understanding the great mysteries of the brain. Done as a massive project, this could rival past collective enterprises such as Getting a Man to the Moon; when President Kennedy suggested this, it took everyone’s breath away. It looked unattainable in […]

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Budget Cuts, Nonprofits, and Developmental Disabilities

Several months ago the Cuomo administration announced that budgets for nonprofit agencies serving the developmentally disabled would be cut. This had led to an outcry from parents, community members, and those who work at these agencies. Recently it was announced that the cuts would be changed. Although this is helpful, it still leaves most organizations […]

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Budget Cuts 2013 Endanger Nonprofits

The Mid-Hudson Valley in New York State may be atypical from many other localities: it has the highest proportion of developmentally disabled persons in the country. Over 10,000 developmentally disabled residents from Willowbrook, Letchworth Village, and Wassaic Developmental Center have been re-integrated into the community. A large number of jobs—private and nonprofit—are part of the […]

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Psychiatry Films from AMHF: “The Snake Pit” (1948)

I feel unusually close to The Snake Pit, personally, if not intimately and daily, working with one of the writers, Millen Brand, during my early days in book publishing. This, the tenth film out of twenty-one in the AMHF series, required significant research from the filmmakers in adapting an autobiographical novel by Jane Ward. The […]

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Psychiatry Films from AMHF: “Fear Strikes Out” (1957)

Movie number nine in the American Mental Health Foundation series of twenty-one relating to its mission stars Anthony Perkins (who would famously make a career of playing disturbed individuals: for example in the appropriately named, from the standpoint of this series of essays, Psycho) and the superbly versatile Karl Malden as his unreasonably domineering father (reminiscent of […]

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Reasons for Doing Psychological Testing

More and more in our society, any kind of testing that compares people with each other is viewed negatively. Different kinds of testing: No Child Left Behind, End of Year testing, and Intelligence Testing are all types of testing that come under criticism. Here is a different spin on the kinds of tests given by […]

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Suicide and the Hemingway Family

A new documentary film presents the emotional health history of a famous American family of artists—the Hemingways—according to CNN, whose sources we quote. This film, Running from Crazy, premiered last week at the Sundance Film Festival. Oprah Winfrey is executive producer. “‘Suicide has no rhyme or reason,’ [Mariel] Hemingway said. ‘Some people, it’s 20 dark […]

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“I Have Been to the Mountaintop”

Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. When I was in college (several years after Dr. King’s assassination), I took a bicycle trip down the East Coast. One of the stops was Washington, DC. There, I stood on the steps of the Lincoln memorial and had the same view King had when he gave his […]

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State of the State of Mental Health 2013

This month governors and the President are reflecting on what is going on in their respective territories. I thought this would be a good time to look at the state of the state of mental health and to offer my own reflections. DSM V Will Be Issued This year will inaugurate the new DSM V. […]

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AMHF Research

As readers of this blog and followers of the AMHF Web site know, in August 2012 the foundation embarked on a two-year study of at-risk youth, in partnership with Astor Services for Children & Families of Rhinebeck and the Bronx, New York. Herewith a report, from Dr. Suzanne Button of Astor, on hopes for this […]

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Eugene Kennedy, Love, Newtown: A Blow to the Heart

Peggy Noonan, writing in the Wall Street Journal, suggests that we listen to Eugene Kennedy, who spoke about the Newtown tragedy in a much different manner from other commentators: He does not believe that the many “solutions” bandied about will make children (or ourselves) safer. Rather, it is time for us to reflect on this […]

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Letter by American Psychiatric Association to Congress Regarding Newtown

On December 20, 2012, the American Psychiatric Association sent the following letter to Congressional leaders in Washington: To:

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“I didn’t feel right walking away….”

Word from ABILITIES FIRST in Poughkeepsie, NY October 5, 2012, Poughkeepsie, NY—As Dr. Lori Crispi’s term on the board of Abilities First, Inc., a Dutchess County based nonprofit that serves children and adults with disabilities, was coming to an end, she felt that she couldn’t just walk away. “I enjoyed being part of the organization […]

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