With Betty Ford’s passing, we are again reminded that there is a great deal of work to be done in the field of alcohol and substance abuse. Margarita Alegria, Ph.D., is Director of the Center for Multicultural Mental Health Research and full professor at Harvard University’s Medical School in psychiatry. In her work she examines […]
By: William Van Ornum, Ph.D.In the news: Betty Ford, former First Lady of the United States of America, has died. The much-beloved wife of President Gerald Ford died at the age of 93, as reported in the July 11, 2011, edition of The New York Daily News. Mrs. Ford was born in Chicago, reared in modest circumstances, became a […]
By: William Van Ornum, Ph.D.Previously we have written about Marsha Linehan, clinical psychologist who developed dialectical behavioral therapy, and who has worked throughout her career with persons who display severe suicidal behaviors or symptoms of what is called borderline personality disorder. On June 23, 2011, the New York Times presented an intriguing story, Expert on Mental Illness Reveals Her […]
By: William Van Ornum, Ph.D.In Chicago, on June 20, 2011 Vice President
By: William Van Ornum, Ph.D.Therese Borchard, associate editor of Psych Central, offers everyone 6 Tips to Help Summer Depression. She notes 5 causes of summer depression, as suggested by Dr. Ian Cook of the Depression Research Project at UCLA. The following 5 factors may contribute to summertime depression: disrupted summer schedules, body image issues (i.e., fitting into that swimsuit), […]
By: William Van Ornum, Ph.D.Time magazine on June 20, 2011, reports that a certain Misery Index has reached a 28-year high. This survey tool, when it was concocted in the 1960s, wasn’t meant to be a scientific and comprehensive measure of human behavior. Rather, it is a shorthand measure combining unemployment and inflation to gauge the effect of both […]
By: William Van Ornum, Ph.D.Over on The Corner at National Review, Jack Fowler (AMHF Board Chairman), shows protesters in Madison, Wisconsin, disrupting a Special Olympics visit to the state capital. Special Olympians rarely if ever disrupt or protest the peaceful activities of others, as they are so absorbed in their sport and the joy and fellowship accompanying this. They […]
By: William Van Ornum, Ph.D.Since part of the mission of AMHF is to keep continual focus on the mental-health needs of the developmentally disabled, a recent article deserves our attention. On June 5, 2011, the New York Times reported that Jonathan Carey, a thirteen-year-old boy who has autism, was asphyxiated and died in the back of a NYS-owned van […]
By: William Van Ornum, Ph.D.The above video, by Jasmin Singer and Evan Creem, records the May 7, 2011, Stefan de Schill Award ceremony. The Award was given to Herbert Hendin, M.D., on behalf of Suicide Prevention International at the seventh annual Walk For Life in Riverside Park, New York City. For the first Stefan de Schill Award, click here.
By: Evander LomkeAs part of the AMHF series on Bullying, we call your attention to the American Psychological Association (APA) new video by Dr. Norman B. Anderson, CEO of the APA. Dr. Anderson states… The problem of bullying has received a great deal of media attention recently, and for good reason. Bullying can lead to lasting psychological […]
By: William Van Ornum, Ph.D.This month marks the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s pledge to bring Americans to the moon within the end of that decade. The goal was met. Now his nephew, former Representative Patrick Kennedy (D., R.I.) is using one of what was arguably his uncle’s greatest achievements as a metaphor in fighting mental illness, […]
By: William Van Ornum, Ph.D.Piers Morgan hosted the Axelrods who eloquently and movingly diagnosed the sorry state of epilepsy research in the United States and their 29-year-old daughter’s battle (along with her family) against this condition. Epilepsy is a so-called orphaned disease in the United States. (Two new anticonvulsants are currently available in Canada, finally set for FDA approval […]
By: Evander LomkeRearing a child with autism brings challenges too many to mention. A particular sadness, recurring frequently, is the inability to travel with your child due to difficulties that occur in boarding airplanes. Many citizen without autism now avoid the flight lines and procedures, and drive, take the train, or just stay home. For young people […]
By: William Van Ornum, Ph.D.I was fortunate to be at the Boat Basin on Saturday morning May 7, 2011, when Evander Lomke, executive director of AMHF, presented Suicide Prevention International (SPI) with only the second Stefan de Schill Award. We were celebrating this at the West Side Boat Basin in Riverside Park. At least one-hundred enthusiastic persons, young and […]
By: William Van Ornum, Ph.D.Judi Chamberlin, international activist for people with mental illnesses, died sixteen months ago at age 65. Chamberlin was a board member of MindFreedom International, and in the 1970s she established the then-fashionably named Mental Patients’ Liberation Front. She helped found the Ruby Rogers Advocacy and Drop-In Center, which is staffed by people who have had […]
By: Evander Lomke“We are happy to join 54,000 other Americans in pledging to end the use of the R-word at www.r-word.org….including pending legislation in Congress to remove the R-word from federal law.”…I do not attribute this quote since there is no need. Does such “removal” of “a derogatory word” in any way help individuals that truly need […]
By: Evander LomkeFrom New York Able Newspaper May 2011: Manhattan’s first Mental Health Court, which recently opened at 100 Centre Street, is dedicated to keeping defendants with mental illness from engaging in further criminal behavior. This special court will handle nonviolent cases of defendants with serious and continuing mental illness. It is part of the New York […]
By: Evander LomkeOn a clear, virtually cloudless May 7, 2011, morning, AMHF granted the second Stefan de Schill Award to a most worthy nonprofit, Suicide Prevention Initiatives (formerly Suicide Prevention International) as prelude to the “Walk For Life” in Riverside Park, New York City. What appeared to be at least one-hundred walkers were on hand. In all, […]
By: Evander LomkeAll the flowers in bloom and their reflections made the Hudson River Valley look like a giant impressionist painting Friday and Saturday April 29 and 30. AMHF, along with Marist College School of Management, sponsored the Conference “Small Family Business, Big Family Stress” at the Dutchess Country Club in Poughkeepsie, New York. On Friday night […]
By: William Van Ornum, Ph.D.A reminder, time is running out for every small-family business owner and partner in the New York State Hudson Valley to sign up for the AMHF all-day workshop Small Family Business: Big Family Stress, beginning at 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 30 (with introduction on Friday, April 29, at 6 p.m.). The speakers and subjects […]
By: Evander LomkeLast night’s buffet supper, funded by The American Mental Health Foundation to honor, and in support of, the mission of Suicide Prevention International, was a rousing success. Look for our forthcoming video! And please sign up for the SPI Walk For Life, to be held on Saturday, May 7, 2011, in New York’s Riverside Park. […]
By: Evander LomkeOver at America magazine, Christopher Pramuk has written a sensitive and provocative article titled ” Hidden Sorrow: Praying through Reproductive Loss”. Part of the beauty of this article is that it makes others aware of the intense grief evoked by this kind of loss. I wrote an accompanying piece Hidden Sorrow, Chronic Sorrow about the […]
By: William Van Ornum, Ph.D.Last year when my physician was away, I visited another doctor. It was a minor problem, but because of insurance regulations the new doctor was required to do a complete intake on me. This took roughly forty-five minutes, and throughout the entire interview he typed my answers onto a standard form that was on a […]
By: William Van Ornum, Ph.D.Catherine Zeta Jones, glamorous wife of actor Michael Douglas, suffers the painful effects of bipolar disorder. As this ABC News article and video explain, bipolar disorder, a cause also closely associated with actress and well-known advocate Glenn Close (whose sister, Jesse, is diagnosed with bipolar disorder), can be brought on during any stage of life, […]
By: Evander LomkeFORTHCOMING WORKSHOP Saturday, April 30, 2011, with Marist College in Conjunction with the Hudson Valley Family Business Institute, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., AMHF is holding a free one-day workshop, Small Family Business, Big Family Stress, at the Dutchess Golf and Country Club, 2628 South Road, Poughkeepsie. The event will include a hot breakfast […]
By: Evander LomkeTHE STEFAN DE SCHILL AWARD The Second Stefan de Schill Award has been announced. AMHF is honoring Suicide Prevention International. The award and a check to SPI for $5,000 will be presented at the SPI Walk For Life on Saturday, May 7, 2011, rain or shine, to Herbert Hendin, MD, CEO and Medical Director of […]
By: Evander LomkeOver at AMERICA we are having a discussion on National Day of Silence. Regina Sewell is a group therapist who, like Stefan de Schill, has kept the art and craft of group therapy alive and prosperous in times when most therapists have shifted over to the individual therapy model. She has these thoughts on National […]
By: William Van Ornum, Ph.D.It has become a tradition where I teach for the students to make “National Day of Silence” a part of the year. This is national youth movement where silence is used as a tool to make others aware of the silence, often a quietude of contempt or ignoring, faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender […]
By: William Van Ornum, Ph.D.There is still room for everyone interested in our first great workshop, offered on April 29 and 30! For a reservation, in addition to the contact listed on our Homepage, as well as our blog of March 30, call 212-737-9027. Groups are also welcome! (Please let us know in advance.) We look forward to seeing […]
By: Evander LomkeAMHF, Marist College, and the Hudson Valley Family Business Institute present a workshop on the stresses of small family businesses.
By: Evander Lomke
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