Mental Health Awareness Month May 2007

Spring is right around the corner, and along with spring comes mental health awareness month in May. We know how much more alive and joyful we feel when spring is in the air, so there is no better time to celebrate mental health! The majority of us are blessed with great mental health, but for most of us there will be a period of our life where we are forced to cope with a mental illness.

For the past 50 years, mental health awareness month has been positively affecting the lives of people who are affected by mental illness. In an effort to better understand mental health, we want to stress the importance of mental health education and de-stigmatization. Knowledge empowers us to understand and accurately describe mental health concerns and their effects so that people with mental illnesses are not further oppressed and marginalized in our society. As social workers, we need to work to achieve mental health parity, and mental health awareness month is a great time to talk to your legislators about making reimbursement for mental health concerns as common and equitable as coverage for physical health concerns. Find your local legislators at www.votesmart.org to advocate for mental health parity- call or write a letter today!!

If you are interested in learning more about mental health, there are various websites to help you with specific mental health information as well as global mental health interests.

National Alliance for the Mentally Ill -www.nami.org
National Mental Health Association – www.nmha.org
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration – www.samhsa.gov
Eating Disorders Information Network of Georgia – www.edin-ga.org
Mental Health Screening tools- Ridgeview – www.ridgeviewinstitute.com
National Association of Social Workers- Georgia – www.naswga.org
PsychCentral – www.Psychcentral.com
Everyday Health – www.everydayhealth.com
About – www.about.com/health
WebMD – www.webmd.com

If you have questions or concerns about mental health issues, you can contact Dr Tara Arnold, LCSW at (404)-964-6629.