Health Programs

Mental Health Overview

What is Mrs. Carter's involvement in mental health issues?

What are the journalism fellowships?

How does the program influence public policy?

How is the program agenda determined?

"We have to get the word out that mental illnesses can be diagnosed and treated and almost everyone suffering from mental illness can live more normal lives."

—Rosalynn Carter

The Carter Center Mental Health Program:  Combating the Stigma of Mental Illness 
 
Back in 1971, when Rosalynn Carter began working on mental health care issues, few people even spoke the words "mental health." Mental health referred only to mental illnesses, and mental illnesses were shrouded in such shame and stigma that many people neglected the issue. Today, much has changed. Since the early 1980s, there has been the extraordinary rise of both the mental health consumer and family movements, research has provided us tremendous knowledge about the brain and new medications, and mental health services have improved significantly.

Yet, much remains to be done. People with mental illnesses still face great stigma and discrimination, even though mental disorders affect one-quarter of Americans. The importance of mental health promotion is under-recognized, and insurance providers have most often not provided parity for mental health treatment.

Better Mental Health for All
Mrs. Carter continues her advocacy efforts through the Carter Center's Mental Health Program, founded in 1991. The program focuses on mental health policy issues with four strategic goals:

• To reduce stigma and discrimination against people with mental illnesses
• To achieve equity for mental health care comparable to other health care
• To advance promotion, prevention, and early intervention services for
  children and their families
• To increase public awareness worldwide about mental health and mental
  illness and to stimulate local actions to address those issues
  
  
  

Advocacy Through Many Channels
The program pursues the above goals on state, national, and international levels. The Carter Center hosts two public-policy forums each year for those in the mental health field: the Rosalynn Carter Georgia Mental Health Forum, which focuses on issues within the state of Georgia, and the Rosalynn Carter Symposium on Mental Health Policy, which tackles major challenges in the mental health field.
 
In addition to the annual symposia, the Mental Health Program also hosts public outreach programs as part of the annual series "Conversations at The Carter Center." Topics have included "Breaking Through the Stigma: Portrayal of Mental Illness in the Media" and "Mental Illnesses: Myths and Realities."
 
Because reporters and the media are often the best communicators to the general public, the Center provides fellowships for journalists in the United States and abroad who are writing or producing works on mental health issues. Works resulting from the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism have the potential to greatly reduce stigma and better inform people about pressing issues.

In August 2008, the Mental Health Program launched a two-year project, the Primary Care Initiative, which works to improve access to mental health care in primary care settings.

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