Carter Center Partners Present the 22nd Annual Rosalynn Carter Symposium on Mental Health Policy

Featured November 2006.

Rosalynn Carter Symposium on Mental Health Policy: Nov. 8-9, 2006

Thanks to the support of our partners, The Carter Center Mental Health Program is proud to host the Twenty-second Annual Rosalynn Carter Symposium on Mental Health Policy, "Disaster Mental Health in the Wake of Hurricane Katrina."

Each year, The Carter Center invites mental health administrators, policy makers, researchers, treatment providers, and consumers and family members to the symposium to discuss a pressing mental health issue and develop well-informed recommendations. On November 8-9, 2006, members from the mental health and disaster communities will meet at The Carter Center to examine the mental health service response to those affected by Hurricane Katrina.

Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath exposed a critical need for improved delivery of mental health services for victims of emergencies and natural disasters. According to a study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an estimated 25 percent of households affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in Orleans and Jefferson Parishes in New Orleans contained one or more members in need of counseling services, but only 1.6 percent contained a person who had received counseling services by October 2005. In order to ensure that those affected by future disasters receive the mental health services they need, the Twenty-second Annual Rosalynn Carter Symposium on Mental Health Policy will focus on the challenges, successes, and lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina.

The two-day symposium will involve a series of panel discussions, a keynote address, and work groups on the following topics: Hurricane Survivors, Science and Research, Science to Practice, and Public Policy. Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, a leading advocate for mental health, will be joined by notable panelists and speakers including Brian Flynn, Ed.D., associate director, Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress and adjunct professor of psychiatry, Uniformed Services University; Joy Osofsky, Ph.D., professor of pediatrics, psychiatry, and public health, and head of the division of pediatric mental health, Louisiana State University Medical Center; and Paula Madrid, Psy.D., director, Resiliency Program, National Center for Disaster Preparedness, Columbia University. Following the Symposium, The Carter Center will disseminate the policy recommendations and action plan developed by participants to individuals, organizations, and policy makers involved in mental health and disaster response.

The Rosalynn Carter Symposium on Mental Health Policy would not be possible without the generous support of our partners. We greatly appreciate their dedication to promoting mental health and look forward to our continued partnership in the future.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
The Annie E. Casey Foundation
Eli Lilly and Company Foundation
Gannett Foundation, Inc.
Healthcare Georgia Foundation
Janssen, L.P.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Gay and Erskine Love Foundation
Pfizer Inc.
RARE Hospitality International, Inc.
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

 Carter Center Photos 

Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter addresses attendees during the 2005 Rosalynn Carter Symposium on Mental Health Policy.

Mental health researchers, consumers, treatment providers, and policy makers break between sessions at the 2005 Rosalynn Carter Symposium for Mental Health Policy.

Panelists Gary Gottlieb, Wilma Townsend, John Coppola, Richard Van Horn, and Judith Cook at the 2005 Rosalynn Carter Symposium on Mental Health Policy.