About Mental Health Awareness Month
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Mental Health Awareness was started in 1949 by the Mental Health America organization (then the National Association for Mental Health). Every May since then, Mental Health America selects a theme and releases a "toolkit" meant to guide organizations in their outreach programs.
The purpose of Mental Health Awareness Month is to raise public awareness and education about mental illnesses, reduce negative stigmas surrounding mental illness, and draw attention to suicide, which can be a result of some mental illnesses. Following the lead of Mental Health America, many other organizations now run campaigns through May related to mental health awareness,.
Kentucky Authors on Mental Health, Abuse, and Addiction
More Suggested Reading
Appalachian Mental Health by
This volume is the first to explore broadly many important theoretical and applied issues concerning the mental health of Appalachians. The authors -- anthropologists, psychologists, social workers and others -- overturn many assumptions held by earlier writers, who have tended to see Appalachia and its people as being dominated by a culture of poverty. While the heterogeneity of the region is acknowledged in the diversity of sub-areas and populations discussed, dominant themes emerge concerning Appalachia as a whole. The result of the authors' varied approaches is a cumulative portrait of a strong regional culture with native support systems based on family, community, and religion. Some of the contributors examine therapeutic approaches, including family therapy, that consider the implications of the cultural context. Others explore the impact of Appalachian culture on the impact of Appalachian culture on the development of mental health problems and coping skills and the resulting potential for conflict between Appalachian clients and non-Appalachian health providers. Still others examine cultural considerations in therapeutic encounters and mental health service delivery. The book is rich in case studies and empirical data. The practical, applied nature of the essays will enhance their value for practitioners seeking ways to improve mental health care in the region.
ISBN: 9780813116143Publication Date: 1988-09-29
Appalachia's Children: The Challenge of Mental Health by
Originally published in 1971. This thoughtful, compassionate book makes a major contribution to our understanding of the Southern Appalachian child -- his mental disorders and his adaptive strengths. Drawing upon his extensive fieldwork as a clinical child psychiatrist in Eastern Kentucky, Dr. Looff suggests means by which these children can be helped to bridge the gap between their subculture and the mainstream of American life today. The children described in this book, the author points out, are in a real sense not "all children." Since no child grows up in a vacuum, the children of Eastern Kentucky cannot be understood apart from the historical, geographic, and socioeconomic characteristics of the area in which they grow. Knowledge of the children requires some knowledge of the lives of parent, teachers, and the many others upon whom they are dependent. That is to say, mental disorder -- or mental health -- is embedded in a social matrix. Dr. Looff therefore examines the milieu of these Southern Appalachian children, their future as adults, and how they can achieve their potential -- whether in their native or an urban setting. In viewing the children within their own cultural framework, Dr. Looff shows how they develop toward mental health or psychopathology, suggesting supportive techniques that build upon the strengths inherent in each child. These strengths, he suggests, rise out of the same culture that burdens the child with handicaps. Dr. Looff's position is one of guarded optimism, based on the successes of the techniques he has used and observed in seven years of work in Appalachian field clinics. Although he details instances of mental disorder in children, and instances of failure in family functioning, he notes at the same time family strengths and sees these strengths as sources of hope. Although this book is based on fieldwork techniques within a specific area and culture, it is paradigmatically suggestive of wider application. Dr. Looff demonstrates effectively and clearly the profound need for increased concern about what is happening to the rising generation -- the children of Eastern Kentucky, the children of the Southern Appalachian region, and the children of the rural south.
ISBN: 9780813150420Publication Date: 2015-01-13
Appalachian Health and Well-Being by
Appalachians have been characterized as a population with numerous disparities in health and limited access to medical services and infrastructures, leading to inaccurate generalizations that inhibit their healthcare progress. Appalachians face significant challenges in obtaining effective care, and the public lacks information about both their healthcare needs and about the resources communities have developed to meet those needs. In Appalachian Health and Well-Being, editors Robert L. Ludke and Phillip J. Obermiller bring together leading researchers and practitioners to provide a much-needed compilation of data- and research-driven perspectives, broadening our understanding of strategies to decrease the health inequalities affecting both rural and urban Appalachians. The contributors propose specific recommendations for necessary research, suggest practical solutions for health policy, and present best practices models for effective health intervention. This in-depth analysis offers new insights for students, health practitioners, and policy makers, promoting a greater understanding of the factors affecting Appalachian health and effective responses to those needs.
With contributions by: Robert L. Ludke; Mark A. Carrozza; Jennifer Chubinski; Julia F. Costich; Richard J. Crout; Lisa Curtin; Sharon A. Denham; Mark B. Dignan; Michael S. Dunn; E. Kelly Firesheets; James L. Fisher; Phillip J. Obermiller; Gilbert H. Friedell; Joel A. Halverson; Michael S. Hendryx; Ronnie D. Horner; Mira L. Katz; Paul A. Kearney; Susan E. Keefe; Evelyn A. Knight; Mary L. Marazita; Ann L. McCracken; Richard A. Couto; John M. McLaughlin; Daniel W. McNeil; Melanie F. Myers; Electra D. Paskett; Levi D. Procter; Eric W. Rademacher; Carol S. Baugh; Rebecca J. Schmidt; Shiloh K. Turner; Barbara B. Weaner; Mary Ellen Wewers; Bruce A. Behringer; Andrew C. Bernard; Kristine H. Bowers; Kathryn Brown; Eleanor S. Cantrell
ISBN: 9780813135878Publication Date: 2012-03-07
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UKY Resources
- Kentucky Domestic Violence Association Oral History ProjectThis collection focuses on domestic violence in Kentucky from the late 1960s to present. Interviewees discuss raising awareness for domestic violence, Kentucky's Department for Mental Health, comprehensive care for victims of abuse, and shelters for battered women and children. Other topics include funding and community support for domestic violence programs, legal justice for women, and social issues that provide a breeding ground for domestic violence.