What's Inside:
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Advocacy Improves Grim Earlier Federal Outlook

NMHA Hosts Meetings on New Medicare Part D Benefit

First Person Perspective: What’s the Mission of the Mental Health System?

Journalists Attend NMHA Teleconference on Children’s Mental Health

Cruise’s “War of the Words” Fuels Stigma, Misinformation

NMHA’s 2005 Meeting Promotes Justice, System Changes

Research Notes

NMHA Tools You Can Use

Journalists throughout the country joined an NMHA tele-conference in May to get beyond the recent controversies surrounding children’s mental health care and get accurate guidance parents can use to ensure the health and safety of their kids.

Many misleading reports, especially about the safety of antidepressants and school-based mental health screenings of students, have stirred confusion among parents whose children have, or may have, mental health disorders.

The event, “What Parents Need to Know: Treating Depression in Children and Teens,” featured Michael Faenza,NMHA’s president and CEO; David Fassler, M.D., a child and adolescent psychiatrist; Jessica Norman, a teen who has depression; and Jessica’s mother, Tara.

he panel shared with journalists a list of tips for parents,and provided advice on how to seek help and avoid the extremism of those who advocate against mental health care for children. The list also suggests ways parents can empower themselves to get their children the care that they need.(View the full list of tips.)

"If a child has a headache for two weeks, parents take them to get checked out by a doctor—parents need to do the same if their child feels depressed," said Faenza. “We must arm parents with the questions to ask, the facts to know, and the factors to consider to make the best decisions for their child and family."