President'sColumn

by David Shern, Ph.D., president and CEO

As we wrap up the year, I’ve been reflecting on the accomplishments of 2007, which has been eventful in many ways.

There’s perhaps no clearer example of this strength than the unanimous passage of the U.S. Senate parity bill on Sept. 18, which came after the MHA of South Carolina convinced its senator, Jim DeMint, to lift his lone hold on the bill and allow it to come to the floor for a vote. Leading up to that moment our government affairs team literally put in hundreds of hours with coalition members and congressional staffers to negotiate the best bill possible. Our media, development and advocacy teams supported the effort and helped to mobilize the grassroots. The issue itself has served as a basis for building our movement and gathering support, with both national staff and MHAs bringing mainstream attention to parity. And, to ultimately deliver the bill, we called on the affiliate network.

Our new name underscores the notion that mental health is fundamental to all health and distinguishes us as leaders in the field. Every day new research confirms that it's the interaction between the environment and our biology that can produce overall well-being—or put us at risk for mental health or general health conditions.

We’ve worked hard to consolidate our own sense of the wellness platform through an extensive synthetic literature search and interviews with affiliates, consumers and representatives of the general population. Our work confirmed that wellness concepts provide a platform that embraces the full continuum—from populations with no health or mental health problems to groups with serious mental illnesses. As part of the rebranding campaign, we’ve also embarked on an inclusive and systematic strategic planning exercise. Once completed, the new plan will clearly articulate our vision for Mental Health America and offer an action agenda for the next few years.

We accomplished all this while continuing our national leadership in advocacy: pushing Federal parity to the brink, assuring concentration of veteran’s health, crafting SAMHSA reauthorization, reversing proposed cuts to national mental health budgets, mapping state insurance reform efforts, shaping the application of science to practice and policy, monitoring Medicaid “reform” efforts in states and at CMS, and responding to tragedies like Virginia Tech, among many other core activities that comprise our national role.

Most important, we’re sharpening our focus on affiliate needs by opening channels of communication, and collaborating on issues and events that will push our joint mission forward. As I’ve said before, our real power rests in the alliance between the national office and the affiliate field. I always welcome your feedback and look forward to working with each of you as we build on our many achievements in 2008.