Celebrating Our Legacy

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

On February 19, 1909 Clifford Beers established the National Committee on Mental Hygiene with a vision of reforming hospital care and preventing mental illnesses’ devastating effect on all aspects of American life. In 2009 we will commemorate our Centennial by celebrating our legacy and powerfully shaping our future. We’ve begun to design a series of activities for next year to take stock of the advances Mental Health America has led during the last 100 years and target our continuing challenges and important opportunities.

While we’ve made crucially important progress since 1909, we’ve got much work to do. The new presidential administration taking office in 2009 and the anticipated focus on health care reform should give us an excellent platform to address our historical concerns. The science is clear that overall health is inextricably linked to mental health and that addressing behavioral health issues is essential for managing costs and improving our nation’s health. In short, our historical focus on access to humane and effective care and building resilience are as relevant today as 1909. Our science base, public opinion and the critical need to improve our overall health should signal an impactful second century of leadership and accomplishment for MHA.

As we plan our activities for the next year, I would love to hear from you about your sense of our legacy and your vision for our future. I’m hopeful that 2009 will be a watershed year for our movement and that we can use the Centennial celebration to galvanize the MHA community and move powerfully to improve America’s mental health.