National Women's

History Month

Women’s History Month spotlights the contributions of women both historical and contemporary and runs from March 1 to March 31.

The 2022 Women's History theme, “Providing Healing, Promoting Hope,” is both a tribute to the ceaseless work of caregivers and frontline workers during this ongoing pandemic and also a recognition of the thousands of ways that women of all cultures have provided both healing and hope throughout history.

March is the month to recognize and honor women in our communities, along with celebrating the achievements of women in all facets of life – science, community, government, literature, art, sports, medicine. ❤

Paul Jaquith, LCSW, CAP, President/CEO of Mental Health America of Southeast Florida won the STARR's Lew Yagodnik Award.

The ‘Lewie’ is the only STARR award given to an individual that has made a significant impact in support of new treatments for those living with mental health illnesses. Paul was selected as this year’s Lewie Awardee because for the first time ever, Paul presented at the National Mental Health America Conference in support of mental health research. Paul appealed directly to MHA’s affiliates from all over the country about the need to for providers of services to utilize every option in our tool belts to help people find recovery and comfort.  

MHA and the affiliates have traditionally seen research as a non-treatment focused process, but Paul’s appeal changed that.  The new CEO of Mental Health America National was in the audience and agreed that National MHA would embrace the idea that research is a valuable link in the chain to recovery.

Check out the write-up on all of the winners on the STARR website HERE.

The RockSTARR Advocacy Ace Awards are given to individuals whose screened volunteers have designated the most donations to their local advocacy organizations. We'll feature our Advocacy Aces throughout the year.

This month, we're spotlighting Andrea Johnson, of Cedar Clinical Research in Draper, Utah, who has raised over $1,000 in donations for their local NAMI and MHA chapters through the RockSTARR program. Two checks will be delivered to the site to take to the local NAMI and MHA offices to help build those relationships. Thanks for your great work, Andrea!

American Brain Coalition, March 9, 2022: Congress released a long overdue Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 omnibus appropriations agreement. The agreement includes a program level of $44.959 billion for the National Institutes of Health, a 4.7 percent increase over FY 2021, $8.84 billion for the National Science Foundation a 4.1 percent increase over the FY 2021; and $882 million for the Veterans Administration’s Prosthetic and Medical Research Program, an 8.2% increase and even with the President’s budget request. The BRAIN Initiative will receive a total of $620 million, including $152 million authorized by the 21^st Century Cures. Act. Last, the agreement also provides $1 billion for the President’s proposed Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) under the Office of the HHS Secretary. A more detailed summary, including relevant report language, is available here.

Additionally, as an FYI, the Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research issued the following statement in response to funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022. 

Thanks to the American Brain Coalition for providing this update. To learn more about ABC and to sign up for updates like this one, visit www.americanbraincoalition.org

Letters to Strangers (L2S) is the largest global youth-for-youth mental health nonprofit, seeking to destigmatize mental illness and increase access to affordable, quality treatment particularly for those of ages 13 to 24.

We want mental health made personal, because each person deserves to be treated as the individual they are. No one's identity should be buried beneath statistics. Often there is nothing greater than a person-to-person human connection.

For more information, visit www.letterstostrangers.org.

You may also want to check out NAMI's Ask the Expert Webinar featuring Diana Chao, L2S's founder HERE.

The New Year, Gratitude, and Mental Health

There have been countless studies of how practicing gratitude can lead to a better life. Gratitude improves mood, fosters optimism, strengthens social bonds, and leads to physical health. Oprah Winfrey is quoted saying “Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have you will never have enough.” Gratitude can be accessed at any moment of your life and can be a useful skill to accessing the present moment. As humans we all desire happiness and a grateful heart is vital to happiness. Happiness doesn’t lead to gratefulness, but gratitude leads to happiness. Zig Zigler calls gratitude “the healthiest of all human emotion.”

Living with a mental health challenge can make it tricky to express gratitude; however, gratitude is a key component in coping with this challenge and recovery. In my journey with schizoaffective disorder, I often felt that having this diagnosis and symptoms was some kind of curse. About three years ago I was admitted to a hospital for yet another battle with psychosis. For about a month or so I laid in the hospital bed in a deep depression and wondered if I would ever get back to myself who saw the light at the end of the tunnel.

Then one day it struck me instead of being buried in my worries and feeling sad and alone I could examine what I had that was positive in my life. I challenged myself to write a hundred things I was grateful for. I started going around to the hospital staff and asking them for their names and informing them that I put them on my gratitude list. I started doing this hundred-item list every day and suddenly my crippling depression started going away and hope started rising. Then on one magical day; I felt the doom and gloom disappear and I was locked into the present moment. I felt my brain open up and then for about three weeks I went to sleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. Gratitude got me on the right track and although I still struggle with symptoms; gratitude has grounded me and gave me a continual appreciation for my life despite struggling with my organic brain disorder.

Now I continue to practice gratitude every day. Although I don’t have a hundred things to be grateful for each day; before I go to sleep I search my mind for thirty things I’m grateful for that day. Gratitude helps me recognize even if I had a very trying day I can still feel solace that I’m alive, safe, have wonderful family and friends, and they're still were some highlights of the day. I now handwrite my family and friends' notes of appreciation; which gives both them and me a very warm feeling and sense of connection.

Looking back at my twenty-plus years battling with schizoaffective disorder there are tons of people to be grateful for. Let’s face it; no one goes into the psychology field for financial rewards.  I thank all the counselors who taught me great coping skills, the hospital workers who provided a clean, safe, and positive atmosphere for growth. People in the field often get overlooked, but their job saves lives and nurtures people living with issues. The word thank you is embedded in my brain and I use those two words generously every day.

Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) is excited to announce that registration is now open for the ADAA 2022 Annual Conference and that it will be held in person* March 17-20, 2022, in Denver, Colorado. ADAA members are encouraged to register by December 15, 2021.

SCRS Diversity Site Solutions Summit is being held in Austin, Texas, on May 20th, 2022. This is SCRS' inaugural diversity meeting and will feature critical content for research sites as regulatory and sponsor directives require more inclusion of diverse populations in clinical trials. Learn more here.

SIRS 2022 Annual Congress is being held April 6-10 in Florence, Italy. The 2022 Congress of the Schizophrenia International Research Society (SIRS) will be in a hybrid format with this year's theme being Moving Forward Together: Diversity in Global Research. Learn more here.

ACRP 2022 is being held April 22-25 in Orlando, Florida. The Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP) invites clinical research professionals to join them to learn strategies, best practices, and creative solutions for improving clinical trial quality and advancing your career. Learn more here.

SOBP's 2022 Annual Meeting is being held April 28-30 in New Orleans. The Society of Biological Psychiatry meeting program will focus on alternative and transformative frameworks for understanding psychiatric illnesses, and present enhanced and newly emerging tools for measurement and manipulation. Within these frameworks and with these tools, techniques and experimental designs are illustrated that can enhance understanding of psychiatric illness and elucidate the biological pathways and markers of illness processes. Learn more here.

APA 2022 Annual Meeting is being held May 21-25 in New Orleans, with this year's theme being Social Determinants of Mental Health. The American Psychiatric Association is offering a new Clinical Updates Track with practical pearls of wisdom; a Research Track hosted by NIDA, with sessions also from NIAAA and SAMHSA; and a special Technology Track to help you stay up to date on the major changes to clinical practice brought about by the pandemic. Learn more here.

Mental Health America’s (MHA) 2022 Annual Conference, Forward Together: Recovery, Healing, Hope, will take place in Washington, DC from June 9-11, 2022. The event will bring together hundreds of MHA affiliates, peers, providers, government officials, media, and key stakeholders from across the country to explore the intersecting equity issues that exist in mental health. The 2022 conference will be offered in a hybrid format consisting of an in-person event which will be live-streamed to a virtual platform for remote attendees to access, allowing us to reach supporters across the globe. Learn more here.

NAMICon 2022, Together for Mental Health, will be held June 14-16, 2022, and has shifted to a Virtual Only format. Save that date!

The 8^th Annual BRAIN Initiative Meeting will take place from Tuesday, June 21 – Wednesday, June 22, 2022. Everyone with an interest in BRAIN and neuroscience research is welcome as we aim to continue building this vibrant and cross-collaborating community. This forum will provide space to discuss exciting scientific developments and potential new directions, and to identify areas for collaboration and research coordination. It is anticipated that this event will be a hybrid format, stay tuned for further details. Learn more here.

Everything The STARR Coalition does comes from our stakeholders looking to make positive change. 

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