Giants of Mental Health:
World Mental Health Day
This World Mental Health Day, the Child Mind Institute is proud to honor our partners’ commitment to children’s mental health, from raising awareness to advancing scientific research.
On October 6, we celebrated scientific achievement in child and adolescent psychiatry, psychology and developmental neuroscience at the tenth annual On the Shoulders of Giants Scientific Symposium. This year’s virtual event paid tribute to W. Thomas Boyce, MD, a leading expert on the impact of socioeconomic factors and early life experiences on child physical and mental health.
“We need nothing short of a national change of heart in how we think about our obligations to our citizens — and to our children.”
– W. Thomas Boyce, MD
The symposium also included a thoughtful panel discussion on the impact of racism and inequality in children’s mental health, as well as a celebration of the next generation of giants with the presentation of our annual Rising Scientist Awards.
Watch the symposium here:
This week we’re also excited to share two exclusive interviews with our partners in mental health advocacy. As part of Advertising Week, actress and author Ali Wentworth sits down with Child Mind Institute president Harold S. Koplewicz, MD, to discuss her experiences of depression and anxiety.
“It was the scariest time in my life, but I feel so much stronger now as a human being because I know I can survive that and I know how to get help.”
– Ali Wentworth
Watch the conversation with Ali Wentworth here:
And Dr. Koplewicz interviews actor Bill Hader about his experiences dealing with anxiety and what he wants young people facing those same challenges to know.
“I think the biggest thing that I wish I had known was that you are going to make a mistake and you’re going to be fine… Once you can accept it about yourself and don’t see yourself as a nuisance, you can actually use it to your advantage. You can use that energy and that voice in your head. You can somehow use it to propel yourself into things that you never thought you could ever do, because the voice in your head is wrong.”
– Bill Hader
Watch clips from the conversation (filmed in early March 2020) with Bill Hader here:
For the complete interview, click here.
If your family is coping with mental health challenges right now, you’re not alone. In a new survey conducted as part of our upcoming 2020 Children’s Mental Health Report, most parents surveyed reported that their children have had increased feelings of sadness, anger or worry since the start of the pandemic. Many parents also said they’d experienced those same challenges themselves.