NAMI Presents 15th Annual Exemplary Psychiatrist Awards; Focus on Criminal Justice

Posted on May 23, 2005

Arlington, VA — NAMI (National Alliance for the Mentally Ill) honors 25 physicians today with its "Exemplary Psychiatrist Awards," presented at the American Psychiatric Association (APA) annual meeting in Atlanta, Georgia.

"Exemplary psychiatrists are caring professionals who go the extra mile to help their communities," said NAMI executive director Michael J. Fitzpatrick. "They share NAMI’s commitment to ensuring individual dignity, raising public awareness about brain disorders, working to increase access to treatment, and improving the overall quality life for those persons who live with mental illnesses."

Now in its 15th year, the program is supported by Eli Lilly & Company.

The awards are considered one of the highest honors a psychiatrist can receive, because they come from people who need their help the most—consumers and their families.

The 2005 awards focus especially on practitioners involved in providing services in the criminal justice system—including prevention of unnecessary incarceration.

The honorees are:

Antonio Almoguera Abad, MD New York

William Arroyo, MD California

Rahn Kennedy Bailey, MD, FAPA Texas

Debra K. DePrato, MD Louisiana

Karen Dickson, MD Minnesota

Jacqueline Maus Feldman, MD Alabama

Deborah Lynn Garrelts, MD Iowa

Jeffrey Geller, MD Massachusetts

Marcia Kraft Goin, MD, PhD California

Steven M. Goldfinger, MD New York

Stuart Grassian, MD Massachusetts

Terry Kupers, MD, MSP California

H. Richard Lamb, MD California

Richard K. Lambert, MD Rhode Island

Linda Lefler, MD Florida

Hunter L. McQuistion, MD New York

Jeffrey Metzner, MD Colorado

Mark R. Munetz, MD Ohio

Rocio Nell, MD, CPE Pennsylvania

Cassandra F. Newkirk, MD New Jersey

Fred C. Osher, MD Maryland

Erik Roskes, MD Maryland

Richard L. Wagner, MD Rhode Island

Henry Weinstein, MD New York

Darko Zdilar, MD Iowa