State of Mind

Posted on February 1, 2002

State of Mind: America 2002 will be hosted by Dr. Fred Goodwin at the National Press Club and by veteran radio and television anchor John Hockenberry at the Museum of Television and Radio.

The program will be taped simultaneously before live audiences in New York and Washington. It will include expert guests, panel discussions, commentary, live performance and reports from around the United States. Participants will include: U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher; the Rev. William Sloane Coffin; Tipper Gore, Honorary Chair of the National Mental Health Awareness Campaign; former First Lady Rosalynn Carter; Marian Wright Edelman of the Children's Defense Fund; pollster Richard Rockwell; National Institute of Mental Health Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program Director Dr. Dennis Charney; Dr. Marilyn Benoit, President of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists; Dr. Rosemarie Truglio, consulting psychologist to Sesame Street; psychiatrist and author Dr. Peter Kramer; former Health, Education and Welfare Secretary Joseph A. Califano, Jr., now of the Columbia University Center on Substance Abuse and Addiction; and psychiatrist Dr. Carol North, who conducted ground-breaking research after the Oklahoma City bombing. State of Mind: America 2002 will also feature a musical performance by singer-songwriter Judy Collins.

State of Mind: America 2002 will address some of the following points, which may be helpful in "pitching" the broadcast to local radio stations:

• How are we doing?
• Children
• Access and Parity
• Mental health and Terrorism
• Coping with Economic Downturn

   

• Resilience: State of the Mind: America 2002 will offer stories of hope and support. People will discuss what they have done to cope with stress, fear, and uncertainty, including reaching out to the greater community, setting new priorities, and approaching fresh challenges with flexibility and even humor.

   

• Local Programming: In planning companion local programs, here are some questions you may want to address about your own community:
  • What kind of impact are the events of September 11th and the recession having on the mental health on people? What's being done to help those affected?
  • Where can people go for help? Do the options change depending on whether a person has health insurance?
  • As a community, what can we do to take care of one another? What symbols, institutions and connections are important?
  • What can individuals do to get more comprehensive mental health care in a town, city, state and the nation as a whole?